Hamilton declared winner of F1 Belgian GP after Mercedes teammate Russell DQ for underweight car

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Lewis Hamilton was promoted to first place at the Belgian Grand Prix after race officials disqualified his Mercedes teammate George Russell for driving an underweight car on Sunday.

Russell crossed the line first after making only one pit stop, finishing just ahead of Hamilton. He celebrated the win in Spa, which would have been the third of the British driver’s career.

But race officials found that his car weighed in below the established limits and ruled to disqualify his result.

“It is heartbreaking to be disqualified from today’s race. It had been an unbelievable grand prix for us to make the one-stop strategy work," Russell said. “Despite the disqualification, I am of course proud to have crossed the line first. It is also good that the team was still able to take the victory with Lewis.”