Lewis Hamilton has stated it is “disappointing” for Mercedes to lose a 1-2 result after inheriting victory at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Hamilton took the chequered flag in second place behind race-winner George Russell, who completed the race on a one-stop strategy.
However, it soon emerged that Russell’s car was underweight, resulting in his disqualification from the final result.
Hamilton was subsequently declared the winner, marking his second victory in three races as Mercedes continue to make gains towards the front of the field.
While it marked a difficult day for the Mercedes team, Hamilton hailed the positive pace of the car.
“It is of course disappointing for the team to lose the 1-2 but there are lots of positives to take away from today,” he said.
“The car was feeling good, and we had much better pace than we expected. There were several cars that seemed similar in terms of performance but once we had got ahead, we were able to maintain that position.
“We committed to the two-stop strategy and covered those directly behind us.”
Hamilton crossed the line just half a second behind Russell before being stated as the winner following the post-race checks.
The seven-time world champion declared he feels sorry for his team-mate but has hailed Mercedes’ upward trajectory as F1 heads into the second half of the season.
“George was able to make the one-stop work and, although I got close to him in the final few laps, I was unable to get past in the dirty air,” Hamilton added.
“I feel for George, and you don’t want to win a race through a disqualification, but we have been back in the fight for victories in the past few races.
“It is incredibly competitive now, so we will need to work hard to battle for wins more consistently.
“Nevertheless, we can go into the summer break with momentum and positivity.”
