Mercedes has revealed that the first lap clash with Fernando Alonso last Sunday saw Lewis Hamilton's W13 hit the ground at 45G.

As the pair battled up the Kemmel Straight and into Les Combes, the seven-time world champion's right-rear wheel interlocked and went over the front-left on the Alpine, sending the Mercedes up into the air and crashing to the ground.

Though Hamilton was initially able to continue, he subsequently slowed, losing countless positions in the process, before being told to park the car.

"It was a large, large impact," admits the team's strategy director, James Vowles in the latest video debrief from the German team. "It was measured at 45G on the car which is very big on a vertical load.

"He will be okay, he will be back in Zandvoort fighting," he continues. "I think primarily for him he is frustrated, frustrated that he had a very fast race car and a podium was possible. But he, like all of us, are here to fight and continue moving forward."

While Hamilton is ok, though he was subsequently given a warning by the stewards, for refusing to visit the Medical Centre following the accident, which had triggered the Medical Warning Light signal, the team isn't entirely sure about his car, and there is concern over possible damage to the power unit.

"There are enough photos floating around the internet to show just how high the car was and how it landed and the impact was large," says Vowles.

"What we noticed almost immediately after the impact on the ground was a loss of coolant," he adds. "You can actually see on the on-board of Alonso that coolant really just flying out towards him and then you started to see temperatures rise fairly quickly and that was the primary reason for stopping him on track.

"It will take a few days to review all the components. Clearly there is going to be overloads to the suspension components and gearboxes and we need to make sure to understand the full extent of what's required before Zandvoort."

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Pavlo, 01/09/2022 11:37

"I think it's all interconnected. The problem of bouncing is because the car is very stiff, as low and stiff as possible to get maximum grip and ground-effect on the "perfect surface" of a track. Then it creates issues o n any curb or bump. And bouncing gets to the driver's back instead of being absorbed.
Softer car wouldn't fly so high and would absorb the force of falling from just 1 meter without such enormous G-force.
Maybe F1 would be better if try to be more "relevant" by making track conditions less perfect. So that cars will have to be designed to handle normal conditions ... like rain :)"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by Superbird70, 31/08/2022 17:45

"Could explain the post race interview attire."

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by Editor, 31/08/2022 17:11

"@ Greg

Indeed, extremely silly... after all, it seems like only yesterday that Toto Wolff was warning of the dangers of brain damage from bouncing."

Rating: Positive (6) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by Greg, 31/08/2022 16:08

"They have these warning lights for a reason. He is silly for not going to the medical centre following the warning. On his own head and long lasting medical condition "

Rating: Positive (6) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Hamilton Spa crash impact measured at 45G

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page