‘A bit of drama, he’s good at that’ - Wolff’s view on Hamilton-Alonso near-miss

Hamilton and Alonso nearly came to blows when they made their first pit stop of the afternoon under the Safety Car at the end of Lap 12.

Mercedes were slightly slower than Aston Martin, releasing Hamilton into close proximity to Alonso.

On initial viewing, Alonso had to hit the brakes to avoid Hamilton, while moving his steering wheel from left to right in dramatic fashion.

The incident was looked at by the stewards but no penalty was given out.

The near-miss did warrant a comical reaction from Wolff, who didn’t seem to believe Alonso’s dramatic steering wheel reaction, gesturing in the Mercedes’ garage by copying the Aston Martin driver’s hand movements.

"[It was] a bit of drama,” Wolff said. 

“Shaking the steering a little bit and a little bit of touching of the brakes. He is good at that, the cries of 'I nearly hit him'... a bit of drama.”

Alonso would go on to finish second ahead of Hamilton.

Mercedes sit 13 points clear of Aston Martin in the F1 2023 constructors’ championship.