LEWIS HAMILTON was left picking up the pieces of his broken car after crashing out of the Dutch Grand Prix as Oscar Piastri tightened his grip on the World Championship crown.
The Brit legend, 40, suffered heartbreak as he understeered on lap 23, smashed the side of his car straight into the wall and saw his front right tyre ripped completely off in the process.
AFPLewis Hamilton crashed out early at the Dutch Grand Prix at Turn 3[/caption]
AFPHamilton picked up the debris from his shattered Ferrari after crashing[/caption]
PAHamilton’s Ferrari was lifted off the track by a crane after his barrier shunt[/caption]
Shutterstock EditorialPistrai celebrates another win as Verstappen walks by[/caption]
Shutterstock EditorialThe McLaren man shows off the winner’s pot[/caption]
Gutted Hamilton said: “Sorry guys” to his Ferrari team on the radio after the incident, on the banks of Turn 3 before picking up a piece of his broken car.
Speaking to Sky Sports as the race continued, Hamilton was asked what happened. He replied: “I’m really not sure, I’ll have to look back at it.
“As I went up the bank, the rear snapped out and I couldn’t recover it.
“It was a bit twitchy, the car, but I think we made real progress this weekend and the pace was looking pretty decent.
“I was catching George [Russell] and I think I had the pace of a few cars ahead of me.
“But it’s very unusual to not finish a race and to go out so early is definitely not great, but it is what it is.”
Later in the race, Hamilton’s Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc following a coming-together with Kimi Antonelli.
Oscar Piastri stormed to victory after McLaren team-mate Lando Norris retired with an engine failure on lap 65 as Max Verstappen finished second, with Isack Hadjar, 20, grabbing his first-ever podium.
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It is a massive blow for Hamilton who had seemed reinvigorated after the summer break and saying that he just wanted to “have fun” again with his driving.
Hamilton had been downbeat in Hungary last time out, labelling himself “useless” and urging Ferrari to “change driver”.
The Brit had already spun TWICE in two of the practice sessions in Zandvoort this weekend.
He was pushing hard in first practice at the Dutch Grand Prix before spinning his Ferrari 360 degrees at Turn 3, managing to avoid the barriers – but he did lock up his tyres in the process.
He then did another twirl in second practise, doing a full circle as he appeared to clip the grass after overcooking a turn.
Over the break Hamilton saw family, friends and his beloved dog Roscoe as well as training and meditating.
The seven-time F1 world champion also spent his days off by the seaside and was spotted at Capri, Positano and Maori in the Amalfi coast.
Hamilton spent some time in the mountains of Monte Pora in Northern Italy, where he took some shots of Roscoe for the famous Vogue dog magazine ‘Dogue’.
When asked how important it is to have fun again, Hamilton said: “Probably the most important part because that’s the reason I got into this sport.
“It was fun for me. Whatever career you’re in, if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, then why are you doing it?
“There can often be so much noise you can lose sight of what’s really important.
“I just really want to focus on getting back to that enjoyment. I joined the team that I’ve always dreamed.
“There’s been so much noise around that it’s kind of clouded us from getting to enjoy it.
“It’s about kind of moving those things aside and just getting back to focusing on the pure love of what we do.”
This weekend got even worse for Hamilton after it was revealed that he has been hit a five-place grid penalty for the upcoming race in Monza for failing to slow under double yellow flags before today’s race.
