lewis hamilton had his latest Formula 1 race unraveled in a hurry. The Mercedes driver was forced out of the Belgian Grand Prix after a second lap collision with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso.
While Alonso managed to escape relatively unscathed enough to resume the race, sparks were visibly coming out of Lewis Hamilton’s car which led to his retirement 42 laps early.
Check out Hamilton and Alonso towards the front of the pack touch wheels, sending the former’s car into the air and into an abrupt exit:
This onboard angle of Lewis Hamilton's collision in the opening lap with Fernando Alonso 👀#BelgianGPpic.twitter.com/SDLE70i4x0
— ClutchPoints Racing (@RacingOnCP) August 28, 2022
It’s an unfortunate result for Lewis Hamilton, who had his sights set on a race win after the lengthy midseason hiatus. The 7-time World Champion reportedly stayed on the track until after midnight with the sole focus of coming out on top on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton reveals he didn't leave the track until after midnight yesterday. He spent all night with his team trying to find a way to win today 🧠pic.twitter.com/75h5ptimb3
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) August 28, 2022
A downtrodden Lewis Hamilton was depicted walking along the dirt path with his result already set in stone, which has since gone viral on social media.
lewis hamilton going on a hike on a nice sunday evening pic.twitter.com/OBrC6jwz9m
— ellie (@charlxslando) August 28, 2022
Going into the Belgian GP, Hamilton was firmly in sixth place in the driver standings with 146 points behind Carlos Sainz’s 156 tally at fifth and well ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris with 76 points at seventh. He would have needed every point and shined in every remaining race to have a shot at one of the top spots or miraculously contend against Max Verstappen for another championship battle.
But with this scoreless outing, it’s looking bleak for Lewis Hamilton’s prospects this season.