On the first lap, Lewis Hamilton attempted to overtake Fernando Alonso around the outside of Les Combes after pulling parallel with the Spaniard on the Kemmel Straight. The Englishman was ahead of the Alpine when they rounded the bend, leaving the two-time champion out of space and causing a collision.
While the man from Oviedo was able to continue, the rear of the W13 rose into the air, and the British had to stop due to the damage caused by an alleged water leak. Later, Hamilton took the blame for the accident, explaining that his rival was in a blind spot.
“It was my fault,” he admitted to Motorsport.com of the crash. “It was unfortunate, that’s car racing, I’ve given my all to try and overtake on the outside of Turn 5. I didn’t leave enough room and I paid the price for it. It wasn’t intentional, it just happened.
Alonso was furious over the radio at Lewis Hamilton , calling his rival an “idiot”, saying that “he only knows how to run by starting first”. When asked about the Spaniard’s comments, the Englishman said it was “good to know” what the Alpine man thought of him.
“I really do have an answer to that. I know things come up in the heat of the moment, but it’s nice to know what you think of me,” the seven-time champion smiled wryly. “You better get what you think out there and like I said it wasn’t intentional, I take responsibility for it, that’s what adults do.”
When asked if he was going to speak to his former McLaren team-mate, he said: “No, I would have until I heard what he said.”
He added that he was glad to be uninjured after taking such a violent vertical hit when his car hit the tarmac, noting that his car was clearly terminally damaged: “I remember looking down, I was high up.”
“I’m thankful I’m still alive. I could hear that something had broken in the gearbox, and if I’d kept going it would have smashed the rear, so they told me to stop,” the Mercedes man revealed. “But obviously at that point, you’re hopeful that you can continue.”
The FIA stewards determined that the Englishman turned towards the Spanish, but as it was an incident on the first lap, they did not retaliate: “Hamilton’s front wheels were ahead of Alonso’s at the entrance of the corner.”
“Alonso took his car off the line to the inside with both tires on the right side of the curb, even on the inside. At no time did Alonso seem to lose control or understeer, Hamilton swung into the apex of the corner with the other car still on the side. side and the collision occurred,” the FIA said.
“The stewards considered that it was an incident on the first lap with a lot of movement compared to other cars in the first corners, and therefore they did not take any further action,” they concluded.
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