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 tempo throughout Friday’s apply periods, Mercedes driver George Russell had seemingly pulled off an unlikely win throughout Sunday’s race at Spa-Francorchamps. The Briton began from P6 on the grid, and committing himself to a one-stop technique, he took his third F1 win.

However, after the chequered flag, Russell’s automotive was discovered to be underweight, with the stewards subsequently excluding him from the outcomes – that means group mate Lewis Hamilton takes the win.

Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin has provided his response after the large blow Russell has endured in the final F1 spherical earlier than the summer time break.

“It’s actually powerful for George to have been disqualified from the win after such a powerful drive. He did an excellent job to grasp onto the tyres and defend to the end.

Just an hour after the chequered flag fell at the Belgian Grand Prix, FIA Technical Delegate Jo Bauer issued an announcement, claiming that the double weighing process confirmed that George Russell’s W15 failed to attain the minimal weight of 798kg.

Shovlin stated that Mercedes don’t totally perceive the purpose for the technical infringement but, however they’ll launch an investigation to determine the purpose for the group’s error.

“We do not but perceive why the automotive was underweight following the race however will examine totally to discover the rationalization. We count on that the loss of rubber from the one cease was a contributing issue, and we’ll work to perceive the way it occurred.

“We will not be making any excuses although. It is clearly not adequate and we’d like to be certain that it would not occur once more.

“It was a reduction to have Lewis in second to inherit the victory. He additionally drove a powerful race and was the quickest two-stopping automotive on the market immediately. We will be happy with the automotive tempo however total, it is disappointing not to stroll 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,” famous Shovlin.