Mercedes was lucky to have Hamilton in second place, says Shovlin as he reveals the cause of the technical infringement

Mercedes was lucky that Lewis Hamilton was in second place, says the Brackley-based outfit’s trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin, referring to the George Russell’s shock disqualification from the Belgian Grand Prix.

Having lacked pace during Friday’s practice sessions, Mercedes driver George Russell had seemingly pulled off an unlikely win during Sunday’s race at Spa-Francorchamps. The Briton started from P6 on the grid, and committing himself to a one-stop strategy, he took his third F1 win.

However, after the chequered flag, Russell’s car was found to be underweight, with the stewards subsequently excluding him from the results – meaning team mate Lewis Hamilton takes the win.

Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin has offered his reaction after the huge blow Russell has endured in the last F1 round before the summer break.

“It’s really tough for George to have been disqualified from the win after such an impressive drive. He did a brilliant job to hang onto the tyres and defend to the finish.

Just an hour after the chequered flag fell at the Belgian Grand Prix, FIA Technical Delegate Jo Bauer issued a statement, claiming that the double weighing procedure showed that George Russell’s W15 failed to reach the minimum weight of 798kg.

Shovlin said that Mercedes do not fully understand the reason for the technical infringement yet, but they will launch an investigation to figure out the reason for the team’s error.

“We don’t yet understand why the car was underweight following the race but will investigate thoroughly to find the explanation. We expect that the loss of rubber from the one stop was a contributing factor, and we’ll work to understand how it happened.

“We won’t be making any excuses though. It is clearly not good enough and we need to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“It was a relief to have Lewis in second to inherit the victory. He also drove a strong race and was the fastest two-stopping car out there today. We can be pleased with the car pace but overall, it’s disappointing not to walk away with the 1-2.

“That is particularly true after such a good recovery from one of our most difficult Fridays, and following a race that was so well managed by the team. We’ll learn from this and be back strong in Zandvoort after the summer break,” noted Shovlin.