In the immediate aftermath of the 2024 Belgian GP, Lewis Hamilton was unhappy to see his Mercedes teammate George Russell cross the chequered flag ahead of him. However, even though Russell crossed the chequered flag in P1, he did not win the Grand Prix after the FIA conducted some post-race checks and disqualified him for an underweight car.
As a result, the FIA declared Hamilton the winner. However, despite his victory, former F1 team principal Guenther Steiner does not believe that the 39-year-old would have been too happy about it.
Steiner pointed out the fact that how Hamilton would not have been able to celebrate because of being notified about his victory way after the celebrations had concluded at Spa. While speaking on the most recent episode of the Red Flags Podcast, Steiner said,
“You saw how p***** off Lewis was. And it didn’t make him happier afterward. You got the win now – ‘Yeah thanks buddy, I go and celebrate on my own now. I go home and celebrate, yeah.'”
LEWIS HAMILTON IS THE BELGIAN GP RACE WINNER AND ITS WIN 105 goat things pic.twitter.com/XTfaS0b9EP
— eri (@hamxnda) July 28, 2024
Hamilton‘s frustrations could have also stemmed from the fact that his teammate was able to execute a one-stop strategy while he wasn’t. Despite his tires feeling good through all the stints, the team did not allow him to stay on the set of hard tires he had fitted on his first stop.
He led much of the Belgian GP, but Lewis Hamilton had to settle for P2 behind Mercedes F1 team-mate George Russell in the end
Should Lewis have won? pic.twitter.com/CTnyqkUgGX
— Autosport (@autosport) July 28, 2024
Despite his frustrations in the immediate aftermath of the race, Hamilton showcased symphaty towards Russell and his Mercedes team. The 39-year-old felt for Russell, who failed to get his third F1 win. Meanwhile, he also felt for Mercedes, who failed to get a 1-2.
