Lewis Hamilton insists there was nothing malicious behind his opening-lap collision with George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix, describing the incident as simply one of those moments that can happen when drivers are battling at the limit.
The Ferrari driver endured a chaotic afternoon at Spa-Francorchamps that featured first-lap contact, a time penalty, race damage and a post-race investigation over an unsafe pit release.
Yet despite the drama, Hamilton recovered to finish fourth and was adamant that his clash with his former Mercedes team-mate was no more than a racing incident.
Russell's race ended immediately after the pair made contact as they entered Les Combes. Having lost crucial straight-line speed because of a Mercedes power deployment issue, Russell attempted to overtake Hamilton as the pair went wheel-to-wheel into the corner but the Ferrari’s front end drifted into the Mercedes, sending its unfortunate driver into the gravel.
Although the stewards deemed Hamilton predominantly responsible and issued a five-second penalty, the seven-time world champion saw the incident differently.
‘It was just an unfortunate scenario’
Hamilton expressed sympathy for Russell after the collision but maintained there had been no reckless intent behind his move.
"Ultimately, sorry for George because that obviously ended his race, but I did think… I do agree that it was a racing incident," he said.
"It’s not like I went in aggressive and was misplaced or anything like that. I think it was just an unfortunate scenario, which happens in racing. Then I had damage as well, so I carried that through the race. It was a tough one."
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur was also critical of the stewards' decision to sanction Hamilton.
"I think it's mega harsh," he said after the race. "If you have a look on the corner, Russell had enough space on the left-hand side, it's not that he was close to the wall.
"I think it's more a racing incident for me and this cost us a lot."
The incident left both drivers paying a price. Russell retired on the spot, while Hamilton carried damage for the remainder of the race as he fought to salvage a respectable result.
His afternoon became even more complicated during a Virtual Safety Car pit stop, where he served his five-second penalty before making contact with a mechanic while leaving the Ferrari pit box.
The unsafe release was investigated after the race, but Hamilton retained fourth place after Ferrari received a €30,000 fine.
Hamilton sees positives despite difficult weekend
Sunday’s race capped a frustrating weekend for Hamilton, whose preparations had already been disrupted by a heavy crash at the end of final practice that forced Ferrari's mechanics into a race against time to rebuild his car before qualifying.
Despite the setbacks, the seven-time world champion took encouragement from his pace on Sunday and believed the outcome could have been very different under cleaner circumstances.
"Hugely grateful for the points given the damage and given the crash yesterday," said the Briton.
"Ultimately, not a good weekend from my side. I think my race pace was strong today and I think without the damage, and probably without yesterday, I think we could have been fighting for the win today.
"Even with the damage I was challenging Charles [Leclerc]. It is what is, we move on, and hope we can have a better weekend next weekend."
Spa ultimately delivered more frustration than satisfaction for Hamilton, but after navigating one incident after another, the Ferrari veteran was able to leave Belgium with valuable championship points – and the conviction that the clash which defined his afternoon was simply part of racing.
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