Watch: The contentious contact between Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez during 2023 F1 Belgian GP sprint

Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez recently had a tantalizing wheel-to-wheel battle in the sprint race during the 2023 F1 Belgian GP weekend. Both drivers raced fiercely for the fourth position in the sprint race when they collided with each other. This was one of the highlights of the short sprint race, which was shortened further due to heavy showers.

During lap six of 11, Lewis Hamilton was creeping up on Sergio Perez, while Checo was trying to overtake Pierre Gasly for third place. At turn 15, Hamilton was already on the inside of Perez and tried to pass him through turn 16. However, he was unable to. At the exit of turn 16, Checo was slightly on the outside curb, while Hamilton was quite close to him.

At that moment, Hamilton's front wing's left endplate and the front left tire collided with Perez's right side pod. The collision caused the Red Bull's sidepod to have a massive hole, which massively disrupted the aerodynamic efficiency and even the load of the car.

After the collision, Sergio Perez started dropping like a rock, getting passed by many cars. Eventually, he had to retire the car from the race.

A few laps after the collision, Hamilton was handed a five-second penalty. He finished fourth but dropped down to seventh due to the penalty.

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Lewis Hamilton on his collision with Sergio Perez and penalty in 2023 F1 Belgian GP sprint race

Lewis Hamilton spoke about his collision with Sergio Perez at the sprint race during the 2023 F1 Belgian GP. The Mercedes driver explained how Checo was slow through turn 14 and he saw an opportunity to pass him. However, they simply collided due to how tricky the conditions were on a damp track.

Lastly, he expressed that he was not too concerned about the penalty or where he finished in the sprint race since it did not bring in a lot of points. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he said:

"He was pretty slow, he went slow through 14, and I got a great exit. I was more than half a car alongside him, and we just ended up coming together. I think it was a bit of a racing incident; naturally, it wasn’t intentional."

"It was very tricky conditions out there so we’re all trying our best. But it doesn’t really make a huge difference. Fourth or seventh in the sprint race, you don’t get a lot of points. It’s not the worst thing in the world."

Lewis Hamilton scored two points by finishing seventh in the sprint race.