Lewis Hamilton’s Dutch GP incident deemed “first grade mistake” by F1 veteran

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton crashed out of the 2025 Dutch GP in the first half of the race as he ran wide into the third corner. Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher came out and called out the Briton's crash a “first-grade mistake”, as the German reflected on the pressure on Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari had a poor start to the 2025 Dutch GP weekend following the struggles in the practice session. The Briton came into the F1 race at Zaandvoort after a couple of tough race weekends at Spa Francorchamps and Hungaroring. The Scuderia were able to find their feet at Zaandvoort during qualifying as Hamilton started the P7, just behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton and Leclerc maintained their position for the first stint but weren't able to overtake the drivers ahead of them due to the tight and twisty nature of the circuit. The Briton asked Ferrari to undercut George Russell and Isack Hadjar, and Charles Leclerc was called into the pits on Lap 22. Unfortunately, as the Monegasque exited the pits, the seven-time champion found himself against the wall at Turn 3.

F1 Grand Prix of Netherlands - Source: Getty

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher came out and slammed Lewis Hamilton's error, as he said,(via Sky Deutschland)

“In racing jargon, we'd call this a first-grade mistake; it's not something you make. I'm also becoming perplexed about him, because on the one hand, I think he can do it, but on the other, he seems to be under enormous pressure, and often puts himself out there on his own. Seeing him like this now is tragic. Even if he still has the speed, there's still too much going on around him.” (Translate via Google)

Lewis Hamilton went just a little too deep into the banked corner of Turn 3 on Lap 23. With the drizzle and the painted surface on the outside of Turn 3, the Briton lost the front on corner exit and slammed the front into the barrier, resulting in a broken front right and eventually a retirement from the race.

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“Can’t really say too much more about it”: Lewis Hamilton reflects on his crash at the Dutch GP

Lewis Hamilton informed his team about his tires being in good shape just moments before the crash, and had advised to pit just to undercut Russell and Hadjar. As the Briton crashed out of the race, he apologized to the team and was spotted removing a part of the broken front wing away from the track. Reflecting on the crash after the race, the seven-time F1 champion said,

“I generally felt like it was going okay. I had good pace compared to Charles [Leclerc] ahead of me and my tyres were still okay. The rear was getting a bit twitchy… I got to Turn 3 and had a snap and I couldn’t recover it. It’s not a normal sort of thing for me to have, [to] crash out of a race. I can’t really say too much more about it.” (via F1)

Charles Leclerc also retired following a crash with Kimi Antonelli on Lap 53. Lewis Hamilton was also given a 5-place grid penalty for the upcoming race in Monza as he failed to slow down significantly under double waved yellows on his reconnaissance lap.