Fernando Alonso has apologised for calling Lewis Hamilton an ‘idiot’ after their first lap clash at the Belgian Grand Prix. The pair came to blows while fighting for second place heading down the Kemmel Straight, when Hamilton turned in on Alonso at Les Combes and pitched his car into the air. Mercedes claimed the car suffered a 45G impact when it landed, while Alonso called the seven-time world champion an "idiot" and that he “this guy only knows how to drive and start in first" on the team radio. Speaking to media today, including RacingNews365.com , Alonso cleared the air on the comments that he made while out on track. "First, Lewis is a champion, a legend. If you say something, and I'm sorry to repeat it, to a British driver, the media will write about it a lot after that," said Alonso. "If you say something about a Spanish-speaking driver, it's all nice and nice, but if you say something to others, it suddenly becomes a bit more serious. Anyway. I apologize. I wasn't thinking about what I said. "I don't really think anyone was to blame at that moment. It was the first lap and then you just drive close together."
Hamilton takes dig at Alonso with signed cap
Post-race weekend Hamilton appeared to leave a signed cap in the Mercedes motorhome with the label "For Fernando" written on it. Alonso was later seen visiting the Mercedes motorhome to apologise to Hamilton, emerging with the cap. He told media about his comments regarding Hamilton’s ability to only start from pole: "It's something you say in the heat of battle. But none of what I said is true or there are facts to prove otherwise. I have a huge amount of respect for Lewis. "At those moments, fighting for the top three, I said partly because of the adrenaline some things I shouldn't have said. After the race I also said it was a racing incident. In the future I will pay more attention to what I say on the radio."
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BREAKING: And here you go: Mr @alo_oficial with the signed cap of Mr @LewisHamilton !!! #F1 #Formula1 #Zandvoort #DutchGP #Alonso #Hamilton pic.twitter.com/Snrtqk773x — Sándor Mészáros (@mesandor) September 1, 2022
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