Hamilton accepts blame for Qatar crash with Russell

Hamilton joined the Mercedes team back in 2013 and has been driving for them ever since.

In the Qatar Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton took responsibility for a mishap with his fellow Mercedes colleague, George Russell, during the initial stages of the race.

Hamilton acknowledged that it was entirely his fault when attempting to pass Russell and Verstappen from the outside. After reviewing the footage, he realized his mistake.

In a post made on social media, Hamilton expressed that he accepts complete accountability.

Russell expressed his gratitude towards the individual who apologized. He believes that in any situation, there are two parties involved.

The racer who has won seven times made an error in judgment when he was turning at the corner. It seemed like he didn't realize that Russell couldn't shift closer to the inside because Verstappen's car was right beside him.

During the race, Hamilton's back-right wheel hit Russell's front-left wheel and as a result, they both went off-track. Sadly, this ended Hamilton's participation in the race. However, Russell managed to carry on and even though he was last by the end of the first lap, he bravely fought his way back to finish in fourth place.

Hamilton was even more motivated to move up from his third starting position because he was using soft-compound tires, while Verstappen and Russell, who were in the front row, had opted for mediums.

Hamilton was at a disadvantage due to limited tyre options imposed by officials for safety reasons, resulting in a suboptimal tyre selection.

The Mercedes team talked prior to the race about Hamilton's chances of overtaking Russell in the beginning and later taking a pit stop after completing merely eight laps.

According to Hamilton, it was evident that they had distinct tyres, but his teammate expressed the idea of collaborating by saying: "Let's just work together." They engaged in a discussion about the possibility of working hand in hand.

We didn't intend to unite. I feel very disappointed for the team, as we put in a lot of effort to achieve the same goal. I feel very sorrowful for everyone, including myself, regarding my role in this situation.

Both drivers affirmed that their relationship would not be affected by the incident.

Hamilton stated that there is no issue with his relationship with George and it is not damaged. They have an excellent level of communication and always discuss things with each other.

"It's really unfortunate, and I'm sure he was feeling frustrated at the time, just like me. However, we'll discuss it privately, and then we'll make progress."

Russell expressed his disappointment, stating that the situation was a missed chance for both him and the other party involved.

Our objective is to secure the second position in the constructors' championship.

This morning we had numerous talks about how we could collaborate effectively. Our aim is not to compete against each other, but against Ferrari.

"We ended up with a higher score than them, and there were no deliberate actions from either team."

Russell came in a position ahead of Charles Leclerc, who was the sole Ferrari driver to commence the race since Carlos Sainz's vehicle malfunctioned due to a fuel system leakage.

With only five races left, Mercedes is ahead of Ferrari by 28 points in the race for the team's title.