“Lewis Hamilton dive bomb wtf” - F1 fans react to the opening lap incident involving Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, and Lando Norris 

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was involved in a chain reaction that led to a multiple-car contact on the opening lap of the 2024 F1 Miami Grand Prix Sprint.

Hamilton started the race back in P12 after a disappointing qualifying session and tried to make up for the places on the first corner as he deep-dived at the start of the race. He then made contact with Fernando Alonso, who started the Sprint in P8, who had already made contact with his teammate Lance Stroll, who hit Lando Norris. The McLaren driver spun around and was out of the race with minor damage.

Fans were not settled with Lewis Hamilton's lunge that caused the incident leading to McLaren's disqualification from the race. A user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote:

"Hamilton dive bomb wtf."

"Someone tell Hamilton this isn't F1 2024, you can't just go up the inside of two cars at Turn 1," another fan critiqued Hamilton's lunge.

Other fans also called out the Sprint format that eliminates two of the three practice sessions for a Grand Prix.

"Sprints need to stop! A pointless endeavor."

"Go sprinttt," a user wrote sarcastically.

"That’s why qualifying is so crucial," was a suggestion from a fan.

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Lewis Hamilton loses P8 after post-Sprint penalty in Miami

Mercedes struggled throughout the race as Lewis Hamilton found it difficult to get ahead of the Haas of Kevin Magnussen. After gaining a few places on the first lap, he remained stuck at P9 behind the car.

Hamilton managed to get into P8 after battling with both Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda. However, the Brit was given a drive-through penalty after the race, which was then turned into a time penalty, a 20-second added time to his final race time. This moved him down to P16, falling well out of the points.

It was a tough Sprint for Mercedes as Hamilton's teammate George Russell, too, finished the race in P12. The team failed to score any points. The W15's disappointing performance has become a serious issue for the Brackley-based outfit. Mercedes was confident before the start of the season, mentioning that the car was an improvement on the mistakes made in the earlier cars.

However, they still have a lot to gain to get into the competition ahead of them, with 2024 making their worst start to an F1 season in over a decade.