Lewis Hamilton could have blamed the stewards, blamed the suspension, blamed the pitlane traffic light. Instead, he did something almost refreshing in modern F1: he pointed the finger squarely at himself. After finishing fourth at the Belgian GP, Hamilton admitted his FP3 crash at Spa set off a chain of events that cost him a genuine shot at victory.
One Mistake, Multiple Consequences
In the final minutes of FP3, Hamilton carried too much speed through Turn 13, clipped the barrier with his rear-right wheel, and dragged his Ferrari SF-26 back to the garage with substantial damage. The mechanics worked a minor miracle getting the car ready for qualifying, but something was lost in translation.
“I don’t count myself unlucky. I think about my mistake that I made yesterday. So, I take full responsibility really for the fourth place I ended up getting because I damaged the car.” – Lewis Hamilton
The suspension repair left the car’s balance noticeably compromised. Hamilton estimated the damage cost him roughly three tenths per lap in qualifying, a significant chunk when fractions of a second separate the frontrunners. He qualified sixth, two thousandths behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The Domino Effect Nobody Wanted
Starting further back than he should have, Hamilton then tangled with George Russell at Les Combes on lap one, collecting a five-second time penalty in the process. Russell was generous enough to call it a racing incident. The stewards were not. For further context on Russell’s miserable Belgian weekend, see how it all unravelled for him at Spa.
“And then I ended up further back, got in the incident, five-second penalty. So just like a domino effect from a mistake from myself. But the team have been doing a great job with strategy, pitstops. We are continuing to improve the car.” – Lewis Hamilton
A botched pitlane exit, where Hamilton drove into a mechanic who was still adjusting his front wing flap angle after the green light showed, added yet another layer of chaos. The mechanic was uninjured, but Hamilton lost the wing adjustment entirely and struggled through his hard-tyre stint. Ferrari were fined for the unsafe release.
The Silver Lining Nobody Should Ignore
Strip away the self-inflicted chaos, and there is a genuinely encouraging story here for Ferrari. Hamilton believes the SF-26 had the raw pace to fight for the win at Spa, one of the most power-sensitive circuits on the calendar. Given that Kimi Antonelli took victory for Mercedes, that is not an idle boast.
Ferrari’s strategy was sharp, the improvements are coming, and Hamilton is motivated heading to Hungary. The question is whether a seven-time world champion can stop handing away the very opportunities his team is finally creating for him.
