Lewis Hamilton showed his class in the aftermath of his crash with George Russell at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, apologising to his team-mate in the paddock.
The two Mercedes drivers came together at turn one on the opening lap of the race when Hamilton didn’t leave enough room on his right-rear tyre when attempting a move around the outside of Russell.
Hamilton was initially frustrated over the radio, complaining: “Yeah, I got taken out by my own team-mate.” However, after rewatching the incident he quickly owned up to his role in the crash.
Taking to the X social media platform, Hamilton wrote: “I’ve watched the replay and it was 100% my fault and I take full responsibility. Apologies to my team and to George.”
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However, Hamilton wasn’t satisfied with his initial apology with the seven-time world champion making sure to go and apologise to Russell in person at the Mercedes trackside facility in the paddock.
In a video posted to the Mercedes social media channels, Hamilton found his team-mate before embracing and stating: “Sorry about today, it wasn’t your fault. Great job.”
The crash cost Hamilton dearly in his battle with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. The pair are separated by 30 points in the Drivers’ Championship standings heading into the final five races of the season and this was a major missed opportunity with Checo way down the order.
Despite his initial frustrations, Russell was quick to downplay any hard feelings after the race. He told Sky Sports F1: “We both had the possibility of standing on the podium. Obviously nothing intentional both ways.
“These cars are so difficult to see when you are racing – there’s big blind spots. We both have so much respect for one another. We will go past this and I’m sure we will speak and everything will be OK.”
The 25-year-old was running down in P14 after the lap-one incident and was placed on the alternative strategy out of necessity, producing an impressive comeback drive to finish in fourth place behind Max Verstappen and the two McLaren drivers.