Lewis Hamilton's radio messages after Belgian GP practice crash as nightmare scenario emerges

Lewis Hamilton endured a nightmare in the final practice session before qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton is currently chasing down Mercedes' duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in the race for the Drivers' Championship.

The 41-year-old has enjoyed a renaissance in 2026 after a disappointing 2025 and has outscored every driver on the grid since ditching the Ferrari F1 simulator in May.

But just when he was building momentum for the race at Spa, he crashed at the end of final practice, and it was a near mirror image of Pierre Gasly's crash on Friday.

Hamilton, who was fifth-fastest on Saturday, was on a quick lap in the closing moments of the final session before Qualifying at 3pm this afternoon when he went wide across the gravel at Turn 13, and his car's right rear wheel had a glancing blow against the barrier.

Hamilton finds the barriers 💥 Here's what happened 👇#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/FeNgjTo1Js

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 18, 2026

“I destroyed the car, man. Sorry," Hamilton said over the radio.

“It's okay. Stop the car, stop the car. It's better to preserve it like this," race enginer Carlos Santi said in response before the Ferrari star issued a concerning statement.

“There's nothing left to preserve," he admitted.

The sufficient damage sustained to the SF-26's right rear prevented Hamilton from driving it back to the pit lane.

Ferrari's mechanics now have a race against time to patch together his stricken car before qualifying begins at 3pm BST, and there is confidence that the team will repair the damage in time.

While it was a nightmare for the seven-time world champion, Antonelli continued his incredible campaign and will go into qualifying as the clear favourite for pole position after topping the timesheet for the second time running at Spa.

Lewis Hamilton chasing down record at Spa

A nasty crash is far from ideal preparation for Hamilton's race on Sunday, and the race against time to fix the car before qualifying will cause major anxiety.

But if they recover from this setback, there is a chance for the Englishman to secure his seventh victory at Spa, boasting more wins than any other driver on the grid.

He is currently tied with F1 legend Michael Schumacher for most wins at the Belgian Grand Prix, and the chance to make history on the track is even more fuel for him to win his second race of the season.

Hamilton may already have held the outright record for Belgian wins had it not been for some wretched luck in the past. In 2008, he crossed the line first in teeming rain but was stripped of his victory by a controversial post-race 25-second penalty.

Speaking before the weekend's action started, Hamilton admitted how "difficult" it is at Spa with all the straight-mode zones - five to be exact.

"On this track, it's very difficult," the 41-year-old said. "This track is lots and lots of straights. We went to Silverstone and we thought that it was going to be much further down, the power, and it was quick through the corners, so it was far better than we anticipated."

"So, we come here again not really knowing what to expect, except for the track that is like 50 per cent more straights. I think there still was a gap of maybe three or four tenths in the last race, so here we probably anticipate it will be a little bit more. But we're doing everything we can."