The ever-exciting Austrian GP is upon us as Friday witnesses the qualifying session. The Grand Prix will also witness the second sprint race of the season scheduled to be held on Saturday. Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari dominated the session, but Lewis Hamilton shockingly crashed into the barriers in Q3.
The Brit was in fine form, especially in the first two qualifying sessions. However, while he was pushing during his third lap, he spun into the gravels in turn 7, which resulted in damages to his W-13. Meanwhile, the orange army cheered his exit, which outraged many fans while Hamilton fans encouraged him to bounce back after a disappointing session.
The seven-time world champion has not had the best of records on this track. He has only won once since the circuit returned to the F1 calendar in 2014. And he has not been on the podium since his victory in 2016.
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His struggles continue, but he will hope to make amends during tomorrow’s sprint race. After the crash, a frustrated Hamilton revealed, “I’m so sorry, guys. I’m so, so sorry to damage the car.”
This could prove to be an enormous boost for both Red Bull and Ferrari, as the Silver Arrows were looking competitive so far. However, fans took to Twitter to encourage Hamilton to perform better over the course of the weekend.
Twitter reacts to Red Bull Ring cheering the exit of Lewis Hamilton
The debates around the jeers Max Verstappen suffered in Silverstone was one of the major talking points last race. And after Hamilton’s exit, the orange army celebrated the result which outraged the fans.
lewis hamilton’s crash during q3 💔#AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/sO8yMGcind
— ash (@lovesferrari) July 8, 2022
Nope. Stop cheering that. Not nice. #F1 #AustrianGP
— Thomas Maher (@thomasmaheronf1) July 8, 2022
Max fans, don’t ever say Lewis Hamilton fans are disrespectful when your all out there cheering he’s crashed. #AustrianGP
— brydie🏁 (@brydieleaax) July 8, 2022
Oh no poor @LewisHamilton never mind hon it’s the race that really matters so onwards and upwards xx
— Lilian #teamlh (@halle690) July 8, 2022
that's so weird, it's rare anyone crashes there, nevermind Lewis Hamilton.
— 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐭 🏴🇩🇪🇮🇹 (@SebxstianVxttel) July 8, 2022
Given all the near misses last weekend, really not classy from the fans cheering Lewis Hamilton crashing out #F1 #AustrianGP
— Lewis Larkam (@Lewis_Larkam) July 8, 2022
you think im worried? me? about lewis hamilton starting p8 in a sprint race? lewis hamilton the man who went from p20-p5 in the brazilian sprint race? why would i be worried?
— a🌴 (@jcolesbbygirl) July 8, 2022
Damn, I was hoping for a pole position of @LewisHamilton
— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) July 8, 2022
A whole crowd of Max Verstappen fans cheering like mad when Lewis Hamilton crashes. The hypocrisy with this lot is unmatched #AustrianGP
— Harry Smith (@harrysmithEFL) July 8, 2022
Damn. I think pole was possible. Lewis was one of the quickest in the first sector, matched the Ferraris and RedBull in the second sector and Mercedes were quick in the final. Hopefully we can salvage something from the sprint. #F1 #LewisHamilton𓃵
— Andrew Neo TeamLH 104. Love is Love 🏳️🌈 (@AndrewF144) July 8, 2022
As a Dutch person, I'm extremely embarrassed with the Dutch crowd cheering like a bunch of fucking hooligans when Lewis crashed.
Crashes suck, are dangerous, and definitely are NOT something worth cheering about, no matter who the driver is.#FormulaOne #AustrianGP #F1
— REVERSAL (@REVERSALx7) July 8, 2022
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Dutch crowd literally jumping up and down cheering with Lewis in the wall and they were crying about booing last week 😐
— Addy (@f1shaderoom) July 8, 2022
Luckily, Hamilton has the sprint race to recover and will start from P10 after his unfortunate crash. And he was on course to clocking a great lap time before his crash. To add to Mercedes’ woes, George Russell also crashed into the barriers at turn 10. A disastrous day for the Silver Arrows.
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Can Hamilton bounce back in tomorrow’s race and deliver a positive result? Let us know in the comments.