Hamilton and Russell's F1 crash during Qatar GP mocked by Verstappen and Piastri

09 October 2023 , 06:18

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Hamilton and Russell's F1 crash during Qatar GP mocked by Verstappen and Piastri

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were the butt of the joke following Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix after disaster struck for Mercedes on the first lap.

The two team-mates dramatically collided on Turn 1, sending Hamilton off the track and ending his race after just 10 seconds. Russell, meanwhile, recovered to finish fourth and earn 12 points. Hamilton soon admitted that the crash was "100 per cent" his fault as Mercedes' rivals took full advantage.

In the cooldown room after Red Bull star Max Verstappen went unchallenged and romped to yet another victory, he and runner-up Oscar Piastri were seen laughing about the incident. Joined by McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, who finished third, Australian driver Piastri exclaimed after watching a replay of Hamilton and Russell's collision: "Ha! Wow. Thank you, Mercedes."

Verstappen, who after the sprint race on Saturday was crowned world champion for the third successive year, then told his fellow drivers: "You know what they call that? The law of the jungle."

Hamilton's head was certainly a jungle after finding himself speaking to the media while the GP was still in full flow. The distraught Brit took full responsibility for the crash, telling Sky Sports: "I just feel really sorry to my team. It was an opportunity today to get some good points.

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"In the heat of the moment, I didn't really understand what happened, I just obviously felt the tap from behind. But I don't think George probably had anywhere to go and, yeah, it's just one of those really unfortunate situations. I mean, I'm happy to take responsibility as the older one."

Lewis Hamilton's Qatar Grand Prix was over after just 10 seconds (Mohammed Dabbous/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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The seven-time world champion also wrote on Twitter: "I've watched the replay and it was 100% my fault and I take full responsibility. Apologies to my team and to George."

Russell also posted a video of him being greeted by his team-mate after the race. Hamilton was heard saying: "Sorry about today. It wasn't your fault. Great job."

Looking ahead to the US Grand Prix in two weeks' time, Russell added as the caption to further cool the air: "No hard feelings. We're here to fight and maximise for the team. We misjudged it today, but our car was exceptionally strong and I'm proud of the whole team. Time to regroup and continue building off the strong pace in Austin."

Nathan Ridley