Wolff explains why Russell was allowed to one-stop in Belgian GP

Toto Wolff has explained why George Russell was allowed to one-stop his way to Belgian Grand Prix victory ahead of Lewis Hamilton. 

In a Spa race dominated by high tyre degradation, Russell surprised the field by only stopping once on his way to a surprise victory, ahead of team-mate Hamilton, who was on the conventional two-stopper.

Hamilton closed to within half-a-second of Russell as he tried to chase down the sister Mercedes on 19-lap fresher tyres, but Russell held firm to record a third career race victory. 

With the gaps between the field close and the undercut powerful, Wolff has revealed Mercedes' intention to avoid Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris undercutting Hamilton and Russell, respectively was key to the strategy it went for.

"I'd like to have two winners today, but we had to cover Leclerc and Norris," Wolff told Sky Sports F1. 

"We would have been undercut, and that was the call and George had nothing to lose. 

"We were P5, and the one-stop and two-stop strategies were showing P5, so we just kept him out. 

"George was very good today, but when you look at the pace, Lewis was also very good today. 

"They both did a fabulous job, the strategy played out for George and not for Lewis, but as I said, I'd like to have two winners today. 

NOTE:  George Russell was promptly disqualified from the race for an underweight car handing the win to Hamilton.

Keeping feet on the ground

Mercedes struggled for pace on Friday at Spa, taking some upgrades off the W15 for a better balance, but has been one of the fastest cars over the last six races, taking three wins. 

The Austrian felt the team was not in contention for a victory, but despite the surprise, urged it to keep its feet on the ground.

"On Friday, we were really not competitive, so we were expecting as best-case scenario a podium, but the team worked really well overnight in Brackley and took the right decisions," Wolff added.

"The car was good on a one-stop and it was good on the two stops. 

"Unfortunately, the season started in March, not in Austria. 

"We just need to keep both feet on the ground, and try to do the best every race and then we are going to see what the outcome is at the end of the championship. 

"If we would have finished third [at Spa], it would have been a success."