Lewis Hamilton ‘grateful to still be alive’, admits his mistake for crash in Belgium Grand Prix

Max Verstappen clinched the Belgium Grand Prix on Sunday (August 28) but British driver Lewis Hamilton made heads turn following a crash with Fernando Alonso. Now, the Mercedes driver opened up on the crash and claimed that he was “grateful to still be alive” while admitting he was at fault after hitting Alonso during the opening lap.

The crash launched Hamilton’s car in the air, with the damage prompting him to retire from the race there itself. As per a report in The Guardian, the 37-year-old opined, “Looking back at the footage he was in my blind spot, I didn’t give him enough space. It is my fault. Just, so sorry to the team. I could not see him. I am sorry to the team and I need to recuperate and get back on the treadmill.”

On the other hand, Alonso wasn’t impressed with Hamilton’s tactics and called him “an idiot” on the team radio following the incident. This, in turn, has led to the seven-time champion Hamilton claiming that he would refuse to interact with the Spaniard with regard to the crash.

Having started the race on a good note before Hamilton’s crash, Alonso slammed the former and said, “What an idiot closing the door from the outside. We had a mega start but this guy only knows how to drive and start in first.” The Spaniard said added: “Why does he close the door? I just don’t understand.”

To this, Hamilton hit back at Alonso and said, “No. I would have until I heard what he said. I know that’s how things feel in the heat of the moment, but it’s nice to know how he feels about me.”

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While Hamilton retired from the race following the unfortunate turn of events, Alonso settled for the fifth slot. However, Hamilton chose to see the brighter side to have walked away injury-free. 

“I remember looking at the ground, it was definitely high up. I’m grateful to be still alive and in shape,” he said.

Verstappen clinchs drama-filled Belgium GP

“It was quite a hectic first lap to try and stay out of trouble,” said Verstappen in an official statement. “So many things were happening in front of me. But once we settled in after the Safety Car, the car was really on rails, we picked the right places to pass people and we could look after our tyres and that is how we made our way forward,” the Red Bull racer opined.

“After that, once we were in the lead it was all about managing everything – but this whole weekend has been incredible. It`s been a weekend I couldn`t imagine before, but I think we want more of them, so keep working hard,” he further added.