Lewis Hamilton refused to blame misfortune for his Belgian Grand Prix struggles, instead pointing the finger firmly at himself after admitting that his podium hopes were compromised by his costly mistake during practice.
The Ferrari driver arrived at Spa-Francorchamps believing he had the pace to fight at the front, but his weekend was derailed in the closing moments of Saturday’s final practice session when he carried too much speed through Turn 13 and slid into the gravel before making contact with the barrier.
Although Ferrari repaired his SF-26 in time for qualifying, Hamilton felt the car never fully returned to its previous balance.
The resulting performance loss left him starting further back than expected, before an opening-lap clash with George Russell brought a five-second penalty and further complicated his race.
Rather than describing the chain of events as bad luck, Hamilton accepted responsibility for the outcome.
A mistake that triggered a costly chain reaction
"I don't count myself unlucky. I think about my mistake that I made yesterday," Hamilton told Sky. "So, I take full responsibility really for the fourth place I ended up getting because I damaged the car.
"Then when they rebuilt the car, they missed something on the suspension. The balance was completely different. So that meant I was probably a good couple of tenths, maybe three tenths slower than I should have been in qualifying.
"And then I ended up further back, got in the incident, five-second penalty. So just like a domino effect from a mistake from myself. But the team have been doing a great job with strategy, pitstops. We are continuing to improve the car.
"I think our pace today without the damage, I think we could have been challenging for the win."
Hamilton’s Sunday afternoon was also complicated by an unusual pit-lane incident when he made contact with a Ferrari mechanic as he exited the garage.
The team’s green light appeared just as the mechanic moved into position to adjust the front wing flap, leaving Hamilton without the planned setup change and compromising the opening phase of his hard-tyre stint.
Ferrari’s progress offers renewed confidence
Despite another weekend involving contact with the stewards – following his Silverstone penalty for moving before the start lights went out – Hamilton believes Ferrari is making genuine progress with its overall package and operations.
The seven-time world champion praised the team’s improved execution and believes the SF-26 is moving closer to becoming a genuine front-running contender.
"Yeah, definitely really encouraging," he said. "I think the team have been making great decisions with strategy, and we've been really elevated across the board in how we operate on the weekend. And then today, as I said, I think we had the pace to win today.
"We've given everything to come away with the points. It comes down to the cars moving in the right direction. It's just down to the team themselves. They're bringing improvements.
"I need to come correct next week to make sure I deliver the way I know I can deliver."
For Hamilton, Spa was not a story of missed fortune but a reminder that even the smallest errors can carry major consequences at Formula 1’s highest level. With Ferrari’s development curve pointing upward, he knows the next step is ensuring he matches the team’s progress with a cleaner weekend behind the wheel.
Read also: F1i Driver Ratings for the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix
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