Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reacts after George Russell stripped of Belgian GP win

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Toto Wolff admitted Mercedes must learn from their mistake after George Russell was stripped of his win at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Russell’s car was weighed after the race and was found to be 1.5kg under the permitted weight in the regulations.

As a result, Russell’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton takes the victory but a dream one-two finish for Mercedes is revoked.

“We have to take it on the chin,” Mercedes team principal Wolff said. “A mistake has happened and a one-two would have been a great result going into the summer break.

“We have to learn from that. As a team there were positives but for George it is a massive blow for it to be taken away.

“He is going to win more.”

In an initial post-race check, Russell’s Mercedes car was found to be 1.5 kg under the weight permitted in the regulations following the obligatory drainage of fuel.

The matter was referred to the FIA stewards, who confirmed that Russell has been disqualified from the race classification at Spa-Francorchamps.

Russell’s disqualification means team-mate Hamilton, who finished second, claims his 105th F1 win. Hamilton’s car was found to be over the permitted weight. Oscar Piastri is elevated to second, with Charles Leclerc up to third.

The FIA said in a statement: “During the hearing, the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly.

“The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team.”