Could Oscar Piastri Have Won the Belgian GP With the One Stop Strategy?

Could Oscar Piastri Have Won the Belgian GP With the One Stop Strategy?

Before the FIA disqualified him for an underweight car after the race, it seemed that George Russell pulled out a strategic masterstroke as he crossed the chequered flag in P1 at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix. As a result of Russell’s disqualification, Lewis Hamilton won the race, while Oscar Piastri finished second. But there was a possibility that Piastri could have won the race if McLaren played their cards correctly.

According to Martin Brundle, a driver must be at least half a second faster than the leading car to be able to overtake at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. With this in mind, if Russell‘s pace on a one-stopper is compared with Hamilton on fresh hards, Piastri most likely would have been able to stay ahead of the chasing Mercedes duo on his old set of hard tires.

With 14 laps to go, Piastri had a 5.5s advantage over Russell before he pitted. Meanwhile, Hamilton was another seven seconds behind the #63 driver and was struggling to pass him.

What lap times would have helped Piastri possibly win the Belgian GP?

Holding the lead of the race on lap 29 before making the pit stop, Piastri could have done lap times in the range of 1.47.700s – 1.47.300s (Russell’s average lap times from lap 40 to lap 44). Meanwhile, Hamilton was only a tenth or two faster, on average, in the turbulent air of his teammate.

Unlike Piastri, however, Russell would not have been driving in clean air. Hence, it would have been a herculean task for Russell to pass the #81 driver with a similar tire delta. Thus, allowing the young Australian to edge out the 26-year-old Briton and win the race if he had not pitted.

That being said, Russell’s disqualification from the Grand Prix classification could have been Piastri’s fate as well. Owing to a one-stop strategy, the tread on the #63 driver’s tires were considerably lesser than that of his competitors.

This affected the overall weight of the car. In the end, Russell’s W15 was disqualified for being 1.5 kgs below the 798 kgs minimum mass prescribed by the FIA.

Post Edited By: Aishwary Gaonkar
Belgian GP George Russell Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes Oscar Piastri

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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