Lewis Hamilton narrowly escapes flying debris after McLaren crash
Lewis Hamilton had a lucky escape at the COTA Sprint race when a massive piece of flying debris smashed into his Halo protection device at high speed.
Onboard footage shows the debris heading straight for Hamilton’s head before the Halo deflected it away, potentially saving him from serious injury.
The dramatic moment came after a chaotic first corner that took out both McLaren drivers.
Oscar Piastri made a strong start but found himself squeezed as he approached Turn 1. With Max Verstappen ahead and teammate Lando Norris on his inside, Piastri went deep into the corner.
He tried an over-and-under move to recover position.
But as he cut back, he collided with Nico Hulkenberg who was battling Fernando Alonso for what could have been P2 behind Verstappen.
The contact sent Piastri spinning into his teammate Norris, ending the race for both McLaren drivers in an instant.
Hamilton, who started P8, was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the chaos, jumping up to P4 behind Carlos Sainz.
But the seven-time world champion could’ve faced a much worse outcome if not for the Halo.
The incident brings back memories of Felipe Massa’s frightening accident in 2009. During the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver was knocked unconscious when a spring hit his helmet at high speed, causing him to crash into the barriers.
## Hamilton targeting podium in main race
Despite a difficult qualifying session in Q1 and Q2, Hamilton was pleasantly surprised by his car’s performance jump in Q3.
He now believes he has a real shot at his first podium finish since switching to the Italian team.
The strong pace shown in qualifying gives Hamilton his best chance in months to challenge at the front of the field.
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