Hamilton’s crash left him ninth on the grid for Saturday’s sprint race
Lewis Hamilton criticized Austrian Grand Prix spectators for cheering when he crashed in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring.
Hamilton exited at turn seven, close to stands packed with Dutch fans of his 2021 title rival Max Verstappen.
“I went through a bunch of stuff during the crash, but to hear it after, you know… I don’t agree with any of it, no matter what,” he said.
“The driver could be in hospital and you’re going to cheer him on?”
The incident left Hamilton 10th in qualifying, although he was promoted to ninth on the grid for Saturday’s sprint after a penalty for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
Speaking after the sprint, Hamilton added: “It’s just mind-boggling that people would do that knowing how dangerous our sport is. I’m thankful I wasn’t in the hospital and wasn’t seriously injured.
“You should never cheer someone’s fall or someone’s injury.”
Hamilton will start Sunday’s Grand Prix in eighth place, his final position in Saturday’s sprint.
He made a poor start and fell to 11th on the first lap after being hit by Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly at the first corner.
He spent much of the sprint behind Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher, but was unable to pass because the Mercedes had lower straight line speed than their Ferrari-powered cars.
He was finally able to overtake Schumacher with two laps to go.
Hamilton said: “Ferrari’s power is too much for us at the moment.
“I don’t know if it’s drag or if it’s force, it’s hard to quantify which it is.”
“It wasn’t a particularly fun race. It didn’t feel that fast. But like I said, I think something was wrong with the car after that [incident with Gasly].
“But a big, big thank you to my team for putting the car together. They worked crazy hard last night and this morning to keep us in the race, so hopefully tomorrow will be a little bit better.”
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