Lewis Hamilton mind blown by Max Verstappen fan cheers after crash

Hamilton, Mercedes, Austria, 2022 — Photo: © LAT Images

Austrian Grand Prix

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Hamilton mind blown by Verstappen fan cheers after crash

Hamilton crashed out of qualifying

Ewan Gale

Saturday 9 July 2022 18:35 Updated: 20:30

Lewis Hamilton has revealed his mind was blown by fans who find it acceptable to cheer a driver crashing out of a session.

The seven-time F1 champion hit the barriers in Austrian Grand Prix qualifying on Friday to a chorus of cheers from the 'Orange Army' of Max Verstappen fans in the grandstands.

At last weekend's British Grand Prix, Verstappen was booed and jeered by Hamilton's supporters. Twelve months earlier the Silverstone crowd had cheered his 51g impact at Copse following a collision with the Mercedes driver.

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"I didn't hear them cheering," conceded Hamilton. "I was going through a bunch of stuff in the crash.

"But to hear it afterwards, I don't agree or condone any of that, no matter what - a driver could have been in hospital and we are going to cheer that?

"It is mindblowing that people would do that just knowing how dangerous our sport is.

"I am grateful I wasn't in hospital and wasn't injured.

"You should never cheer someone's downfall, someone's injury or crash. It shouldn't have happened at Silverstone even though it wasn't a crash and what happened here."