Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) (AFP) – Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso calmed down to avoid a protracted war of words on Monday after their sharp collision at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) (AFP) – Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso calmed down to avoid a protracted war of words on Monday after their sharp collision at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Seven-times world champion Mercedes and his one-time McLaren teammate crashed on the opening lap with Hamilton forced into retirement after an airborne ride atop his rival’s car in the Alps.
In the midst of the moment, the veteran Spaniard slammed the British driver as an “idiot”.
Hamilton revisited the incident on social media, writing: “First I want to apologize to my fans and especially those who came to support me.
“After nearly 30 years of racing, the feeling left by one mistake is as cut off as the first.
“My team, who works hard, deserves more.”
Alonso, 41, was also more poised in his post-race comments and distanced himself from the impact of his original blast on the team radio when he said: “What an idiot! Shut the door from the outside.
“I mean, we’ve had a huge start, but this guy just knows how to drive and start at the beginning.”
Hamilton accepted full blame for the collision but was clearly put out by Alonso’s initial anger.
He noted that he had intended to speak to the Spaniard until “he heard what he said. I know that’s how things feel in the heat of this moment, but it’s good to know how he feels about me.”
“I was angry,” Alonso admitted, adding: “The radio, anyway, when you talk, you talk to your engineer and your team.
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“It’s a shame that everything is broadcast sometimes, because if it’s broadcast, that’s what you say now (at the moment), that (now) is how you act in the media.
“When you talk on the radio, it’s just a comment for your team, naturally.”
“I was definitely frustrated there,” he continued.
“Every time we started in the first rows of the grid, something happened, unfortunately, and I felt that way.
“But, you know, it was a normal accident, and unfortunately, Lewis had to retire from the car after the accident.”
Alonso was seen wagging his finger at Hamilton on lap two before settling down to finish fifth in the race.
The two have a colorful history since they were teammates at McLaren in 2007, Hamilton’s rookie season, when they fell out. Alonso left the team a year after a three-year contract.
The crash capped a disappointing weekend for the 37-year-old Hamilton who qualified 1.8 seconds away from world champion Max Verstappen who won the race from 14th on the grid, after taking a penalty, for Red Bull.
“We are not where we want to be,” said the Briton, still looking for his first win of the season.
“But we won’t stop pushing until we get to where we know where we belong. Sometimes that’s life, it happens, but it’s not the way we fall, it’s the way we get up.
“I will work as hard as I can to come back stronger.”
Meanwhile, Alonso also enjoyed making fun of Ferrari, with whom he faced strategic errors, particularly when he bid for his third driver’s title in 2010.
Asked about the Italian team’s intriguing strategy in Belgium, which put Charles Leclerc in sixth place, he said he was not surprised.
“No, not so much. Ferrari was doing weird things – and that was just another weird thing
