Lewis Hamilton stated that the accident suffered in FP3 of the Formula 1 Belgian GP triggered a sequence of events that compromised his performance in Spa-Francorchamps. The Ferrari driver believes that the problems started on Saturday and had a direct impact on his race on Sunday.
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According to the seven-time champion, the damage caused to the SF-26 altered the car’s setup and compromised his starting grid position. For Hamilton, this put him in a situation that ultimately resulted in the incident with George Russell on the very first lap of the race.
In the final moments of FP3, Hamilton ran wide at the exit of the Fagnes chicane during his last flying lap. As he went through the gravel, he hit the barrier with the rear of the car, losing the rear wheel and damaging the suspension and rear wing.
Although the Ferrari mechanics managed to prepare the car for the qualifying session, the Briton believes that the performance was compromised. Still, he secured fifth position on the starting grid, but understands that he could have competed for higher positions.
“I take responsibility for my incident, which had a chain effect, leaving the car’s setup inadequate and putting me out of position in the qualifying session. With the correct setup, I think we could have been fighting for third or second place,” he stated.
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At the start, Russell faced battery problems on the climb up Eau Rouge and was eventually overtaken by Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on the Kemmel straight. The Mercedes driver tried to regain position on the approach to the Les Combes chicane, but the two cars touched, sending Russell into the gravel and causing his retirement.
“That meant starting further back, and then I was in that position with George. It seemed like he lost power, then he appeared on the outside and we had a small touch. I suffered damage, and it was really unfortunate to see his race end. You never want to see that happen,” Hamilton added.
The stewards applied a five-second penalty to the Ferrari driver for causing the collision. Hamilton stated that the damage to his car represented a loss of ’50 points of downforce’ and argued that the incident should have been treated as a racing incident: “In the race, I did the best job possible with the damage I had, and as for the penalty, I think it was a racing incident. Honestly, I didn’t think it should result in a penalty, but it is what it is,” concluded the seven-time champion.
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