SportFormula 1George RussellGeorge Russell's Belgian Grand Prix came to an end inside the opening lap at Spa-Francorchamps after colliding with Lewis Hamilton and sliding into the gravel14:11, 19 Jul 2026Updated 14:46, 19 Jul 2026Lewis Hamilton has been punished with a five-second penalty after crashing into George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix. Russell, 28, retired inside the opening lap at Spa-Francorchamps after colliding with former teammate Hamilton, 41, before sliding straight into the gravel.‌The incident occurred at Les Combes, as, after Hamilton tried to overtake, his front wheel caught Russell's back wheel, causing the Mercedes driver to spin off the track.‌It caused Russell to retire from the race and a safety car was deployed. As well as that, the FIA launched an investigation into the crash with Hamilton later receiving a five-second penalty.‌Russell said: "I just got totally swallowed up down the straight. I lost three positions down the straight down into Turn Five and then the incident was a racing incident."Maybe I could have gone a bit wider, maybe he could have braked a bit more, the incident shouldn't have happened if I had the speed down the straight. Very, very disappointed."Delivering his verdict on the incident, Sky Sports commentator David Croft said: "We have seen drivers get penalties in the past when they've had that little snap of oversteer and they've made contact with another car, and accidental or not, the stewards have given penalties for that in the past."‌Martin Brundle, the ex-F1 driver and Sky Sports pundit, added: "Let's see what they do. Lewis is obviously slightly nervous about it because he felt the need to get the justification over knowing that will be fed into the system."Whether they felt he lost control of his car, for me it was a racing incident. It will be frustrating for George, George unquestionably left more than a car's width on the inside so I don't think there's any finger pointing at George Russell in that but Lewis is saying 'I'm up in around the cars, it's first lap, I've lost downforce on my front wing because I'm tucked up underneath another car's gearbox and not a lot I can do about it.'‌"If the stewards determined that constitutes a loss of control of your car, Lewis will get a penalty."Russell's retirement from the Belgian GP has put a huge dent into his world title hopes. Going into Spa, the Brit was second in the Drivers' Standings and 25 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli.But, with Antonelli in pole position to win the Belgian GP and rivals including Lewis Hamilton behind him gaining points, Russell is expected to lose further ground in the race for the world title.Article continues belowJOIN US ON FACEBOOK! All the best sports news and much more on our dedicated Facebook pageChoose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌George RussellLewis HamiltonBelgian Grand Prix