George Russell LIVE: Mercedes driver stripped of F1 victory in Belgium as Lewis Hamilton wins [Video]

The 26-year-old opted for a bold race strategy, pitting only once for tyres, and it seemed to have paid off in brilliant fashion as he fended off a late challenge from Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to claim what he thought was his third win in Formula One.

However, in an initial post-race check, Russell’s Mercedes car was found to be 1.5 kg under the weight permitted in the regulations, following the obligatory drainage of fuel.

The matter was referred to the FIA stewards, who an hour later confirmed that Russell had been disqualified from the race classification. The driver himself, it has been reported, found out about the disqualification whilst on his way home to Monaco.