Fortune favours the bold and for George Russell, the bravest of calls delivered the very sweetest of rewards.
With 12 laps to go, the question came from Mercedes to Russell. Having stopped on lap 10, would Russell risk it all by switching to a one-stop strategy, just as all his rivals dived back into the pits for a second time?
The answer came loud and clear. Russell chose to stick, rather than twist.
His team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, looked set to be the beneficiary of that call. On fresher tyres, he looked to be holding all of the aces.
But as the laps counted down, Russell stood firm all the way to the chequered flag to cap a brilliant drive having started sixth.
George Russell pictured celebrating after winning Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa
Russell was visibly delighted following the race, which he won in a time of 1:19:57.040
It was a good day for Mercedes as Russell finished just ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton
However, Hamilton looked a little disappointed in the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s race
‘We definitely didn’t predict this result this morning in our strategy meeting,’ said Russell, who made it three wins in six races for Mercedes.
‘I kept saying we could do a one-stop. It was a team effort. The strategy guys did a brilliant job.’
Sixth was where McLaren’s Lando Norris ended up as he failed to close the gap on Max Verstappen in the drivers’ standings.
There have been plenty of false dawns already this season for Norris and McLaren. And on a day where he simply had to capitalise on the 10-place grid penalty handed to title rival Max Verstappen, it was the fine margins which saw that opportunity evade his grasp again.
It was another disastrous start from Norris, who dropped three places to seventh by the end of the opening lap after running wide at the first corner. Verstappen, meanwhile, had climbed two places and to within two of the McLaren driver.
Up front, Hamilton’s early pace was eye-catching and he had no issue in gliding past Charles Leclerc and out of DRS range to prevent the Ferrari driver from mounting a reply.
Russell was mobbed by members of his crew following Sunday’s impressive victory at Spa
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri (left) – who finished third in the race – pictured shaking Russell’s hand
Russell pictured on top of the podium at Spa, flanked by Hamilton (left) and Piastri (right)
Verstappen, meanwhile, continued to close the gap on Norris before Red Bull made their move. A bold, unexpected one as Verstappen pitted at the end of lap 10 in a bid to undercut his rivals. That, though, meant dropping back to 14th and having to navigate his way back through the field.
After Hamilton regained the lead when Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz pitted, Norris began to make ground on his Red Bull rival.
The gap continued to close ever so slightly to the point it seemed a matter of time until Norris would make his move. But then error No 2 of the day as Norris locked up going into the final chicane, undoing all of his hard work.
Then came Russell’s call. It made for nervous viewing in the Mercedes garage with Hamilton on the attack. ‘Just make sure to leave each other plenty of space,’ came the message to Hamilton.
It felt like a matter of time until he passed him. But the moment never came, with Russell clinging on to a deserved victory.