Lewis Hamilton Shocked F1 Fans Cheered After His Qualifying Crash

The hit was hard enough to damage the car’s survival cell—the final layer of protection for a driver.

IMAGO / GEPA pictures

Lewis Hamilton said it was “mind-blowing” to hear spectators at Red Bull Ring cheering after his hard crash into the wall during qualifying Friday. 

The Mercedes driver lost control on Turn 7, crashing into the barriers. The hit was hard enough to damage the car’s survival cell—the final layer of protection for a driver. Hamilton was unharmed in the wreck, but while he was still in his vehicle, fans in a grandstand started cheering. 

“I didn’t hear them cheering; I was going through a bunch of stuff in the crash,” he said on Saturday. “To hear it afterwards, I don’t agree or condone that. A driver could be in [the] hospital and you are going to cheer that?”

Hamilton added, “It’s just mind-blowing that people would do that, knowing how dangerous our sport is. I’m grateful that I wasn’t in [the] hospital and I wasn’t heavily injured.”

Last weekend at Silverstone, Max Verstappen was booed during his post-qualifying interview, and Hamilton did not hesitate to criticize fans at the British Grand Prix for that act, saying in part, “I think we are better than that.” 

The British Grand Prix saw two horrific wrecks during Sunday’s opening lap, one that sent Zhou Guanyu’s car sliding upside down before vaulting over the barrier into the catch fence and another that sent Alex Albon for precautionary checks. Both drivers are O.K. and are racing this weekend.