Mercedes’ strategic masterclass earns surprise 1-2 finish in Spa

Shocking not only his competitors but himself too, George Russell drove a strategic masterclass in Belgium to secure a surprise third career victory, leading Lewis Hamilton to a 1-2 finish for Mercedes ahead of Oscar Piastri.

The third-placed Australian came within 1.3 seconds of the victory after an epic battle between the four front-running teams.

Lining up from P5, Piastri capitalised on Lando Norris’ misjudgement out of the first braking zone to charge through Eau Rouge in fourth place.

He attacked Sergio Perez into Les Combes, however, Piastri was soon held up in an unproductive DRS train that trailed all the way back to P7.

His lack of movement on the medium tyre prompted a trip to the pitlane, a usual duration of 18.5 seconds that was extended after a close call with Lewis Hamilton.

That translated to an on-track loss, allowing Russell to scoot by as he exited the pitlane.

Running in P4, Piastri’s pace wasn’t competitive enough to move up to the podium places.

He remained just shy of the trophy-earning places for the middle stint of the race, inheriting the lead position as he withheld from completing a second stop.

The clear air did wonders for the #81, allowing him to set the fastest lap of the race whilst also managing the fastest consistent pace on 17-lap old tyres.

On Lap 30, he relinquished the lead, adding more time to his pitstop after running long in his pit box.

Upon return, he wasn’t deterred by that minor hiccup; instead, he made up for the error when he came within DRS range of Charles Leclerc. 

The Australian had a look at Leclerc into Turn 7, however, waited until his next venture through Les Combes to pass the Ferrari driver in a bold, side-by-side overtake for the final podium place. 

Being told to close the gap to the Mercedes’ action ahead, the six-second gap dissipated.

Despite being directly behind Hamilton, the move for the silver medal couldn’t be achieved in the scarce number of laps remaining, seeing Piastri take the chequered flag in P3 to earn McLaren its 10th consecutive podium finish this season.

Oscar Piastri sprays Champagne from the Belgian GP podium. Image: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images.

Daniel Ricciardo also came ever-so-close to a points finish at Spa, losing tenth place to Esteban Ocon in the final moments of the Grand Prix.

In the build-up, however, Ricciardo didn’t do himself any favours.

His launch off the line cost the #3 a position to Valtteri Bottas and left him under threat from Lance Stroll during the opening lap.

Despite being the only driver to start on the soft compound tyre, Ricciardo didn’t maximise the short first stint, remaining down in P14 until his first pitstop on Lap 8.

Rejoining in P17, Alex Albon was the driver ahead of Ricciardo.

He spent 12 laps running behind the Williams driver, and despite coming within eight-tenths demoting Albon, the #3 was called in for his second stop.

The hard tyre proved virtuous, giving Ricciardo an extra edge as he charged past Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen within the span of three laps.

He made a significant impression on Lance Stroll who originally sat seven seconds ahead, using his DRS advantage at Turn 7 to slot into the points with 10 laps remaining.

Unfortunately, the final point wasn’t Ricciardo’s to keep, with the Australian crossing the line in P11, just two seconds behind Ocon.

For those in the lead positions, however, it was a much different narrative.

As the five lights went out in Spa, Mercedes would never have guessed such a fruitful outcome would come their way at the conclusion of an epic strategic masterclass. 

Off the line, Lewis Hamilton was right in the mix, taking the fight to Sergio Perez on the opening lap before sequentially picking off Charles Leclerc by Lap 3.

As for the rest of the top ten starters, there was a combination of big winners and big losers.

Charles Leclerc leads the field at the start of the Belgian GP. Image: Michael Potts / LAT Images.

Leclerc was gifted a relatively individual charge through the first lap as second and third place found themselves preoccupied with one another down the Kemmel Straight. 

Oscar Piastri wasn’t too far behind either, guiding George Russell and Carlos Sainz past as the trio capitalised on Norris’ La Source blunder. 

Not technically starting within the top ten, Max Verstappen quickly clawed his way up to the back of his usual competition.

Setting off from P11, the Red Bull driver recovered three places off the line, passing Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso to trail the #4 McLaren.

The same momentum wasn’t echoed by his teammate, with Perez’s poor start allowing Hamilton by and Piastri within striking distance during the opening stint.

The lead was safely Hamilton’s after completing 25% of the race, with the man who started from pole already trailing by a two-second deficit. 

As the first round of pitstops unfolded, however, the security of P1 no longer existed.

Eight drivers were soon in with an equal chance of standing on the top step after tyre wear and differing strategies were thrown up in the air.

Pitstops were taken on a reactionary basis, with the likes of Lando Norris, who lost three places at Turn 1, seeking to undercut or avoid the undercut as the field tightened.

Russell and Verstappen were the first of the front-runners to pit, doing so on Lap 10.

The two drivers disposed of the back-markers as they quickly rose from P13 and P14 to the rear of Perez’s RB20.

The trio circulated the 7km Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps within their own mini DRS train, with Russell finding the pace to break free from the Red Bull sandwich on Lap 21.

Charging off into the clear air, the #63 was a silent assassin in the battle for first place. 

He watched his competitors file into the pitlane as the laps ticked by, revelling in the positive performance his hard compound tyres provided in P1.

Communicating that fact with the Mercedes pit wall, Russell recommended the high-risk, high-reward one-stop strategy to close out the Belgian Grand Prix.

His teammate became his direct opponent, closing in as the final five laps approached.

George Russell leads his teammate Lewis Hamilton during the Belgian GP. Image: Andy Hone / LAT Images.

The teammates ran from Lap 40 onwards separated by less than a second, with Hamilton forming but not completing a string of attacks on the race leader.

Down the start-finish straight the Mercedes representatives were separated by just five-tenths.

La Source posed a difficult task for Hamilton, however, with the seven-time world champion making two consecutive errors at the first turn on his pursuit for gold. 

He also didn’t have any luck through Les Combes, never being within reach of Russell who soon made it to the line on 34-lap old hard tyres.

Taking the chequered flag, George Russell secured a surprise third career victory after starting from sixth on the grid.

Lewis Hamilton crossed the line 0.526s back, making it a maximum points outing for the 1-2 finishers in Belgium.

With Piastri finishing an equal distance back from Hamilton, the top three broke yet another record previously set in 2016, being the closest non-safety car finish between the top three.

The interval was just 1.173s, however, the distance was irrelevant to Russell who ended an excellent Sunday teary-eyed. 

The Brit will have nearly an entire month to soak up the impressive victory as the summer break awaits the F1 paddock. 

The next event on the calendar is the Dutch Grand Prix, taking place in Zandvoort from August 23-25.

Image: Sam Bagnall / LAT Images

Belgian Grand Prix Results:

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