Lewis Hamilton says he is hoping Ferrari’s pace will be stronger over a race distance at the Belgian Grand Prix after his crash in final practice left the team rebuilding his car ahead of qualifying. Hamilton said: "I hope so. In FP3 the car was feeling really good, and I did a bit of a long run, the car was feeling great. It is a slightly different, subtly different car setup-wise, so I'm still hoping it's good."




Lewis Hamilton said his “heart really sank” when his Ferrari hit a mechanic during a pit stop at the Belgian Grand Prix, but he was relieved the crew member was unhurt after stewards fined the team €30,000. Hamilton said: "The green light went and so I went. You're looking over here [to the left at the lights] you're not looking over there so that's more probably on the team, ultimately. But when it happened, then I noticed him and I stopped and it just went through my mind in that moment was back when Kimi hit and broke a leg and my heart really sank for a second."

Lewis Hamilton says his opening-lap collision with George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix was “a racing incident”, despite the Ferrari driver being given a five-second penalty after Russell retired from the race. Hamilton said: "Ultimately, sorry for George because that obviously ended his race, but I did think… I do agree that it was a racing incident. It's not like I went in aggressive and was misplaced or anything like that. I think it was just an unfortunate scenario, which happens in racing. Then I had damage as well, so I carried that through the race. It was a tough one."

Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies said the team have made their car “stronger and stronger” and believes they can fight for podiums “pretty much at every circuit” after Max Verstappen finished third and Isack Hadjar climbed to sixth at the Belgian Grand Prix. Mekies said: "First, it is a very strong result for everyone back at [the factory in] Milton Keynes who has worked so hard to get the car stronger and stronger. We have made a step forward after Austria and it was a bit more of a difficult weekend in Silverstone, and here we have confirmed that we can fight for podiums pretty much at every circuit. The last bit to get is the most difficult, and Kimi had still a sizeable advantage."

Oscar Piastri said Charles Leclerc should at least have been shown a black-and-white flag after their lap-eight collision while battling for third at the Belgian Grand Prix, which stewards decided required no action. Piastri said: "From where I was at, I was on the white line and got squeezed. I don't really know where I was supposed to go, so the fact that was no... I'm not saying it needed to be a penalty necessarily, but at least a black-and-white flag or something like that, because if we think that that's fine… even just the incentive of knowing that you can leave everyone the absolute bare minimum space and get away with it, that's not the nicest place to be."


Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur said Lewis Hamilton’s five-second penalty for his opening-lap collision with George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix was “mega harsh”. Vasseur said: "I think it's mega harsh. If you have a look on the corner, Russell had enough space on the left-hand side, it's not that he was close to the wall. I think it's more a racing incident for me and this cost us a lot."

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said the team were not expecting to be so competitive at Spa-Francorchamps after Charles Leclerc finished second in the Belgian Grand Prix and Lewis Hamilton took fourth. Vasseur said: "I think overall, it's a very strong result for the team. We were not expecting this kind of result at Silverstone and Spa due to the layout of the track. We did a good job with execution, good strategy, good pit stop. I think on the chassis side we are doing a strong job, we are bringing upgrades. It's paying off, small steps but small step by small step, we are catching up."

Get the full feed, faster alerts, and the stories worth following on your phone.