A remarkable piece of F1 history was made during Sunday's Belgium Grand Prix, and it shows exactly why the sport is in the best place it's been in years.
George Russell pulled off one of the biggest masterclass' in Formula 1's recent history in Spa, as his alternative one-stop strategy taking him from 6th on the grid to 1st place.
However, following a post-race investigation the Brit's car came in 1.5kg overweight disqualifying him from the race in heartbreaking circumstances and handing the victory to Lewis Hamilton who finished second.
The Belgium Grand Prix was another excellent example that Formula 1 is well and truly back, with the 2024 season continuing to deliver on-track action and drama.
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The season started where F1 left off in 2023, with Max Verstappen the class of the field and Red Bull dominating both the race and qualifying but with other teams bringing significant upgrades the season has been completely turned on its head.
In the entirety of 2023, we saw only three winners with Verstappen winning 19 out of the 22 races, however, we head into the summer break in 2024 with seven separate race winners.
George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, and Oscar Piastri have all stood on the top step during the first half of the season, which demonstrates an outstanding level of competitiveness we haven't seen for years and years.
In fact, the initial result of the Belgian GP equaled a feat we haven't seen in an F1 season since 1960 as Mercedes's 1-2 finish meant FOUR separate teams have come home 1st and 2nd already this season.
Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes have all occupied the top two steps of the podium in 2024, something we could have only dreamt of at this point last year.
While George Russell's DSQ means this record is yet to be officially equaled, it is understood that the 1.5kg the Brit's car was underweight was due to excessive tire wear and didn't affect his car's performance.
Topics: Formula 1, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen
Tom Jenkins