Lewis Hamilton is out of the Qatar Grand Prix after a dramatic collision with Mercedes team-mate George Russell at the very first corner of Sunday’s race.
Hamilton, who started third, drove around the outside of his team-mate, one place higher on the grid, and pole-sitter Max Verstappen before making contact with Russell’s machine.
Hamilton was sent into the gravel with the right-rear of his Mercedes flying off in the accident.
Both Hamilton and Russell pointed the finger at one another.
The moment of contact between the two Mercedes #F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/RTuip5teTo
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 8, 2023
“Come on, what the hell,” yelled Russell. “That is two races in a row.”
Russell was sent spinning round in the incident before limping back to the pits for repairs.
But Hamilton’s race was over. “Yeah, I got taken out by team-mate,” said Hamilton, 38.
Russell was back on the radio. “Sorry guys, I wasn’t even looking,” he added amid a flurry of expletives. “I was focused ahead and he came from nowhere.
“F*** I am lost for words. Honestly. I have just seen the replays on the TV screen. I couldn’t do anything. Totally sandwiched. “F***, come on.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is absent from this race – his second in a row – as he recovers from knee surgery.
But the Austrian came on the intercom in a move to calm Russell, 25, down.
“George, let’s race now, and get the best out of it,” he said.
