Since the disastrous race at the latest Qatar Grand Prix, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has been caught up in the aftermath. The incident in question that took place during the race was when Hamilton in his attempt to overtake teammate George Russell and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, crashed into the former in the very first lap.
This collision resulted in the premature departure of the 38-year-old driver as the race had ended for him right at that heated moment.
However, Lewis Hamilton took full responsibility for his actions and Russell assured all that their relationship was still intact.
The team principal Toto Wolff finally spoke about this incident where he said, “As a team, you never want to see your cars collide. It was encouraging though to see how the drivers and the team reacted. Both Lewis and George know the team comes first and do not ever intend to jeopardize that. I am sure we will all grow from this moment.”
#F1: Toto Wolff: “The last round in Qatar was a case of what might have been. As a team, you never want to see your cars collide. It was frustrating to leave a lot of points on the table, particularly as the pace of the car was strong.”
“It was encouraging though to see how the…
— deni (@fiagirly) October 17, 2023
Over the last few races, the competition between the two drivers was intense. A similar situation took place at the Japanese Grand Prix where the Mercedes cars were in a wheel-to-wheel battle with one another and after what happened at the Lusail circuit, the Silver Arrows team was feared of internal turmoil which fortunately did not happen.
F1 pundit believes Lewis Hamilton is being targeted setting aside the Qatar incident
Fans were not happy when the FIA decided to revisit the events that followed the crash at the Qatar Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton was fined for crossing the live track when the race was still going on. Such a move is not only dangerous for the driver, but it holds a high potential of causing damage to any other driver or jeopardizing the race altogether.
However, Hamilton acknowledged his mistake but many believe that this judgment is unfair and biased. The former driver and Sky Sports F1 pundit, Johnny Herbert also believes the same.
📰: Former F1 pundit Johnny Herbert defends Lewis Hamilton, calling criticism unfair. Hamilton under scrutiny for Qatar track walk, fined €50,000, and reprimanded. Herbert believes criticism for on-track collision with Russell is too harsh, emphasizing Hamilton’s clean racing… pic.twitter.com/8jTjk6HT9F
— F1 Naija (@f1_naija) October 19, 2023
As he spoke to Lucky Block, he said, “Lewis Hamilton is definitely a role model. The criticisms leveled against him for the accident with Russell going into Turn 1 were not fair. Even a seven-time World Champion makes mistakes. Even the best have made mistakes. And Lewis has made very few mistakes in his career. I’d struggle to count them on the fingers of one hand.”
As the grid is headed toward the Americas for the last few races that are left in the F1 calendar like that in Austin and Mexico, it will be interesting to see if Mercedes and Hamilton repeat the same blunders or do better for themselves and take the P2 spot in the Constructors’ Standings.