F1 | Hamilton says halo ‘saved my neck’ in Monza, and gives his take on Verstappen’s penalty

Lewis Hamilton has said he’s “proud” of the stewards for handing Max Verstappen a three-place grid penalty for the upcoming Russian Grand Prix, following the pair’s dramatic crash at the Italian Grand Prix that saw Verstappen’s Red Bull launched over Hamilton’s Mercedes – and praised the halo device for keeping him safe in the accident.

Hamilton had just exited the pits after his stop on Lap 26 of 53 when Verstappen came alongside him and tried to go around the outside of the Mercedes through Turn 1 to then claim the inside into Turn 2, leading to the pair making contact – with Verstappen’s Red Bull then thrown into the air and over the Mercedes, coming to a rest on top of the W12, with images showing Verstappen’s right-rear tyre hitting Hamilton’s helmet.

And speaking to the media after the incident, Hamilton praised the job that the halo had done in protecting him – while revealing that he would seek specialist medical help for pain in his neck as a result of the crash.  –read more and watch (once the page loads, scroll down mid page to view video clip of incident)—