Belgian GP Takeaways: 44 is the magic number

What a coincidence that Lewis Hamilton, the driver carrying the #44, ended up winning the 44-lap grand prix last Sunday, based on a stewards' document that disqualified George Russell and having the #44.

But that is all it is, a coincidence. Beyond that, both Hamilton and Russell deserved the win, the former being the fastest driver on the two-stopper, the latter being the only one to out-fox his rivals with a one-stop strategy keeping his Hard tyres alive for 34 laps, even fending off his teammate towards the end.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull had another lesson in humility as the Belgian GP was another proof that the reigning F1 Champions are far from being the dominant force of 2023 and 2022.

McLaren on the other hand failed to capitalize on Verstappen's woes while Ferrari lucked into a pre-vacation podium with Charles Leclerc. Among the big teams, Ferrari have the most work to do to have a decent post-vacation run towards the end of the season.

Overtaking turned out to be more difficult than expected this time around at Spa-Francorchamps, as the shortening of the DRS zone on the Kemmel straight by 75 meters proved an effective way to reduce overtaking.

Moreover, several parts of the track being resurfaced along with a mix of dry and wet running, meant grip and tyre wear were two enigmas the teams had to deal with as they set their cars up.

All this delivered an interesting final race before the F1 summer break, the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix which we will look into in this Takeaways column.

You have to feel for Russell, losing that win after such a brilliant drive, after switching to a one-stop strategy bucking the trend of stopping twice.

With the possible explanation that excessive use of the Hard tyres may have been the reason why the #63 Mercedes W15's lower-than-accepted weight, it appears that Mercedes and Russell have been caught out by their own brilliant plan.

Russell felt as he was racing that his tyres were still ok and decided with the team to go till the end, but it seems that messed up Mercedes' pre-race car weight calculations.

There is nothing to say about the stewards' decision to disqualify Russell. It was a straightforward verdict as per the rules, and as Toto Wolff said, Mercedes "took it on the chin", but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

What would make it less hurtful is the fact the Hamilton inherited the win, but losing a first Mercedes one-two since 2022 (Sao-Paulo) will not be easy to fathom.

The positives, Mercedes were competitive on a track they didn't expect to master, and Hamilton seems to be on a roll now, his start and whole race showing he is actually rejuvenated by Mercedes' new-found pace. The team can now go and enjoy a well-deserved break.

One more positive is that Russell showed more composure in a heated race situation, after being suspect to errors prior to the race at Spa. He kept a cool head defending against a relentless Hamilton on much fresher tyres.

This may be a step towards his development to become the team leader Mercedes are hoping he would be, especially as it seems more likely that Kimi Antonelli will be his teammate with Carlos Sainz heading to Williams.

So to George we say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, keep your head up.

The Belgian GP was supposed to be the race where Red Bull actually measured their performance, in particular, their latest upgrade package compared to their rivals, and they have been found wanting.

They started on the backfoot as Verstappen took a fifth Internal Combustion Engine which meant a ten-place grid penalty come race day, and while the triple F1 Champion was the fastest in qualifying, limiting the damage as much as possible, starting from 11th on the grid proved to be a challenge.

Once Verstappen reached the front runners, Lando Norris in particular, his progress up the order stopped, and with the help of an undercut, he was able to pass Norris but Leclerc kept him behind which following Russell's disqualification turned out to be more costly than expected, as the final podium could've gone to the Dutchman.

But there is no hiding the fact that Red Bull are yet to catch McLaren and may be even behind Mercedes now, something Verstappen pointed out after the race. That is why he could not repeat his previous heroics at Spa where he won from 14th on the grid back in 2022.

The other issue for Red Bull was Sergio Perez's performance, as they still need to find a way to bring him back to points-scoring form. He dropped down the order after starting from second (he qualified third which became second after Verstappen's penalty) a disappointment considering his qualifying heroics.

Red Bull confirmed he will stay for the rest of the season, the right decision if you ask me, but they have a lot of work to do to find out how he lost his early 2024 form, and help him regain it, that is if they want to defend their Constructors' Crown from McLaren.

That and making the RB20 go faster will keep the folks' minds at Red Bull working hard over the summer break, be it from the comfort of their homes or from some sunny beach somewhere.

McLaren may not have capitalized on Verstappen's Belgian GP penalty, especially as Norris finished behind him, but Oscar Piastri getting a podium on merit (third which became second after Russell's DQ).

The team now have the fastest car out there as the MCL38 has proved handy over an array of race tracks with different requirements and characteristics.

They still need to make sure their race executing is sharp, so that is the homework they need to do over the summer break as they are a serious threat to Red Bull's Constructors' throne this season, and they should grasp that opportunity.

There car may be the best on the grid, but McLaren have forgotten how to win over the past years, so they need to learn how to do that again. Winning the Constructors' this year will set them on that path.

Come 2025, both their drivers will have had the proper training on how to fight at the sharp end, which will set them up nicely for a genuine F1 Drivers' Championship challenge by then, that is if they produce another fast car.

For now, the Drivers' Title will go to Verstappen unless something unexpected happens.

All in all, McLaren have done nicely in the first part of the 2024 F1 season and like Mercedes can enjoy their hard earned break, but they need to come back swinging in Zandvoort.

With the Belgian GP now behind us, Takeaways will also get a break and be back after the 2024 Dutch GP.