Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton revealed that he is "grateful to be alive" and to escape without injury after the terrifying incident in the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion was trying to overtake Alpine driver Fernando Alonso and went for a move on the outside of turn five. The Spaniard gave him enough space to race, but Hamilton turned in and ended up getting catapulted into the air when his Mercedes rode up Alonso's front left tyre.

He was airborne for a few terrifying moments before the car slammed back into the ground. Surprisingly, both cars appeared like they could continue racing. However, Mercedes engineers quickly informed Hamilton that he needed to stop immediately due to damage sustained by his gearbox. Not only that, the impact triggered a medical alert, telling his team that he needed to be examined for possible physical issues after sustaining such a forceful impact.

Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton said it was 'my fault' after his Mercedes (right) clipped the Alpine of Fernando Alonso

Hamilton then said that he almost ended up with serious injuries. "Well, yeah, I almost broke my back coming down. So it's a big, big hit. I remember just looking at the ground," he said, as quoted by The Sun.

"So it was quite high. It was definitely high up. I'm grateful to be still alive and in shape."

He later admitted that he was not surprised when he realised that something was wrong with his gearbox after the back end of the car endured a heavy fall on the way back down after the crash.

Clearly frustrated, Alonso called his former McLaren teammate an "idiot" and even went as far as to say that Hamilton only knows how to race from the front of the grid.

The 37-year-old Briton admitted his mistake and said "it's nice to know how feels about me" when he was told about the two-time world champions comments.

He later made light of the situation by sharing a photo on Instagram of a signed Mercedes cap with the dedication "To Fernando" written on it. The Spaniard had earlier said that it's a shame that words said in the heat of the moment to his engineers are broadcast live to the global audience.

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