Lewis Hamilton admitted that his "heart truly sank" when a Ferrari pit‑stop mishap at the Belgian Grand Prix saw his right‑front tyre strike a crew member. The mechanic, who was adjusting the front wing at the moment the green light signaled Hamilton to leave the box, was knocked to his knees but escaped without injury. Hamilton immediately halted his car, assisted the crewman back to his feet and then exited the pit lane. The episode prompted a post‑race investigation by the stewards, resulting in a €30,000 fine for Ferrari, of which €10,000 is suspended for a year.
In its statement, Ferrari accepted responsibility for an "inappropriately late instruction" to adjust the wing, a breakdown in clear communication and the mechanic's failure to notice the green light. The team described the situation as a "complex and unusual combination of circumstances" that unfolded after Hamilton had already served a five‑second penalty for a collision on the opening lap. Because the stewards found no fault with Hamilton – noting that he was actually disadvantaged by the delay caused by the penalty – his fourth‑place finish stood.
The result lifted him back into second place in the Drivers' Championship, trailing race winner Kimi Antonelli by 45 points and staying ahead of George Russell. After the race, Hamilton reflected on the incident, recalling a similar, far more serious accident from the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix when a botched Ferrari stop for Kimi Raikkonen resulted in mechanic Francesco Cigarini suffering a double‑leg fracture.
"When I saw the mechanic on the ground I thought back to that moment in Bahrain," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. "My heart really sank for a second, but I was so relieved to learn he was OK." The pit stop itself had been unusually long. Ferrari’s crew were forced to wait five seconds before beginning the tyre change because Hamilton was serving a time penalty for the earlier clash with Russell at Les Combes.
That collision spun Russell out of the race, although the Mercedes driver 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 pit‑lane contact.
Instead, he accepted responsibility for his qualifying performance. After a crash in the final practice session, Hamilton qualified sixth, which was later promoted to fifth after Lando Norris received an engine penalty. "I don’t blame luck," he said. "I think about the mistake I made yesterday and take full responsibility for the fourth place I ended up with." He explained that the car had been damaged in the earlier incident and that the subsequent rebuild missed a suspension component, altering the balance and costing him tenths of a second in qualifying.
"That domino effect – the penalty, the damage, the rebuild – all stemmed from my own error," Hamilton added. "But the team have done a great job with strategy and pit stops. We’re continuing to improve the car, and without the damage I think we could have been challenging for the win." Looking ahead, Formula 1 moves to the Hungarian Grand Prix at Budapest, with every session set to be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Fans can stream the coverage via NOW without a contract and cancel at any time.
The incident at Spa serves as a reminder of how quickly a routine pit stop can turn precarious, underscoring the importance of precise communication and timing in a sport where fractions of a second can decide both safety and success.