Lewis Hamilton to Contact George Russell After Spa Clash

Lewis Hamilton plans to contact George Russell after their opening-lap collision at the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix ended his former team-mate’s race and earned Hamilton a five-second penalty.

The two drivers were running side by side as they entered Les Combes before Hamilton’s car made contact with Russell’s Mercedes. The impact sent Russell into a spin and left him stranded in the gravel, preventing him from continuing and costing him an opportunity to score important championship points.

Russell appeared emotional while speaking to the media after the race, but still described the contact as a racing incident. The stewards reached a different conclusion, holding Hamilton responsible for causing the collision and issuing a five-second penalty, which the Ferrari driver served during his pit stop.

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“I’ll text him later on because everyone rushes out of here,” Hamilton said when asked whether he would speak to Russell.

“The last thing you ever want to do is come together with your team-mate or with your old team, who I highly respect, with George. But it happened.”

The penalty ended Hamilton’s opportunity to challenge for a podium, although his race pace remained one of the main positives for Ferrari. The seven-time world champion recovered to finish fourth, while Charles Leclerc secured second place and delivered another front-running result for the team.

The performance strengthened the signs of Ferrari’s progress after the team had been expected to struggle at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. Both circuits place significant demands on aerodynamic efficiency, high-speed stability and power delivery, yet Ferrari remained competitive across the two weekends.

“It’s just showing that the car is moving in the right direction, and really it’s just down to the team doing such a great job of bringing improvements every weekend,” Hamilton said.

The collision with Russell still limited Hamilton’s final result in Belgium, as the five-second penalty removed him from podium contention. However, his recovery to fourth place and Ferrari’s performance at two high-speed venues provided the team with a positive foundation heading into the next round.