Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin says the first corner collision between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in Qatar “was simply a mistake”.
The two Mercedes contenders came together shortly after the start at Lusail when Hamilton gained a slight edge over his teammate as the pair entered the first corner thanks to his soft tyres, while Russell had launched his race on Pirelli’s medium compound.
But the seven-time world champion then moved across and clipped Russell’s left front wheel, which pitched Hamilton into a spin and into the gravel while Russell was able to recover and resume his race although he was left to chase from behind.
Shovlin explained that the cause of the high-profile clash was route in Hamilton’s forced tyre choice.
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“Of all the drivers on the grid, Lewis had the most limited options available in terms of his race tyres and, in particular, in terms of the medium compound,” said the Mercedes engineer, speaking in the team's Qatar Grand Prix debrief video on YouTube.
“This was, in part, due to the laps that we did on Friday morning before we had any awareness that there might be an issue with the tyres.
“The medium tyre that he was going to run was so short on life it was actually very similar in range to the soft.
“Given that George had got a very good start with the soft the day before (in the sprint), and it also went very well on the safety car restarts, we elected to start Lewis on the soft tyre because of that better grip off the line.”
“There was also unlikely to be any downsides in terms of range.”
Shovlin pointed out that both Hamilton and Russell knew about the likelihood of the former enjoying a strong run down to the first corner after the start. The scenario had been discussed with the team on Sunday morning.
“We discussed the start tyre choice with both drivers on Sunday morning and there was always going to be a chance that Lewis on the soft tyre was going to get a better start and overtake George before Turn 1,” added Shovlin.
“That was always considered but they were aware they were on different strategies.
“It was important they didn’t lose time racing each other, and that was clear, but we weren’t imposing team orders in the race.
“What happened at Turn 1 was simply a mistake.”
The optics of the crash were reminiscent of the spectacular run-in between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Barcelona in 2016.
However, after both drivers vented their ire in the aftermath of the collision, in the heat of the moment, Hamilton acknowledged his responsibility and apologized to Russell.
"I definitely appreciate him apologising," Russell said. "As I said on the radio, in every incident it involves two people ... Lewis and I have huge respect for each other. Nothing was intentional from either side.
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