Lewis Hamilton said it was “nice to know how he feels about me” after being criticised by Fernando Alonso for a first-lap crash between the two. Alonso called fellow driver Hamilton “an idiot” who “only knows how to drive and start in first [place]”. Hamilton, who accepted blame, said he would have spoken to Alonso about the incident “until I heard what he said”. His Mercedes went up on two wheels and Hamilton said he “nearly broke my back coming down”. But Hamilton has regularly described Alonso as the most talented and fastest driver he has ever raced against, and Alonso has also always been highly complimentary of his rival’s talents.

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