Lewis Hamilton recounted that his "heart truly sank" when a Ferrari mechanic was struck during a chaotic pit‑stop at the Belgian Grand Prix, an episode that later resulted in a hefty fine from the race stewards. The incident unfolded when Hamilton’s right‑front tyre came into contact with a crew member who was positioned in front of the wheel attempting to adjust the front wing. Although the mechanic was knocked to his knees, he escaped any serious injury.
Hamilton immediately halted his car, assisted the crewman back to his feet, and then exited the pit box. Following the race, the stewards opened a formal investigation, ultimately imposing a €30,000 penalty on Ferrari, with €10,000 of that amount suspended for a year.
In its statement, Ferrari acknowledged a series of procedural failures: an untimely instruction to adjust the wing, unclear communication within the team, and the mechanic’s failure to notice the green light that signalled Hamilton to leave. These lapses occurred against a backdrop of a "complex and unusual combination of circumstances" at a stop that was already delayed because Hamilton had served a five‑second penalty before any work could commence on his car.
The stewards found no culpability on Hamilton’s part, noting that he had already suffered a "sporting disadvantage" due to the extra time required to leave the pit lane. Consequently, his fourth‑place finish stood, moving him back into second place in the Drivers’ Championship, 45 points behind race winner Kimi Antonelli and ahead of George Russell. When reflecting on the pit‑stop confusion, Hamilton said his mind instantly flashed back to a similar, far more serious incident at the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix, when a botched Ferrari stop for Kimi Raikkonen resulted in mechanic Francesco Cigarini sustaining a double leg fracture. Hamilton expressed genuine relief when he learned that the mechanic involved on Sunday was unharmed.
"The green light went and so I went," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. "You’re looking over here, you’re not looking over there – that’s more on the team, ultimately. But when it happened, I saw him, I stopped, and the memory of the 2018 accident rushed back.
My heart really sank for a second. I’m really grateful he’s OK." The pit stop had already been lengthened because Ferrari’s crew had to wait five seconds before changing the tyre, a delay imposed after Hamilton served a penalty for causing a collision with George Russell at Les Combes on the opening lap.
That earlier clash spun Russell out of the race; Russell later blamed his own car’s straight‑line speed deficit rather than Hamilton for the incident on the long Kemmel Straight. In the post‑race interview Hamilton chose not to dwell on the details of the collision.
Instead, he accepted responsibility for his own qualifying performance, noting that he had qualified sixth but was promoted to fifth on the grid after Lando Norris received an engine penalty. He explained that a mistake during the final practice session had compromised the car’s suspension balance, costing him valuable tenths of a second. "I don’t blame luck," Hamilton said.
"I think about the mistake I made yesterday, so I take full responsibility for the fourth place I ended up with. The car was damaged, and when they rebuilt it they missed something on the suspension, so the balance was completely different. That probably made me a few tenths slower in qualifying.
Then the five‑second penalty was a domino effect from my own error." Despite the setbacks, Hamilton praised his team’s strategic work and pit‑stop execution, adding that without the damage his pace could have been competitive for the win. He emphasized that the team continues to improve the car’s performance and that the experience will feed into future races. Looking ahead, Formula 1 will travel to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix, with every session broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 starting this Friday.
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