Lewis Hamilton believes his accident during the final free practice session triggered a series of events that led to his collision with George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix.
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Lewis Hamilton is convinced that his collision with George Russell at Spa-Francorchamps originated long before the start of the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver believes that his accident during the third free practice session disrupted his entire weekend, ultimately leading to the first-lap incident that earned him a five-second penalty.
An accident with heavy consequences
On Saturday morning, in the final moments of free practice, Hamilton made a mistake coming out of the Fagnes corner.
After a trip through the gravel trap, his Ferrari violently hit the barriers, tearing off a rear wheel and seriously damaging its rear wing.
While the mechanics managed to get the SF-26 back in shape in time for qualifying, Hamilton believes the car was no longer perfectly set up.
“Ultimately, it was a complicated weekend. I take the responsibility for my accident, which then led to a series of consequences. The settings were no longer right, and I found myself poorly placed in qualifying.”
According to him, without that off-track excursion, Ferrari could have aimed for much better.
“With a properly set up car, I think we could have fought for third, or even second place.”
A grid position that changed everything
Hamilton believes his grid position put him in a situation that should never have happened.
At the start, George Russell suffered a battery issue on the climb up Eau Rouge, allowing Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to overtake him.
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Approaching Les Combes, Russell tried to regain his position, before the two Britons made contact.
“I found myself further back on the grid and therefore in a position where I was fighting with George. He seemed to have lost power, then he came back on the outside, and we made slight contact.”
Hamilton especially regrets the consequences for his former teammate.
“I sustained damage and it was truly regrettable to see his race end like that. You never wish for that.”
Hamilton still disputes his penalty
The stewards deemed the Ferrari driver responsible for the collision and handed him a five-second penalty.
In addition to this sanction, Hamilton states that the damage to his Ferrari cost him a significant loss of performance.
“I did everything I could with the damage I had on the car. We lost about fifty points of aerodynamic downforce.”
However, the Briton still believes that the collision was simply a racing incident.
“I think it was a racing incident. Honestly, I don’t believe it deserved a penalty, but that’s how it is.”
Despite these difficulties, Hamilton managed to climb back up to fourth place, a result he considers the maximum possible given the circumstances.
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