Lewis Hamilton has issued an apology and accepted full responsibility after he and his Mercedes teammate George Russell clashed at the Qatar Grand Prix. Hamilton admitted he was at fault for the crash which put him out of the race and said the pair would talk about it to clear the air.
Hamilton was attempting to overtake Russell at turn one on the opening lap at the Lusail Circuit but as he turned in on his teammate, Russell had nowhere to go with Max Verstappen, who went on to win the race, on his inside. Hamilton clipped Russell and span off, losing his right rear wheel.
Both drivers initially believed the other to be at fault but when Hamilton saw the incident he accepted he was to blame. “I’ve watched the replay and it was 100% my fault and I take full responsibility,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Apologies to my team and to George.”
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The pair are both contracted to Mercedes until 2025 and Hamilton insisted they would continue to work together constructively.
“The relationship is not broken,” he said. “I don’t have any problems with George. We have a great relationship and we always talk about things. This is just unfortunate and I am sure he was frustrated in the moment, as I was, but we will talk about it offline and move forwards.”
Russell, who went on to recover to finish fourth, also believed the pair would be able to put the incident behind them
“There was nothing intentional both ways,” he said. “These cars are so difficult to see when you are racing – there are blind spots. We have so much respect for one another, we will get past this and I am sure we will speak and I am sure everything will be OK.”
Mercedes later posted a video of the pair embracing in the team’s hospitality unit.
