STAVELOT, Belgium – Lewis Hamilton was left to rue a missed opportunity after he was slapped with a five-second penalty during the sprint race of the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Saturday.
The penalty was a result of Hamilton colliding into Red Bull driver Sergio Perez of Mexico while battling for fourth on the grid during the race at the rain-drenched Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Red Bull driver and championship leader Verstappen converted pole position in the sprint to a win, claiming the lead back from McLaren rival Oscar Piastri after the two drivers opted for different strategies in a captivating wet encounter.
Amid plenty of action on the slippery circuit, Alpine driver Pierre Gasly made the most of the conditions to round out the podium.
The Mercedes of Hamilton was going side-by-side with the Red Bull of Perez through Blanchimont shortly after the race started, and the two race cars banged wheels when their lines converged.
Perez emerged with a chunk of his sidepod missing, and he tumbled down the order, took a trip through the gravel and then retired, while Hamilton finished fourth, but he dropped to seventh in the final result after the race steward dished out the penalty.
“I mean, I feel like it was a racing incident,” Hamilton said after the race. “It does feel like it was a racing incident, and in the trickiest of conditions. I was more than halfway alongside him, but a bit unfortunate.
“Ultimately fourth, with the penalty seventh, [but] you don’t really get a lot of points anyway in this session. We’ll try and fix the car for [Sunday] and hope for a better race [Sunday].”
Hamilton will start the F1 feature race on Sunday from fourth on the grid.
He is fourth in the F1 standings with 133 points behind Red Bull driver Max Verstappen (281 points), Perez (171), and Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso of Spain (139).
