The 2024 Belgian Grand Prix took place at Spa-Francorchamps on a dry track after a wet qualifying session on Saturday.
Due to the weather conditions in practice and qualifying, teams had little information on how their tires would perform on the dry track, resulting in an exceptionally unpredictable and exciting race, which took a twist hours after the chequered flag.
The F1 season will now take a summer break and returns on August 25 for Max Verstappen's home Grand Prix in the Netherlands.
At the break, the Dutchman leads the standings with Lando Norris his nearest competitor.
MORE: Which driver has the most wins in F1 history?
Who won the F1 Belgian Grand Prix?
George Russell took the chequered flag at Spa, but Lewis Hamilton was later declared the winner of the Belgian Grand Prix following the former's disqualification.
Russell, who started from sixth, enjoyed a stellar drive on Sunday, deciding himself to see out the one-stop strategy.
He held off Hamilton's late charge to secure what appeared to be his second win of the season, and Mercedes' first 1-2 since 2022.
However, Russell was disqualified a couple of hours after the race for having an underweight car, meaning his teammate inherited the win.
MORE: F1 full season schedule for 2024
For Hamilton, it marks the 105th grand prix victory of his career.
The seven-time world champion benefitted from Max Verstappen's ten-place grid penalty for taking new engine parts.
The Dutchman started in 11th and after just three laps, the British driver, who recently celebrated a victory at Silverstone, overtook his future Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc to seize the race lead.
Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, secured another podium finish and has been promoted to P2, while Leclerc has been bumped up to third.
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Why was George Russell disqualified?
During the post-race scrutineering, Russell's car weighed in at 796.5 kg without fuel, falling 1.5 kg under the required dry weight of 798 kg.
The matter was referred to the stewards, leading to Russell's prompt disqualification.
"Heartbreaking ... We came in 1.5kg underweight and have been disqualified from the race," the 26-year-old driver wrote on X.
"We left it all on the track today and I take pride in crossing the line first. There will be more to come."
Prior to the disqualification, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff accepted the possibility of a penalty.
"Look, you know, we have to take it on the chin if the stewards decide against us," he told media before the decision.
"It is what it is – a mistake has happened or could have happened and a 1-2 would have been a great result going into the summer break. It couldn’t go any better."
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Driver of the day
Lewis Hamilton was voted as 'Driver of the day' for his terrific performance. This was before he inherited the win.
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Race results, standings
| Driver | |||
| 1. | Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) | 11. | Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) |
| 2. | Oscar Piastri (McLaren) | 12. | Alex Albon (Williams) |
| 3. | Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) | 13. | Pierre Gasly (Alpine) |
| 4. | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) | 14. | Kevin Magnussen (Haas) |
| 5. | Lando Norris (McLaren) | 15. | Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber) |
| 6. | Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) | 16. | Yuki Tsunoda (RB) |
| 7. | Sergio Perez (Red Bull) | 17. | Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) |
| 8. | Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) | 18. | Logan Sargeant (Williams) |
| 9. | Esteban Ocon (Alpine) | DNF | Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber) |
| 10. | Daniel Ricciardo (RB) | DQ | George Russell (Mercedes) |
F1 grid, qualifying times for Belgian Grand Prix
| Position | Driver | Team | Qual. time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:53:754 |
| 2. | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:53:765 |
| 3. | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:53:835 |
| 4. | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:53:981 |
| 5. | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:54:027 |
| 6. | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:54:095 |
| 7. | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:54:112 |
| 8. | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:54:258 |
| 9. | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:54:460 |
| 10. | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:54:473 |
| 11.* | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:53:159 |
| 12. | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:54:635 |
| 13. | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 1:54:682 |
| 14. | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber | 1:54:764 |
| 15. | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:55:716 |
| 16. | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1:56:308 |
| 17. | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:56:500 |
| 18. | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1:57:230 |
| 19. | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber | 1:57:775 |
| 20.** | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 1:56:593 |
** Verstappen took a 10-place grid penalty due to engine changes
**Tsunoda must start at the back of the grid due to a penalty
F1 Drivers' World Championship 2024 updated standings, points
| Position | Driver | Team | Points |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 275 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 197 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 174 |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 164 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 160 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 143 |
| 7 | George Russell | Mercedes | 141 |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 129 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 47 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 24 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 22 |
| 12 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 22 |
| 13 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 11 |
| 14 | Oliver Bearman | Ferrari | 6 |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 6 |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 5 |
| 17 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 4 |
| 18 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 4 |
| 19 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber | 0 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber | 0 |
| 21 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 0 |
F1 Constructors' Championship 2024 updated standings, points
| Position | Team | Points |
| 1 | Red Bull | 404 |
| 2 | McLaren | 361 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 340 |
| 4 | Mercedes | 284 |
| 5 | Aston Martin | 71 |
| 6 | RB | 33 |
| 7 | Haas | 27 |
| 8 | Alpine | 10 |
| 9 | Williams | 4 |
| 10 | Kick Sauber | 0 |
F1 live stream, TV channel: How to watch races in 2024
| Country | TV channel | Live stream |
| USA | — | FUBO, F1TV |
| Canada | TSN (English); RDS (French) | TSN Direct |
| UK | Sky Sports F1 | SkyGo, NOW TV |
| Australia | Fox Sports | Foxtel Go, Kayo Sports |
| India | — | F1 TV Pro |
