Bernie Collins spotted the real cause of Lewis Hamilton mechanic incident in Ferrari onboard

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Lewis Hamilton collided with a Ferrari mechanic in the pit lane during Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, though the team member in question appears to have escaped serious consequences.

Hamilton followed teammate Charles Leclerc into the pits during a virtual safety car period and served his five-second penalty for an earlier incident with George Russell.

After his tyres were changed and he received the green light to go, he attempted to pull away, but a mechanic on the right-front hadn’t fully cleared the area. Hamilton was assured that he was okay over the radio.

Kimi Antonelli wins the Belgian Grand Prix! What was your main takeaway from the race? 🏁

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Bernie Collins blames miscommunication for Lewis Hamilton hitting mechanic

Hamilton had complained of understeer during the first stint, so Ferrari were planning to adjust the angle of his front wing when he stopped.

However, Sky Sports F1 pundit and former strategist Bernie Collins believes there was miscommunication between the pit wall and the garage. The mechanic tried to tweak the wing ‘very late’.

“That mechanic, the blue tube he has, that’s for the front-wing adjust,” she said (19/07, 14:47). “When I look at the onboard, it’s like that mechanic was told very late about the front-wing adjust.

“He goes to step in much later in the pit stop than he normally would, tries to get the wing adjusted, doesn’t get it done and then just about moves out of the way of the car.”

• READ MORE: Martin Brundle issues ‘unquestionable’ verdict on Lewis Hamilton and George Russell incident at Spa

Tyre changes are typically slower after a penalty is served, but an incident like this is still extremely rare.

At the 2024 Chinese GP, an Alpine mechanic was knocked over after Pierre Gasly was mistakenly given the signal to pull off. Four years earlier at Imola, Lance Stroll entered his Racing Point pit box too quickly for the front-jack operator, who was bundled to the ground.

The last time Ferrari had a mishap like this was the 2018 Bahrain GP, when Kimi Raikkonen ran over a mechanic’s leg after a premature release. The resulting fractures required surgery.