Lando Norris: ‘Obvious’ Lewis Hamilton to blame for race-ending crash

Lando Norris says it is “obvious” that Lewis Hamilton is to blame for causing his race-ending crash at the F1 Miami Grand Prix sprint race.

The McLaren driver was taken out on the opening lap after being hit by Lance Stroll after he and Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso got together at Turn 1.

Hamilton had dived down the inside with an aggressive lunge which forced Alonso wide and into Stroll, with the Canadian then hitting Norris.

Norris retired on the spot and Stroll was also unable to continue, while Alonso picked up a puncture which ruined his race as he finished 17th.

Hamilton finished eighth on the road but dropped to 16th after being hit with a 20-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane during the subsequent Safety Car period.

Speaking after the race, Norris had no doubt that the seven-time world champion was at fault.

“It’s obvious. Lewis dived up the inside and caused the incident,” Norris told F1TV.

“Nothing I could do about that.”

The stewards decided to take no further action over the Turn 1 incident.

Alonso told DAZN that he felt Hamilton would not be punished “because he’s not Spanish”.

The Spaniard, who hit out at the penalty he received in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race, added: “I think he ruined the race for a few people, especially Norris, who had a very fast car and he was out in that incident.”

Norris hopes his car has avoided too much damage ahead of qualifying for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.

“Damage, I’m not sure – I think everything is okay,” Norris said.

“It looks like my rim was just gone. I thought it was just suspension damage, but, no point in trying to get the car back for a race where there’s hardly any points and damage anything further. So best just to jump out.”