George Russell's disqualification at the Belgian Grand Prix Sunday was a rare result for Formula One and those who bet on the sport.
During Sunday’s race, it looked like Mercedes driver George Russell had clinched a victory at the lengthy Spa track. But despite crossing the finish line first ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton by 0.526 seconds, Russell was disqualified two hours later due to his car failing the required compliance weight inspection, falling 1.5 kilograms under the minimum weight set at 796.5 kilograms.
Russell only made one pit stop during the race, relying on his tires to last the final 34 laps, which appeared to be a miraculous feat. While official inspection remains underway to identify the cause of the weight failure, Russell’s team anticipates that the amount of rubber lost from keeping the same tires intact may have led to the disappointing disqualification.
It’s been 18 years since Robert Kubica had his BMW disqualified during the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. He was 2 kilograms underweight, slightly more than Russell on Sunday at Spa. However, that was a seventh-place disqualification. The last time Formula One had a winning driver disqualified was nearly 30 years ago when Michael Schumacher was disqualified due to an equipment violation at the same track during the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix.
A disqualification given to the outright winner has a huge impact on F1’s standings and bettors alike. Outright bets, finishing position bets, and manufacturing model bets are all subject to being graded differently based on individual sportsbook rules that determine how to settle an outright winner disqualification.
Career win No. 105 for Lewis ?#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/3jjXiv26jV
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2024
Previous DQs testing sportsbook rules
Despite being different motorsports, Formula One bettors awaiting their final result to be graded following Russell’s disqualification can expect similar outcomes at their preferred sportsbooks based on Denny Hamlin’s disqualification at the 2022 NASCAR M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400.
Hamlin, who was initially ruled the outright winner, was later disqualified due to “some material that was somewhere that it shouldn’t have been,” located in the nose of Hamlin’s vehicle.
Kyle Busch, who recorded a runner-up finish, was also disqualified due to the same illegal location of material within the nose of his car, which allegedly could have impacted the car’s aerodynamics.
In the aftermath of Hamlin and Busch's 2022 DQ, licensed online sportsbook operators settled bets differently based on their rules.
Sports bettors at DraftKings made out the best, with rules stating that all NASCAR markets would first be settled using the unofficial results. But if changes were made during post-race inspection, these previous winners would still be paid out, on top of the new winner also being graded out as an outright win.
Caesars Sportsbook also ruled Chase Elliot, who initially finished third in the 2022 NASCAR event at Pocono Raceway, as their only graded outright winner. Hamlin and Busch's disqualifications were settled as losses in various outright and finishing position betting markets at Caesars.
Meanwhile, BetMGM and FanDuel’s rules on motorsport disqualification kept winning wagers to Denny Hamlin, falling back on their rules that all wagers settled are based on the unofficial results, even after taking post-race changes into account. Busch was also graded out as runner-up at these two sportsbooks, with Elliot getting graded as a third-place finish.
Most sportsbooks siding with podium results
Fast forward to Russell’s disqualification at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton became the winner after recording a runner-up finish before the disqualification ruling was made.
While most prominent regulated and licensed online sportsbook operators have opted to grade out the final podium result at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, with Russell as the outright winner, some smaller sportsbook operators have taken a different approach. This includes Paddy Power sportsbook, which paid out on Russell and Hamilton outright wins, similar to how DraftKings handled Denny Hamlin’s disqualification during the 2022 M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400.
