Lewis Hamilton “supporting” George Russell despite their opening lap crash that ended the 7x champion’s race early

Lewis Hamilton will be 'supporting' teammate George Russell despite the first-lap collision he had with him that ended the former champion's race at the Qatar Grand Prix.

The race turned upside down for Mercedes as both their drivers came together on the opening lap.

George Russell, who started P2, was trying to make a move on world champion Max Verstappen in the first corner. At the same time, Hamilton tried to overtake both cars, going three wide into turn 1.

However, the latter came too close to Russell, both cars bumped and Hamilton had to retire from the race because of the broken right-rear wheel. The safety car was triggered and his teammate had to pit, losing a massive number of positions.

Although Lewis Hamilton sounded disappointed on the team radio, he did later mention that he would be supporting George Russell nonetheless and hoping for him to return to points, which he did.

He also said that the team is working extremely hard to get back to the competitive pace, which was visible in the one Mercedes that was left on the track.

"Everyone’s working massively hard, so it’s massively gutting to have a result like this cause you’re preparing and putting the time in. It’s very rare that this happens to me but…

"I hope George is able to get back into the points today. I’ll be supporting him."

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Lewis Hamilton takes responsibility for the first-lap crash between the two Mercedes

It was apparent from the on-board footage that the two Mercedes drivers were almost wheel-to-wheel. Eager to make their moves in the first corner, they covered the entire width of the track.

For Lewis Hamilton to perform the overtake, it was essential to stay on the outside line. But he turned inside a little too much, not realising that his teammate George Russell wouldn't have any space to get back because Max Verstappen was right beside him on the inside line.

The fact that Hamilton was on the soft tire made it easier for him to see an opportunity for such an overtake. While the issue could have been major, the seven-time world champion took responsibility for the crash, while talking to Sky F1.

"I’m happy to take responsibility, because that’s my role. I need to go back and look at it, but I don’t feel like it was George’s fault."

He further mentioned that the relationship between the two drivers isn't 'broken', and they will later talk about it and potentially move on.

It is essential at this point of the championship for the two drivers to work together well as they are in direct competition with Ferrari for second place in the constructors' world championship. Only 28 points split the two teams currently with just five more races to go in the season.