SIR LEWIS HAMILTON was forced to retire in the first round of the Belgian Grand Prix after a dramatic crash in the opening lap.
The Stevenage speedster went over the top of Fernando Alonso after colliding with the Apline ace in the second corner of the Spa race.
Hamilton soared through the air but miraculously didn’t harm the Spaniard and was able to continue driving – albeit not very well.
After the collision, Mercedes chiefs told the Brit: “Stop, stop, stop!”
The seven-time champion begrudgingly listened to their advice, bringing his race to a premature end.
A furious Alonso raged on the Apline team radio: “Yeah. What an idiot!
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“Closing the door from the outside. I mean, we had a mega start.
“But this guy only knows how to drive and start in first.”
F1 fans were quick to react to the dramatic opening lap, with one saying: “All on Lewis there, anyway who says otherwise doesn’t watch F1.”
Another said: “Lu lu can only drive at the front with a fast car.”
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And another said: “As Fernando, said he only knows how to drive from 1st in the fastest car, complete fraud.”
One remarked: “Alonso just turned in on him.”
Another chimed in: “How’s that happened then?”
Mercedes superstar Hamilton was confident of picking up his first win of the season ahead of this afternoon’s race.
He said: “We’ve been improving, we’ve had this consistency of the recent races and great progress that the team is making, everyone pulling together and continuing to push.
“The car is becoming more of a racing car, which is not particularly what it was at the start of the year!
“It’s more like a normal racing car in terms of its characteristics so that’s positive.
“The last race was the best showing we’ve had so far. That for us was a huge boost, that we can close that gap.
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“It’s naturally going to be tough, we’ll keep our heads down.
“The other guys are doing an amazing job but I do believe we can close the gap.”
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
