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Lewis Hamilton was labelled an idiot by fellow Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso after their Belgian Grand Prix collision – but the stewards elected not to penalise the Mercedes man due to mitigating factors.
Hamilton had tried to go around the outside his sometime McLaren team-mate Alonso entering Les Combes on the opening lap, but was hit by the Spaniard’s Alpine, with Hamilton’s Mercedes sustaining what ended up race-ending damage.
Alonso, who lost positions in the contact but managed to continue, absolutely excoriated Hamilton on team radio in the aftermath, telling his Alpine team: “What an idiot! Closing the door from the outside…
“We had a mega start, but this guy only knows how to drive starting first.
Hamilton gets airborne in the clash with Alonso 👀
The Mercedes driver has damage and his team tell him to stop. Hamilton is out of the race. #BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/HGrde2u5BN
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 28, 2022
“Why, why he closes the door?”
The FIA stewards investigated the clash during the race and effectively backed up Alonso’s view that he was blameless.
Yet they decided against sanctioning Hamilton, seemingly applying the opening-lap lenience that has been an unwritten policy of the governing body in recent F1 seasons.
“The stewards reviewed the video evidence and determined that Alonso was on the inside at Turn 5,” the verdict read.
“Hamilton’s front wheels were ahead of Alonso’s at the entry to the corner. Alonso moved his car off the line to the inside with both right-side tyres fully on the kerb and even somewhat inside the kerb.
“At no point did Alonso appear to lose control or understeer.
“Hamilton turned in towards the apex of the corner with Alonso still alongside, and the collision occurred.
“The stewards considered that this was a first-lap incident with a lot of movement relative to the other cars in the first few corners, and thus take no further action.”
