Every time Lewis Hamilton has hit his teammate as George Russell ‘lost for words’

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Lewis Hamilton has gone up against three Formula 1 world champions as the Briton’s teammate during his career.

In his first-ever Formula 1 season with McLaren in 2008, Hamilton faced the defending two-time champion Fernando Alonso as his teammate.

That infamous partnership only lasted one year before Alonso returned to Renault, with Heikki Kovalainen arriving as the Spaniard’s replacement. McLaren then signed Jenson Button following his 2009 title triumph with Brawn GP to partner Hamilton.

Hamilton and Button spent three seasons together before the former made his career-defining move to Mercedes in 2013. There, he faced longtime friend Nico Rosberg, who soon became a bitter rival and ultimately beat Hamilton to the drivers’ title in 2016.

The Briton won the title in 2014 and 2015 but lost out in a bitterly close battle in 2016. Rosberg’s subsequent retirement and the arrival of Valtteri Bottas brought a period of peace.

Hamilton is now racing alongside George Russell at Mercedes, who has been a close match for the seven-time world champion from the outset. They have engaged in multiple on-track battles but largely kept things clean, with the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix a notable exception.

So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer takes a look at every occasion where Hamilton has been involved in a serious collision with his teammate during a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

2011 Canadian Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton vs Jenson Button

In the early stages of the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton sized up a move on Button on the pit straight. However, with visibility limited in horrendous wet conditions, Button moved across to take the normal racing line.

Button seemingly did not realise that Hamilton was there, and he ended up driving the 2008 champion with McLaren into the pit wall. The damage even forced Hamilton to retire from the race.

On the other hand, Button went on to score an extraordinary victory in Montreal, despite entering the pit lane six times for various pit stops, penalties and a red flag stoppage. Button would also finish above Hamilton in the championship standings that year.

2014 Belgian Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton vs Nico Rosberg

Hamilton started second behind Rosberg at the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix but, as so often at Spa, the pole-sitter lost the lead on lap one. Rosberg then tried to fight back the next time round, with disastrous results for their Mercedes team.

As the Briton swept left for the second half of the Les Combes chicane, Rosberg’s front wing made contact with his rear tyre. Hamilton suffered a puncture that led to his retirement.

Rosberg also needed to pit for repairs but was ultimately able to recover to second behind surprise winner Daniel Ricciardo. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff called the incident ‘unacceptable’, and Rosberg was booed on the podium.

2016 Spanish Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton vs Nico Rosberg

The most dramatic clash between the two Mercedes teammates took place at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. Rosberg had won the first four races of the season to open up a huge early lead as Hamilton wrestled with unreliability problems.

Driver number 44 bagged a crucial pole position at the Spanish GP but in a reversal of the Spa situation, he found himself under attack from Rosberg. The German driver powered around the outside into Turn 1.

Hamilton closed up through the long, sweeping Turn 3 and attempted to regain the lead, but he ended up on the grass as Rosberg shut the door. The German defended robustly into T4 as he desperately tried to hang on after starting the race in the incorrect power mode.

At that point, Hamilton inevitably lost control of his Mercedes and collected teammate Rosberg, paving the way for Max Verstappen to win his first-ever race on debut with Red Bull.

2016 Austrian Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton vs Nico Rosberg

Just four races later, Rosberg and Hamilton came to blows once again when Formula 1 headed for the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix. As they went head-to-head in an incredible final lap duel, the former seemingly opened up his steering at Turn 3 to force the latter off line and defend his position.

This resulted in contact, but Rosberg came off worse as he broke his front wing. Hamilton went on to win, with his teammate coming home fourth after receiving a 10-second time penalty.

This time, it was the English driver who was booed by the crowd. Mercedes stated that Rosberg had suffered a brake-by-wire failure, causing him to run deep.

2023 Qatar Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton vs George Russell

It would be more than seven years before Hamilton’s next intra-team crash thanks to some tranquil years beside Bottas at Mercedes. On this occasion, he accepted responsibility after colliding with Russell at the start of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.

Hamilton started third in Qatar behind pole-sitter Verstappen and teammate Russell, but he attempted a bold move around the outside of Turn 1. Hamilton didn’t leave enough room for Russell as he turned in and ended up spinning out.

Speaking on the team radio, Russell said he was ‘lost for words’ after catching a replay of their collision on the big screens. He recovered to fourth place, but it almost certainly cost him points.

2023 Japanese Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton vs George Russell

Mercedes had already seen warning signs that Hamilton and Russell would not enjoy a completely harmonious relationship as teammates at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, too.

The pair nearly collided twice at Suzuka, with Hamilton darting to his right at Turn 1 after an early safety car before later running them both wide at Spoon. It all left Russell questioning over the team radio, ‘Are we fighting each other or the others?’.

2023 Spanish Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton vs George Russell

Contact even ensued between Hamilton and Russell in qualifying for the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix when the Mercedes teammates touched at high speed during Q2.

Team boss Wolff was enraged by the incident, bemoaning: “Teammates should never collide and even with another car, you shouldn’t collide in qualifying.”

Russell and Hamilton seemingly caught the other by surprise when they sought to start a flying lap, with the former clipping the latter’s front wing after pulling out of the slipstream from Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.

Hamilton dipped into the grass before Turn 1 to try and avoid further contact with Russell, who ultimately failed to get out of Q2.

While Hamilton did reach Q3, Mercedes had to replace his front wing and the Briton was only able to qualify in P5 after being the fastest driver on the circuit during Q1.