On the first lap, Hamilton attempted a maneuver on Alonso for third place around the outside at the entrance to Les Combes, but the Mercedes driver squeezed his rival and it sparked a collision.
Alonso avoided any major damage but Hamilton’s car was thrown into the air and the British driver had to pull to the side of the track under his team’s instructions due to damage.
Immediately after the clash, Alonso said on team radio: “What a fool to close the door from the outside. We had a mega start, but this guy only knows how to drive by starting first.
Speaking after the race, Alonso argued it was Hamilton’s mistake not to give him space and compared the clash to Hamilton’s encounter with former Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg at the same turn in 2014.
“For me it was a small mistake on his part to close the door like that,” Alonso said. “At Turn 5 we have seen many, many times here that it goes parallel and it happened to him the same way with Rosberg a few years ago. [in 2014].
“I think it was an incident on the first lap. I think it happens, in this particular corner there is a lot going on and normally you cut the corner at turn 6 and continue to turn 7.
“For sure it’s a tricky part of the circuit and it was a racing incident.”
Fernando Alonso, Alpine A522
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Alonso added that his frustration was heightened by his strong start from third on the grid, but he admitted it didn’t compromise his race hugely.
“I was very disappointed, when I start well on the front row or the second row, all these things happen and for sure I was frustrated at that time. But he accepted his mistake and that’s welcome,” he explained.
“I’m just sad because when I start P2 or P3 these things always happen. When I am 12th or 13th, I do a clean race.
“I wanted to have a normal life [start] and we already started with an incident, then we have a very aggressive strategy and we stop early every time. I don’t think it’s the smartest, but in the end, the top five makes it a good weekend with Charles’ penalty.
“So fifth and seventh is a great result for the team. It was a bad weekend for McLaren so we maximized those points.”
Alonso got a late boost to fifth as Charles Leclerc was handed a five-second speeding penalty in the pit lane when Ferrari pitted him late to aim for the bonus point for the fastest lap.
The extra pit stop dropped Leclerc behind Alonso on the track, before Leclerc overtook him on the final lap, only to be downgraded again due to the penalty.
“It’s okay, Ferrari did some weird things, so that was another weird thing,” Alonso said of Ferrari’s strategy to pit Leclerc late.
