Lewis Hamilton has acknowledged that crashing out of a race is a rare occurrence for him. The Ferrari driver expressed bewilderment over the incident at the Dutch Grand Prix, where he lost control of his car on the banked third corner of the Zandvoort track.
Inclement weather conditions preceded the crash, and video replays revealed Hamilton’s car sliding onto a painted area off the track, resulting in a loss of traction that led to the car colliding with the barrier and damaging the front-right wheel.
During an interview with Sky Sports amidst the ongoing race, Hamilton refrained from attributing the crash definitively to the weather conditions. He mentioned, “I’m really not sure, I’ll have to look back at it. As I went up the bank, the rear snapped out and I couldn’t recover it.”
Despite the setback, Hamilton expressed satisfaction with his car’s performance up to that point. While he finished 12th in the previous race in Budapest, he was running in seventh place before the crash, trailing closely behind George Russell in the Mercedes.
Hamilton commented on the incident, saying, “It was a bit twitchy, the car, but I think we made real progress this weekend and the pace was looking pretty decent. I was catching George and I think I had the pace of a few cars ahead of me, but very unusual to not finish a race and to go out so early is definitely not great, but it is what it is.”
The timing of the crash also affected Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc, who had just made a pit stop for fresh tires when the incident occurred. This allowed other drivers to change tires efficiently during the safety car period, with Russell gaining an advantage over the Ferrari team.
The race witnessed a heated battle between Leclerc and Russell, culminating in Leclerc overtaking Russell to reclaim fifth place. However, Russell raised concerns about Leclerc’s maneuver, prompting post-race investigations by the stewards.
If Leclerc receives a penalty, it will need to be served at the upcoming race in Monza. Unfortunately, Leclerc joined Hamilton as a non-finisher in the Dutch Grand Prix after a collision with Kimi Antonelli.
The incident involving the Mercedes rookie attempting a risky maneuver on Leclerc led to a damaging collision at turn three, resulting in both cars sustaining significant damage. Leclerc’s car suffered a severe impact, causing him to retire from the race.
For Formula 1 enthusiasts, Sky’s new Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle offers live coverage of every practice, qualifying session, and race, along with savings of £192, in addition to access to over 100 TV channels and complimentary subscriptions to Netflix and Discovery+.