Russell Masterclass Results in Belgian GP Victory
A masterful one-stop strategy and some great defensive driving was enough for George Russell to take a sensational victory in Belgium! Lewis Hamilton just couldn’t quite pass as he completed a Mercedes 1-2 whilst Oscar Piastri picked up yet another Podium for McLaren to head into the Summer Break on a real high!
The Biggest Talking Points
At the start, Lando Norris went a little wide into Turn 1 and dipped a tyre into the gravel, ultimately resulting in him losing a few places. Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc remained in the lead as Lewis Hamilton cleared Sergio Perez whilst Max Verstappen was already quickly up to 8th (and on the back of Lando)! There was then quickly a change for the lead as Lewis dispatched Charles before we got a little bit of a DRS train which was being headed by the Red Bull of Sergio Perez. Teams then made their first round of stops, with Norris ultimately losing track position to Verstappen as a result of going long whilst Carlos Sainz went 20 laps on his hard tyres, and all I’ll say about Carlos’ Race is Ferrari really didn’t do him any favours! For the most part, it was looking pretty comfortable for Hamilton in P1 and the same could be said about Leclerc and Piastri in P2 and P3 respectively. However, when the teams came in for their second round of stops, Piastri was flying and he managed to clear Leclerc for what was now P3 as George Russell was in the lead trying to make a 1 stop work! Behind this, Sergio Perez had dropped down to 8th after a disappointing Race whilst Max and Lando were putting pressure on Charles for P4. It very much looked like Mercedes were going to somehow pull off a 1-2 with Hamilton ahead of Russell, but unbelievably, George managed to keep Lewis at bay to take a stunning victory whilst Oscar Piastri got ever so close to them in the final step on the Podium!
The Standout Drives in the Race
I’ve only given out one 10 for today’s Belgian Grand Prix and that is obviously for George Russell! I was going to give George a 10 if he finished second because I was so impressed with his strategy call, but for him to hold on and win this Race is nothing short of sensational! I also thought Lewis Hamilton drove superbly well for 40 laps, as did Oscar Piastri for McLaren, whilst Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Esteban Ocon had good days respectively (Max even managed to extend his Championship lead)!
Drivers Who Had a Shocker
I’ve only given out one 1 for today’s Race and that is unfortunately for Nico Hulkenberg. I don’t know what happened to Nico today, but he was just nowhere, and he ultimately finished last on the road! I also thought Yuki Tsunoda had a tough day in his Visa Cash App RB whilst Logan Sargeant also struggled for pace.
Overall Race Results and My Ratings
George Russell: 10
Lewis Hamilton: 9
Oscar Piastri: 9
Charles Leclerc: 8
Max Verstappen: 8
Lando Norris: 6
Carlos Sainz: 6
Sergio Perez: 4 (FL)
Fernando Alonso: 7
Esteban Ocon: 8
Daniel Ricciardo: 7
Lance Stroll: 4
Alex Albon: 6
Pierre Gasly: 5
Kevin Magnussen: 4
Valtteri Bottas: 5
Yuki Tsunoda: 2
Logan Sargeant: 2
Nico Hulkenberg: 1
Zhou Guanyu: - (DNF)
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