Lewis Hamilton, Alexander Albon, Red Bull Ring, 2020

Hamilton: No “bad blood” with Albon after second collision in three races

2020 Austrian Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton says there is no “bad blood” between him and Alexander Albon following their second collision in three races last weekend.

The pair tangled in the Brazilian Grand Prix last year and again at the Red Bull Ring last weekend. The Mercedes driver was penalised for both collisions, each of which cost Albon a potential podium finish.

“Firstly, I have a huge amount of respect for Alex,” said Hamilton following Sunday’s race. “I think he’s a super-talented young man and I don’t have any bad blood or bad feelings towards him whatsoever.

“In Brazil, you saw me come straight to him. That was, for me, wholeheartedly my mistake and my problem. I tried to face it with the dignity.”

However Hamilton hasn’t changed his view their latest collision in Austria was a “racing incident”.

Alexander Albon, Lewis Hamilton, Interlagos, 2019
Hamilton apologised to Albon in Brazil
“He was on a much better tyre. I entered the corner, committed in blocking, but obviously I was defending the position. I took the corner as normal, had quite a lot of lock on to get around the corner. The track drops away when you go through that corner so a lot of people understeer through there.”

Hamilton said he “continued to decrease in my speed” at the exit of the corner. “He jumped on the power, he had so much grip. He still had a like a car’s width to the left of him. And ultimately, we touched.

“I think it’s unfortunate that we collided and I wouldn’t want to ever collide with anybody. I did think it was unfortunate. But I have to respect the decision that the stewards ended up taking. There’s nothing you can say otherwise about it.

“I did apologise, before I’d seen the incident I apologised to Alex in an interview, just because in the heat of the moment you don’t always have the viewpoints of everything. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Obviously I then went to watch the replay and I think he it was a racing incident as I said.”

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38 comments on “Hamilton: No “bad blood” with Albon after second collision in three races”

  1. It sounds as if Hamilton can’t let this go. He was at fault, he should just accept it. If anyone is legitimately annoyed it must be Albon whose race was ruined by a driver being either careless or clumsy.

    1. Well clearly when asked about whether there’s bad blood, he has to answer the question Wutan. Reads to me like he was also asked whether he still believes it a racing incident, which he also answered, in the positive.

      And given what he said about Albon having space on outside, I’d suggest that while moving on as is wisest, clearly the FIA ‘explanation’ (believing that wasn’t the case) for the penalty was based on a false understanding of the situation, which makes it logical to keep believing it was a racing incident.

      1. Sorry, Witan

      2. @bosyber

        The entire question is silly because Lewis made the mistake and ruined Albon’s race, not the other way around. So of course Lewis doesn’t have bad blood, when he was the one that hurt someone else’s race.

        1. @aapje so what can Hamilton change about the question. And I agree that even if it shouldn’t have been worth a penalty because Albon could have taken a wider line (ie. he also helped ruin his race by being careless and believing rather than checking he had the overtake done, even before the car issue stopped his race), the issue would not be with him, but at most with the Stewards, with whom it is rather useless to have bad blood – basically, Hamilton’s answer could easily be seen as a polite way of saying the question doesn’t make sense, while still making the point the stewards were wrong.

          1. He can answer it differently or tell the interviewer to ask the question to Albon.

            Also, I completely disagree that Albon could have taken a substantially wider line. When hit, he was quite close to the edge of the track, while his wheels weren’t straight yet, so he was still drifting out.

    2. Pay attention at Lewis’ steering lock when cars tangled. Then comment! He explained everything as it happened.

      1. There is more than the steering wheel to tell the story. There are also the gas and pedal brakes. And when to press them. Lewis is known for squeezing opponents on the outside of a corner and some of the most memorable ones were when he was fighting with cry-baby Nico Rosberg. Many of those did not turn into “racing accidents” because they were racing for the same outfit. He did not like being squeezed by Leclerc in Monza last year, which was Leclerc’s fault.
        Lewis could have avoided the collision with Albon and decided not to. Punishment fits the crime.

        1. Greetings! How about knowing when no to release the pedals you mentioned? I mean, release the throttle and let your V6 apply revdown to not optimally warmed tyres (not to mention the disaster it would represent if the electrical deployment was being used to defend the position) could result in both of them excurtioning to gravel, let’s not forget the drag being ripped off the equation so fast, forcing HAM to rely only on barely warmed hard compound tyres. It’s not that we are saying ALB was at fault, bot he helped to create the whole situation by not taking into consideration the fact that he would fight a car on not enough warmed hard tyres thus he should had used more track, he himself said he thought the move was done, but it wasn’t. Even us, playing Forza or GT would had used more track, kerbs and even the runoff area, wich, by the way, everybody was using during the weekend.

          PS: check BOT line in that event, a little wider than HAM, he wasn’t fighting anybody and had to nurse his car by avoiding the kerbs.

        2. @svianna
          examine the gas pedal and steering in these two events as well, sherlock… what you see?
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbleaPvjoYg

          i will tell you a hint: it is about an experienced racer who knows when to back out, vs an inexperienced rookie RED BUL crash academy racer

    3. All of these comments were made directly after the race. They’re not new. This site is regurgitating them now but they’re 3 days old. Seriously, although it wasn’t Alex’s fault but he also contributed to it. He admitted he was already focused on Valtteri, when he hadn’t completed the pass on Lewis yet. If you actually LISTEN to Lewis talking about the incident, there’s no hint of him blaming Alex, no deflection. He’s sorry that they came together.

  2. +1 @bosyber

    It really annoys me when people comment that drivers or teams are moaning about specific situations when they are simply responding to a question.

  3. Ahh, the famous Hamilton apology…..”I didn’t do anything wrong, just a racing incident.”
    He should learn a lesson from Max, and at least by Alex a cold beer.
    (And he should change his approach to, given the fact he has denied Alex 2 podiums in the last 3 races and apparently doesn’t take safety serious at all, despite him whining otherwise in Mexico.)

    1. Albon himself ruined the race when he decided to overtake Hamilton no matter what in this place. Albon had a huge advantage in the quality of tires and could make overtaking a little delay. It wasn’t Hamilton who hit Albon’s wheel, but the other way around. It is enough to compare the struggle for position between Hamilton and Albon at the beginning of the race and between Albon and Hamilton on lap 61. So Horner for the lost victory can blame only to his pilot, who at the crucial moment lost his mind.

      1. Yes, Albon was wrong to try an overtake. You should not try to upset the king.

        Understood.

        1. Understood? Clearly you don’t.

      2. The best drivers actually have always taken opportunities when presented. He had to get up the road to Bottas whilst his tyres were still fresh. Hamilton was like that in his early days, think Monza 2007 on Kimi for example.

        It was just unfortunate for Albon, but he did the right think in overtaking when he did. Hamilton just understeered into him, not intentionally perhaps, just clumsy driving.

  4. Nice of him to say that… But surely if anyone would be annoyed it’s Alex!

    Hamilton was always going to be overtaken in Austria so he should have allowed a clean pass and got on with his race.

  5. These two are crashing as often as Vettel. Maybe no bad blood, but certainly not the way to do it.

  6. The key moment: not Hamilton crashed into Albon, but Albon’s rear wheel crashed into Hamilton’s front wheel. It was enough for Albon to delay the attack a little and he could not only claim the podium, but also bring his team victory. So public claims of Horner and Albona to Hamilton is nothing but an attempt of psychological pressure. It remains to be hoped that Horner will explain to Albon that the team expects from him not only risky attacks, but also reasonableness.

    1. In my humble opinion, you wouldn’t had the same comment if it was Verstappen being overtaken by Hamilton and crashing on him the same way Ham did on Albon. Even a Ham fan can see It was Hamilton to blame for this accident, even if it was a downhill turn. Albon was already clear of him and left him enough space. Hamilton is not a rookie, he can put his care where he wants. He didn’t want to be overtook from the outside, tried to squeeze, but Albon was too quick due to new tires , more traction. So when ham realized, Albon was almost full car ahead of him. Simple as that.

  7. Adam (@rocketpanda)
    9th July 2020, 12:26

    “I did nawt hit him, I did nawwwt!! … Oh hi Alex”

    1. “You’re tearing me apart, Lewis!” – Alex

    2. Lewis Hamilton does not have a Jamaican accent, but thanks for the racism

      1. Adam (@rocketpanda)
        9th July 2020, 15:27

        Oh my god I’m joking about the Tommy Wiseau film the Room, adopt a sense of humour you flannel.

      2. @Will Jones

        It’s a Polish accent. Also, whoosh.

  8. Is there an onboard from Albon’s car?

    1. That what seems strange to me, a week have passed and we haven’t seen footage from Albon’s car.
      That would clear a few things for me.

      1. Same here… Sometimes I have the feeling F1 is more about the narrative than facts.
        Why not provide ALB’s car footage and make Horner shut his mouth? He’s making the stewards no favour.

  9. It was just what was missing !!!
    I mean, Albon has no two places on the podium, and there is still a strong possibility of being able to reach the first place (in the last), and Hamilton says that there is no problem with Albon.
    Of course, the problems were created by him !!!

    1. If Albon really believes that Hamilton is solely responsible for this incident, then this is a real problem of Albon.
      Once again, repeat for the most critical commentaries: not Hamilton crashed into Albon, but Albon crashed into Hamilton.
      Albon had only to demonstrate pilot maturity and wait for overtaking in a more useful place.
      It was enough to follow the example of Hamilton, shown in the first laps of the race and confidently overtake later. In the first laps of the race, Albon also defended his position by closing the gate for Hamilton. But Hamilton made his overtake.

      1. William Jones
        9th July 2020, 14:41

        Absolutely correct. Hamilton ceded the racing line – he hit the apex, and at that point was on the racing line. At the point of collision Alex’s Left tyres were on the white line. The racing line there is with your Right tyres touching the white line.

        So Hamilton had demonstratively given one and a half car widths away from the racing line – because Alex was almost a full car width inside of it.

        If Alex was outside the racing line at Apex and inside at point of collision then he Crossed the racing line, squeezing Hamilton – not deliberately because as he said and I believe, he did not know he still had an overlap, he was focused on Bottas.

        Therefore the evidence is that Hamilton ceded the racing line, Albon made an unexpected move off it when holding it would have avoided the collision. As a result the cars collided. Albons fault. Racing incident, no penalty required.

        If you disagree, then one of the following must be untrue, if they are all true then everything I said is the only logical conclusion:

        1. Hamilton has the racing line at corner Apex

        2. Hamilton was almost a cars width from the white line with his left tyres at point of collision

        3. A car in full race speed at that corner brushes the white line with its right tyres.

        Ie Hamilton moved off the racing line

        1. Albon did not have the racing line at corner apex

        2. Albon was touching the white line with his left tyres at point of collision

        3. As point 3 above.

        Ie Alex took the racing line then, crossed it and moved inside of it

        1. Moving off the racing line to line up with the next car up the road before you are clear of the car you’ve just overtaken us an unexpected manoeuvre.

        2. Alex confirmed he was indeed mistaken in that he thought he was clear of Lewis, and was focused on Bottas up the road.

        3. Not realising you are not clear of a car you’ve just overtaken and moving into them has always been considered a racing incident in the past.

        Conclusion, Albons fault, racing incident.

        Prove me wrong! :D

        1. You are right.
          But Masi think another.
          And it is very strange

          1. GtisBetter (@)
            9th July 2020, 15:57

            From what I can tell, Masi didn’t give the penalty, he gave the case to the stewards who gave the penalty

        2. With all due respect, but I don’t have to prove it.
          I respect your opinion. But I don’t agree. Just as the Stewards did not agree. Even, as Hamilton himself recognized at first, assuming his guilt, but then he changed his mind after seeing the images !!!!!!

          REASON: “The Stewards reviewed video evidence showing that cars 23 and 44 were side by side approaching the apex of turn 4. They negotiated the turn side by side, but car 23 had a better exit and was in the process of passing car 44. Car 44 was drafting to the outside at the exit of turn 4 and consequently making contact with the rear right wheel of car 23, causing car 23 to spin. The Stewards determined that the driver of car 44 is predominantly to blame for the collision. ”

          More: Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal certain decisions of the Stewards, in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA ​​International Sporting Code and Article 10.1.1 of the FIA ​​Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, within the applicable time limits. ”

          And, why did the Mercedes team not appeal ????

          1. I was just being tongue in cheek at the end there, though am very open to being convinced – I just don’t see how if each of my statements is accurate, then any rational and logical human can draw any other conclusion – but watch those fallacies- appeal to authority and what I believe is a Tu Quoque fallacy!

          2. “Car 44 was drafting to the outside at the exit of turn 4 and consequently making contact with the rear right wheel of car 23”
            Yes. Masi exactly what was said.
            This is where the strangeness lies.
            The strangeness lies in this distortion of the sequence of events.
            In fact, it was not car 44 that hit car 23, but car 23 that caught up with car 44 until the collision.

      2. Great comment. I would only add had Albon used the kerbs and the runoff area he could not only finished the move but also aligned his car better to the next curve.

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