‘Grateful to be alive’ Lewis Hamilton says he almost broke his back in Belgian Grand Prix crash
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Lewis Hamilton says he ‘almost broke my back’ and is ‘grateful to be ALIVE’ after terrifying crash that saw his Mercedes car bounce out of the Belgian Grand Prix on the opening lap
- Lewis Hamilton says he is grateful to be alive after Belgian Grand Prix crash
- The British legend bounced out of the race following first lap collision at Spa
- Mercedes driver reveals he almost suffered serve injuries in the impact of crash
- The 37-year-old took full responsibility for crash with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso
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Lewis Hamilton says he is ‘grateful to be alive’ and almost ‘broke my back’ following the crash that saw him exit the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The seven-time F1 Champion saw his Mercedes car bounce up into the air whilst vying for second place with Fernando Alonso during the first lap on the race.
Hamilton admits he almost broke his back during the crash, but took full responsibility for the incident after Alonso had called him an ‘idiot’ following the incident on turn 14.
Lewis Hamilton admits he is ‘grateful to be alive’ following crashing out of Sunday’s Grand Prix
Hamilton says he was at fault for the first lap crash that saw his car bounce up into the air
The 37-year-old driver was unable to continue the race at Spa-Francorchamps and was forced to retire following the damage to his Mercedes car.
‘I almost broke my back coming down,’ said Hamilton.
‘So it’s a big, big hit. I remember just looking at the ground. So it was quite high. It was definitely high up. I’m grateful to be still alive and in shape.’
Such was the impact of the crash Hamilton was ordered to get medical assistance following the crash, which he refused and resulted in a warning from the race stewards.
The collision with Fernando Alonso forced Hamilton to retire from Spa-Francorchamps race
‘I could hear something’s broken in the gearbox,’ added Hamilton.
‘Coming down I would have broken so much in the back end. So I was told to stop. But obviously, in that moment, you’re hopeful you can keep going. But yeah, not meant to be.’
The Mercedes driver already admitted not giving Alonso enough space in the collision and said that his former McLaren team-mate was in his blind spot when he collided with him.
Hamilton confessed he could have broken his back in the incident that saw him crash out
The retirement a missed opportunity for Hamilton, who having already elevated himself from fourth to on the grid to fighting for second, would have hoped for a podium finish in Belgium.
Instead, the race was won by championship leader Max Verstappen, who despite starting 14th on the grid, won the race by 20 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
The victory extends the Dutchman’s lead at the top of the championship to 93 points as closes in on retaining his F1 championship crown.