Lewis Hamilton has apologized to his team-mate George Russell and Mercedes for the collision that occurred at the first corner during the Qatar Grand Prix. The incident caused Hamilton to spin off into the gravel and also resulted in damage to the Mercedes car.
Lewis Hamilton apologized to George Russell and Mercedes for causing a collision with his teammate at the start of the Qatar Grand Prix. He took full responsibility for the incident.
In Sunday’s race, the Mercedes drivers and Max Verstappen raced closely for the lead, going three abreast into Turn One.
Hamilton tried to pass the other Mercedes car on the outside but accidentally touched wheels with his countryman, causing both cars to spin off the track.
Hamilton took responsibility for the incident after both drivers initially blamed each other.
Even before seeing a replay of the incident, a downcast Hamilton had told Sky Sports F1: “I just feel really sorry to my team. It was an opportunity today to get some good points.
“In the heat of the moment, I didn’t really understand what happened, I just obviously felt the tap from behind.
“But I don’t think George probably had anywhere to go and, yeah, it’s just one of those really unfortunate situations.
“I mean, I’m happy to take responsibility as the older one.”
Hamilton admitted his mistake and apologized to his team and teammate on social media after watching the replay later.
“I’ve watched the replay and it was 100 per cent my fault and I take full responsibility,” he posted on X.
“Apologies to my team and to George.”
Russell was very angry about what happened during the race and expressed his frustration through team radio messages.
The 25-year-old had to go to the pit for repairs on the first lap, but then made a strong comeback and finished in fourth place.
Russell seemed more relaxed during interviews after the race. He also shared a message on social media, including a photo and video of him hugging Hamilton, along with the words “no hard feelings.”
Russell also wrote that “we misjudged it today”.
Mercedes started the race with Russell in second and Hamilton in third, just behind Verstappen who had taken pole position. The team used different tyre strategies in the beginning of the race. The FIA had imposed rules that limited the maximum number of laps each tyre could be used due to safety reasons, making the strategy even more challenging.
Russell and Verstappen both started the race using medium tyres. These tyres are in the middle range provided by Pirelli and offer a good balance between speed and durability.
Hamilton began the race with new soft tires, which provide better initial speed and grip but wear out quicker, leading to an earlier pit stop. Since Hamilton started on the cleaner side of the grid, he was expected to put pressure on the front-row starters early on.
Both Mercedes cars and Verstappen had good starts at the beginning of the race. Verstappen moved to block Russell while Hamilton was slightly behind them on the outside.
As the group of cars sped down the straight, the two leaders moved to the left to take the best path for the upcoming right turn. This meant Hamilton had to move even further left. However, he saw an opportunity to overtake the other Mercedes car by going around the outside of it as they approached the braking zone of the first turn.
Unfortunately, something unexpected and unfortunate happened next.
During the race, Hamilton’s tire hit Russell’s tire, causing Hamilton to spin off the track and end his race.
Russell also spun but managed to continue despite his damaged Mercedes. He had to pit at the end of the first lap as the Safety Car was deployed due to Hamilton’s stranded car.
The drivers and the team were shocked by what had just happened during the race. They were caught off guard because crashing into a teammate is a big no-no in motorsport.
Russell
“[Expletive] Come on! What the hell?
“Guys, come on. [Expletive] Two races in a row!”
Peter Bonnington, Hamilton’s race engineer
“Lewis, I hope you’re OK mate?”
Hamilton
“Yeah, I got taken out by my own team-mate.”
Russell
“So sorry, guys, I wasn’t even looking behind. I was just focused ahead and he just came from nowhere. Arghh!”
Russell
“[Expletive]. Lost for words, honestly. I’ve just seen the replays on the TV screen. I couldn’t do anything. I was totally sandwiched.”
Marcus Dudley, Russell’s race engineer
“Keep your head down, keep it in this race.”
Russell
“Yeah, I know, I know, I know. It’s… [expletive] lap one.”
Toto Wolff, Mercedes team principal
“George, let’s race now. Let’s do the best out of it.”
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