Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton made a great start at the 2022 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, allowing them to overtake Sergio Pérez and move into second and third respectively, but everything went awry at the end of the Kemmel Straight.
Both arrived very evenly at Les Combes and contact was inevitable. The Mercedes driver climbed on top of the Spaniard’s car, which fortunately escaped the impact unharmed and was able to finish the race in fifth position, a very positive result for him and for Alpine.
However, luck was not the same for Hamilton , as the Briton suffered a serious blow after Alonso ‘s car catapulted him upwards at the moment of wheel-to-wheel impact.
The seven-time world champion took the blame, but that did not prevent the two-time Spanish champion from feeling at the time of the incident that his former teammate’s action had been totally out of character, which is why he said the following over the radio : “What an idiot! What a way to close the door by going on the outside! We had a mega start but this guy only knows how to drive and win by going first!”.
These words did not sit well with Mercedes and proof of this were the comments of a Lewis Hamilton who refused to apologize to the Asturian driver despite acknowledging his guilt.
On the other hand, the manager of the Brackley team, Toto Wolff , was also not far behind and also replied to Fernando Alonso with a message that hid a bit of sarcasm.
“Well, it’s true that [Hamilton] has started from the front many times. And he’s won seven Formula 1 world championship titles, so the strategy seems to have worked for him.”
Analyzing the accident between his driver and the Alpine driver on the first lap of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, the Mercedes driver also recognized that Hamilton had been to blame, since Alonso could not do much more to avoid contact given his situation.
“Yes, it just didn’t leave room for him inside. Fernando was on top of the piano, there wasn’t much else he could have done and yes, I apologize for the incident, from the team’s point of view. Rarely does something like this happen to him. to Lewis.”
It is not the first time so far this season that Hamilton or Toto Wolff have crossed statements with Fernando Alonso, with the most controversial chapter in the Monaco Grand Prix, in which the Asturian slowed down the pace on purpose, leaving the Briton far from the fight to then pick up the pace again and show that he was managing the race to his liking.
