Lewis’s Fault
The incident that occurred on the first lap between George Russell and Lewis Hamilton – which led to the immediate retirement of the English Mercedes driver – was judged by the stewards as the responsibility of the seven-time world champion. After an investigation lasting several laps, Hamilton was penalized five seconds for the collision with his former teammate.
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The penalty to the Ferrari driver is somewhat surprising because normally the stewards allow a sort of ‘free for all’ on the first lap of the race which in the past has often led them to overlook certain incidents.
💥 Here’s the contact between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell that ended Russell’s race.
A huge moment that completely changed the Belgian Grand Prix.#F1 | #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/EDW3aQnefX
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— Everything Formula (@evrythngformu1a) July 19, 2026
In this case, evidently the fact that Russell retired and that the dynamics of the collision clearly showed the Mercedes #63 ahead of the Ferrari #44 weighed heavily, although the impact happened due to a sort of crossing of trajectories, with Russell wanting to move outward to better approach the next corner and Hamilton wanting to move in the opposite direction.
Unlucky Period
Hamilton confirms himself in an ‘unlucky’ period in terms of penalties suffered since he had already received sanctions both in Monaco (for the infamous speeding in the pit lane) and at Silverstone (for a slight movement made on the grid before the start).
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