Winners and Losers from 2024 F1 Belgian Grand Prix

The Belgian Grand Prix developed into a captivating affair, and the post-race drama of George Russell's disqualification only added to the intrigue.

Lewis Hamilton put in another strong performance to be there when it mattered most, picking up the pieces for Mercedes.

Max Verstappen somehow ended up extending his drivers' championship lead, but his team-mate took another step towards the door at Red Bull.

Throughout the field, many teams found the annual trip to Spa-Francorchamps to be a tale of two halves for its driver line-up, and that is not exclusive to the names on this week's winners and losers list.

Winner - Lewis Hamilton

Having waited over two-and-a-half years to taste victory again, Hamilton has now claimed two grand prix wins in the past three rounds.

Yes, the seven-time drivers' champion inherited first position from his team-mate, but there is no denying the strength of his drive at Spa-Francorchamps.

He out-qualified Russell and forced his way into the lead in the early stages of the Belgian Grand Prix, getting a great start to immediately dispatch of Sergio Perez, before reeling in Charles Leclerc.

He showed strong pace throughout the race, did all he could do the position himself for the win. The one drawback was his failure to pass Russell after the other Mercedes opted for the curveball one-stop strategy.

However, when all is said and done, that is of no consequence to the end result and Hamilton now moves 34 points clear of his team-mate in the drivers' standings.

Loser - George Russell

It was a classy and mature drive from Russell to cross the line first at the Belgian Grand Prix. He controlled the closing stages well and kept enough in hand to hold off his team-mate. 

He appeared to be the architect in the would-be winning one-stop strategy - even if he was humble enough to share the love afterwards.

However, it is a double-edged sword, and that approach proved to be the nexus of his disqualification. 1.5kg might not sound like a lot, and it is even less when you divide that lost weight across his four thread-bare tyres - just 375g per Pirelli.

The lack of cool-down lap at Spa-Francorchamps may have been the difference maker, but the catalyst was undoubtedly the decision to stay out and not conform to the prevailing two-stop strategy.

So, unfortunately for Russell, and despite putting in a top-tier performance on the day, the 26-year-old is a Belgian Grand Prix loser.

Winner - Max Verstappen

Verstappen's one-lap pace at Spa-Francorchamps was undeniable - in both dry and wet conditions.

Over half a second clear of Oscar Piastri in the weekend-opening practice session, he would best Leclerc by more than that margin during Saturday's wet qualifying.

Had Red Bull not strategically taken a power unit penalty, he likely would have won from pole position.

Whilst he did come somewhat unstuck during the race - but only when compared to the dominance he enjoyed in Belgium over the past couple of seasons - turning P11 on the grid into fourth at the finish is a fine afternoon's work for the Dutchman, particularly given the RB20 no longer enjoys the performance advantage it once did and is known to struggle in dirty air.

To further buoy a strong performance, he found his way past his nearest - and likely only - title rival, Lando Norris. In doing so, he turned what was essentially a damage limitation exercise into a net gain in the drivers' championship. 

Loser - Sergio Perez

You're probably sensing some symmetry on this list by now. For each team's winner, there is a loser - and this weekend, Red Bull's was Perez.

Yes, he qualified in third, putting in an impressive lap in Q3 on used tyres, but he very nearly fell short of reaching the final qualifying session - yet again.

And that is the Perez dichotomy, if you will. His performances across a weekend, and even across sessions, are at odds with one another.

That stark contrast usually takes the form of a poor qualifying result, with a strong drive though the field on Sunday. However, the script was reversed this weekend. After starting on the front row, he went backwards.

In crossing the line in eighth, which was later bumped up to seventh, Perez may have shown his final hand as a Red Bull driver. He may not survive the summer break, and his final act in the RB20 will have been finishing behind his team-mate in a race he ought to have finished on the podium, if not won.

Winner - Oscar Piastri

Narrowly beaten by team-mate Norris during qualifying, Piastri enjoyed a strong start to the grand prix to position himself well at Spa-Francorchamps.

However, it was later in the 44-lap race that the Australian really came alive. Making use of the hard compound tyres to close up to Hamilton.

It was touch and go as to whether he would be able to overtake the British driver, and he probably would have had it not been for his 4.4 second pitstop - and that may have cost him victory.

Despite that mistake, he looked after the white-walled Pirellis beautifully. Tyre management is something he has been criticised for in the past, and his performance during the Belgian Grand Prix shows how much he has developed in that area.

It was not a perfect race, as highlighted above, but it shows how far he has come as a driver of late - and it is another podium finish for his growing collection.

Loser - Lando Norris

It was a somewhat anonymous weekend all-round for Norris. Despite topping the timing sheets during FP2, the McLaren driver looked off the pace.

His difficult start to the race put him on the back foot and left him having to fight his way back past cars he qualified ahead of. Whilst he did manage to re-pass Carlos Sainz and dispatch of Perez, it was a quiet afternoon for the 24-year-old.

Having to recover in that manner would not have helped the outlook of his grand prix, but to finish behind Verstappen after starting seven places ahead of the Dutchman is a poor result, and it cannot be cut in any other way.

After lining up in fourth, Norris should have been in the hunt for a podium finish. Instead, he ended up losing points to Verstappen in the drivers' championship.

In doing so, he failed in what likely would have been the only target of the weekend - further reducing the points gap the Red Bull driver.