Hamilton says Rosberg hit him on purpose

Lewis Hamilton accused Mercedes team mate and Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg of deliberately colliding with him at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The incident on lap two left Hamilton with a puncture and ultimately led to the Briton's retirement from the race, while Rosberg went on to finish second and extend his lead to 29 points.

Hamilton told reporters that the German, whose car's front wing clipped Hamilton's rear tyre in a failed attempt to overtake, had done it on purpose.

"We just had a meeting about it and he basically said he did it on purpose. He said he did it on purpose," repeated the Briton. "He said he could have avoided it. He said ‘I did it to prove a point’.

- ...

"He basically said 'I did it to prove a point'. And you don’t have to just rely on me, go and ask (Mercedes team bosses) Toto (Wolff) and Paddy (Lowe) who are not happy with him as well," said Hamilton.

"I was gobsmacked when I was listening to the meeting. You need to ask him what point he was trying to make."

- ...

Rosberg separately told reporters that the collision was a racing incident.

"We had a discussion, as is important after such circumstances, because obviously what happened cost the team a lot of points," he said. "That is the main focus and the biggest issue with such a happening as today.

"Unfortunately, I’m not going to go into any details, that wouldn’t be the right thing to do. We need to review and discuss how we move forward."