Lewis Hamilton suggested that Mercedes pitted him too early as took the chequered flag second at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell won on track as the younger Brit made his hard tyres last for 30-plus laps on a one-stop strategy, but was later disqualified as his car was found to be under-weight.
Meanwhile Hamilton, and the rest of the chasing pack, opted for two stops and although the seven-time F1 world champion was within half-a-second of Russell in a thrilling finale, he could not squeeze past his team-mate.
Prior to news of Russell’s disqualification, a frustrated Hamilton said after the race at Spa-Francorchamps: “I was trying to get close to George, he did a great job going long on the tyres.
“Every stint I had tyres left but the team pulled me in. Unfortunate, but it is what it is.”
Hamilton took the lead from Charles Leclerc early in the race and Mercedes responded to Leclerc pitting a second time round in pitting Hamilton a lap later.
Yet Russell, adamant over team radio that the team should keep him out on a one-stop strategy, seemed to be vindicated in his bold call before the shock news hours after the race.
“We definitely didn’t expect it, congratulations to George and the team,” Hamilton added. “We had a disaster on Friday, car was nowhere. But it was fantastic today.
“If we can continue these types of performance, it will be fantastic. We’ve got to keep pushing.”
As a result, Hamilton claimed his 105th win in Formula One, with Oscar Piastri elevated to second and Charles Leclerc up to third.