George Russell out of Belgian Grand Prix in a heavy blow to his F1 title chances

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — George Russell retired on lap one of the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday after being nudged by Lewis Hamilton in a heavy blow to his Formula 1 title chances.

Russell was trying to retake fourth place from Hamilton around the outside when the Ferrari driver clipped his rear wheel and sent him spinning into the gravel trap. That brought out the safety car. Russell raised his hands in disbelief before leaving the stranded car.

“Car crossed over right in front of me,” Hamilton said, adding he’d lacked front-end grip to avoid the collision because he was following another car closely.

Hamilton was given a five-second time penalty for causing a collision.

Russell’s Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, the standings leader, was leading after he took pole position Saturday in qualifying.

Russell has been struggling to match Antonelli’s pace in recent races and has suggested an issue with the Mercedes car may be holding him back. He started the race second in the championship, 25 points behind his teammate.

A visibly emotional Russell told Sky Sports he had “no words at the moment” after the incident, when asked about the impact on the title race.

He indicated the main blame lay not with Hamilton but with a lack of straight-line speed on his car, causing him to drop back behind the Ferrari driver before the corner.

“The incident shouldn’t have happened if I had the speed down the straight,” he said.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing