Lewis Hamilton fires shots at Fernando Alonso as dig that wasn’t shown on TV emerges | F1 | Sport
Lewis Hamilton has claimed he and Fernando Alonso had “different careers” in a swipe at his former team-mate after the pair came together at the Belgian Grand Prix. It came after Alonso called Hamilton an “idiot” moments after the pair collided on the opening lap.
Alonso even suggested Hamilton only knows how to drive when he was starting from the front. Speaking to Brazilian TV, Hamilton said: “I prefer not to comment about that. We had different results in our careers. This is the kind of thing you say in the heat of the moment.”
Hamilton and Alonso came to blows after the pair had excellent starts and passed Sergio Perez’s Red Bull. Hamilton was in the slipstream down the fast Kemmel Straight and swept to the outside in a bid to get second place.
It looked as if the seven-time champion could make the move stick but turned in too early and they made contact. Alonso’s front wing hit the side of Hamilton’s rear right tyre which launched the Mercedes into the air.
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He added: “I mean, I would have until I heard what he said, so it’s unfortunate. I mean, it’s motor racing, I gave it everything. I tried to overtake on the outside into turn five, just didn’t leave quite enough space and I paid the price for it. It wasn’t intentional, it just happened.”
Alonso said he was “surprised” Hamilton had taken responsibility for the crash but admitted it was “very nice from him”. Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell was unable to hold onto the leaders on Sunday but was quick enough for P4.
The result has allowed the former Williams man to extend his championship advantage over Hamilton to 24 points with just eight races remaining.
