Lewis Hamilton and George Russell collided at the first corner of the Qatar Grand Prix, sending the seven-time F1 world champion onto the gravel and out of the race.
Lewis Hamilton has accepted responsibility for the collision with George Russell that ended his Qatar Grand Prix after just a few seconds.
The seven-time world champion tried to pass his teammate on the outside of the first corner. But this action caused a collision between the Brits which sent Hamilton spinning on the gravel, ending his race.
Russell suffered damage to his front wing, forcing him to stop at the end of the first lap. But fortunately, the Mercedes driver stood firm and quickly promoted. For Hamilton, there was nothing left to do but trudge back to the pit lane and complete his media duties. Speaking to reporters, he absolved Russell of responsibility for the collision.
“I really apologize to my team,” he said. “The scoring opportunity was there, in the heat of the moment, I really don’t understand what happened. Obviously I felt the blow from behind but I didn’t think George had anywhere to go. It’s just one of those really unfortunate situations. I happily accept the responsibility.
“Everyone works extremely hard so it’s tiring to receive results like this. You have to prepare and invest time. Very rarely does this happen to me. I hope George can get his points back today, I will support him.”
Apparently, Hamilton had calmed down somewhat after his immediate reaction to the incident while still in the cockpit. After confirming on the radio that he was uninjured, he stated:
“I was eliminated by my own teammates.”
Russell is especially lively compared to Hamilton. He first cursed loudly on the radio, before shouting:
“Come on! What’s going on? Guys, come on. Two races in a row.”
Immediately after that, he became even more emotional when he said:
“I’m so sorry guys, I didn’t even look back. I was just focused in front of me and it came out of nowhere. Honestly, I couldn’t find the words. I just watched the replay on the TV screen.” . TELEVISION. I can’t” I did nothing, completely trapped.
He was so focused on the incident that Toto Wolff, watching at home while recovering from knee surgery, felt compelled to get on the radio with Russell and say:
“George, run now, make the most of it.” And he quickly set about doing just that, with the team still hopeful that a return to fourth place is possible.
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