Lewis Hamilton has gone up against three world champions during his F1 career. In his first-ever Formula 1 season at McLaren, he faced the title holder Fernando Alonso.
That infamous partnership only lasted one year before Alonso returned to Renault, with Heikki Kovalainen arriving as the Spaniard’s replacement. McLaren then signed Jenson Button following his 2009 triumph with Brawn.
Hamilton and Button spent three seasons together before the former made his career-defining move to Mercedes. There he faced longtime friend Nico Rosberg, who soon became a bitter rival.
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The Briton won the title in 2014 and 2015 but lost out in a bitterly close battle in 2016. Rosberg’s subsequent retirement and the arrival of Valtteri Bottas brought a period of peace.
Hamilton is now racing alongside George Russell, a close match for the seven-time world champion from the outset. They have engaged in multiple on-track battles but largely kept things clean, with the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix a notable exception.
Let’s take a look at the five occasions where Hamilton has been involved in a serious collision with his F1 teammate.
2011 Canadian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton vs Jenson Button
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In the early stages of the 2011 Canadian GP, Hamilton sized up a move on Button on the pit straight. However, with visibility limited in wet conditions, Button moved across to take the normal racing line.
It seems he didn’t realise that Hamilton was there, and he ended up driving him into the pit wall. The damage forced him to retire from the race.
Button went on to score an extraordinary victory despite entering the pits six times in total. He would finish above Hamilton in the championship that year.
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Hamilton started second behind Rosberg at the 2014 Belgian GP but, as so often at Spa, the polesitter lost the lead on lap one. Rosberg then tried to fight back the next time round, with disastrous results.
As the Briton swept left for the second half of the Les Combes chicane, Rosberg’s front wing made contact with his rear tyre. Hamilton suffered a puncture that led to his retirement.
His teammate needed to pit for repairs but was ultimately able to recover to second behind surprise winner Daniel Ricciardo. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff called the incident ‘unacceptable’, and Rosberg was booed on the podium.
2016 Spanish Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton vs Nico Rosberg
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The most dramatic clash between the two Mercedes teammates took place at the 2016 Spanish GP. Rosberg had won the first four races of the season to open up a huge early lead as Hamilton wrestled with unreliability.
Driver number 44 bagged a crucial pole position at the Spanish GP, but in a reversal of the Spa situation, he found himself under attack from Rosberg. The German driver powered round the outside into turn one.
Hamilton closed up through the long, sweeping turn three and attempted to regain the lead, but he ended up on the grass as Rosberg shut the door. At that point, he inevitably lost control of his Mercedes and collected his teammate, paving the way for Max Verstappen to win his first-ever race.
2016 Austrian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton vs Nico Rosberg
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Just four races later, Rosberg and Hamilton came to blows once again. As they went head-to-head in an incredible final lap duel, the former seemingly opened his up his steering at turn three to force the latter off line and defend his position.
This resulted in contact, but Rosberg came off worse as he broke his front wing. Hamilton went on to win, with his teammate coming home fourth after receiving a 10-second time penalty.
This time, it was the English driver who was booed by the crowd. Mercedes stated that Rosberg had suffered a brake-by-wire failure, causing him to run deep.
2023 Qatar Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton vs George Russell
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It would be more than seven years before Hamilton’s next intra-team crash. On this occasion, he accepted responsibility.
He started third in Qatar behind polesitter Verstappen and teammate Russell, but he attempted a bold move around the outside of turn one. Hamilton didn’t leave enough room as he turned in and he ended up spinning out.
Speaking on the team radio, Russell said he was ‘lost for words’ after he saw a replay on the TV screens. He recovered to fourth place, but it almost certainly cost him points.
Hamilton will part ways with the 26-year-old at the end of this year when he heads to Ferrari. His next opponent will be Charles Leclerc, another of the highest-rated drivers on the grid.
