George Russell was denied his third Formula 1 victory as an underweight car saw him disqualified post-race from the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix.
Russell became the sixth driver in F1 history to lose a race win through disqualification, after having an underweight car at the Belgian GP.
The Mercedes driver had claimed a sensational victory from sixth on the grid, as Russell opted for a risky one-stop strategy while others pitted twice at Spa-Francorchamps.
Russell crossed the line just 0.526s ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton with third-place Oscar Piastri 1.173s behind the 26-year-old, yet it all changed approximately one hour and 10 minutes after the chequered flag.
The #63 Mercedes was 1.5kg below the designated 798kg minimum weight, as per Article 4.1 of F1’s technical regulations, after it was drained of its fuel post-race.
Russell called it “heartbreaking”, with Hamilton instead claiming his 105th grand prix victory, so who else has had their win taken away because of disqualification in F1?
James Hunt – disqualified from the 1976 British Grand Prix for failing to complete a full lap after a red flag
Official winner of the 1976 British Grand Prix: Niki Lauda, Ferrari
James Hunt celebrates victory on the podium. He would later be disqualified from the results.
Photo by: Motorsport Images
James Hunt’s first disqualification of the 1976 F1 season came in round four at Jarama when he won by 30.97s, but initially lost that win because his McLaren was 1.5cm too wide. Niki Lauda was declared the winner, but McLaren appealed the decision and two months later Hunt’s victory was reinstated because the difference was minimal.
Hunt received another disqualification approximately two weeks later though, and this time it was for good with his victory at Brands Hatch given to Lauda. This happened after a huge first-corner crash where Hunt, and several others, collided with a spinning Clay Regazzoni who had just attempted to overtake Lauda for the lead on lap one.
The race was subsequently suspended, so Hunt drove his damaged car back to the pits but was soon disqualified as he used the escape road on Cooper Straight, meaning he was not on the circuit when the red flag was waved and stewards said that drivers must have completed the lap in full.
But that decision was reversed amid fears of crowd trouble and Hunt won his restarted home race. That prompted Ferrari, Tyrrell and the Fittipaldi team to all protest his inclusion and two months later Hunt was disqualified from the British GP, handing victory to Lauda, though the Briton eventually won that year’s world championship.
Nelson Piquet – disqualified from the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix for having an underweight car
Official winner of the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix: Alain Prost, Renault
Nelson Piquet. Brabham BT49D-Ford Cosworth rests on Keke Rosberg Williams FW07C-Ford Cosworth and Alain Prost, Renault RE30B on the podium
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Nelson Piquet was the first driver to be stripped of a race victory due to an underweight car, after he initially won the 1982 Brazilian GP in Rio de Janeiro. It is known as one of the most gruelling races in F1 history, as several drivers suffered from the soaring temperatures including Riccardo Patrese who retired due to heat exhaustion.
Piquet was also struggling as he often propped his head on one hand, but the Brazilian had too much at stake to retire as he was in a back-and-forth battle with Gilles Villeneuve and Keke Rosberg for the lead. Piquet came out on top, as Villeneuve’s spin on lap 29 handed him the lead while Rosberg eventually dropped back and settled for second.
The Brabham driver then passed out on the podium, yet it was all for nothing as he and Rosberg were both disqualified post-race due to an underweight car. The problem stemmed from the ballast water tank, aimed to cool the brakes, as it would gradually empty throughout a grand prix but then be replenished afterwards to pass post-race scrutineering, yet both teams were caught doing so.
This resulted in Renault’s Alain Prost becoming the winner of the 1982 Brazilian GP with the ballast water tanks being permanently banned seven months later.
Alain Prost – disqualified from the 1985 San Marino Grand Prix for having an underweight car
Official winner of the 1985 San Marino Grand Prix: Elio de Angelis, Lotus
Alain Prost, McLaren MP4-2B TAG.
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Although Prost benefitted from disqualifications at the 1982 Brazilian GP, he had his own victory taken away three years later for also having an underweight car – this time at Imola.
The 1985 San Marino GP was dominated by numerous drivers running out of fuel, as Nigel Mansell, Stefan Johansson, Ayrton Senna, Piquet and Martin Brundle all stopped in the closing laps due to that day’s strict fuel limit of 220 litres.
Prost even ran out of fuel on the cool-down lap, with his then engineer Tim Wright telling Autosport that the McLaren was designed to be as light as possible – but the team did not account for any “loss of fluids”.
So, Prost’s MP4/2B was noted as 2kg below the 580kg minimum weight resulting in a post-race disqualification. This gave victory to Lotus’ Elio de Angelis, who claimed his second and final grand prix win despite never leading a lap while three other drivers led at some stage in the final five tours.
Ayrton Senna – disqualified from the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix for rejoining the track illegally via a push start from marshals
Official winner of the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix: Alessandro Nannini, Benetton
Alain Prost, McLaren, Ayrton Senna, McLaren
Photo by: Sutton Images
Senna arguably has the most controversial disqualification in F1 history, as he lost his victory at the 1989 Japanese GP for rejoining the track illegally via a push start from marshals – resulting in Prost clinching a third world championship that day.
The McLaren rivals were etched in a race-long battle for the lead until a collision on lap 47, when Prost turned for the Suzuka chicane just as Senna moved down the inside which forced both to go off.
Although Prost immediately got out of his car, Senna tried to resume knowing his title hopes would otherwise be over. So the reigning world champion asked marshals to push his McLaren down the escape road, allowing Senna to continue and eventually win the race after overtaking the new leader Alessandro Nannini.
But Nannini was awarded victory post-race, as Senna received a disqualification for getting outside help and missing that chicane during the collision.
Senna believed he was disqualified because FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre wanted Prost, a fellow Frenchman, to clinch the title. McLaren later launched an unsuccessful appeal with the team also receiving a $100,000 fine, while a suspended six-month ban was given to Senna.
Michael Schumacher – disqualified from the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix for illegal skid block wear on his car
Official winner of the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix: Damon Hill, Williams
Damon Hill, Williams, won the 1994 Belgian GP after Michael Schumacher, Benetton, was disqualified
Photo by: Sutton Images
Michael Schumacher was the final F1 driver before Russell to be disqualified after winning a race, as he was also denied victory at the Belgian GP because of a worn skid block.
The then-Benetton driver delivered a dominant performance to initially win by 13s, but post-race scrutineering checks noted that Schumacher’s skid blocks had worn by over 1mm resulting in disqualification. A skid block is a wooden plank underneath the car, which increases ride height and reduces ground effect advantages having been introduced only two races prior in Germany.
This handed victory to Damon Hill, who reduced his championship deficit to Schumacher to 21 points with five grands prix remaining, yet the German still clinched his maiden title that year.
