Lewis Hamilton says “it was kind of cool” saving💎 his FP2 slide from the barriers as he escaped a penalty following an FIA investigation for his run-in wit🧸h Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ahead of the French Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver lost control coming around Turn 4✅ midway through FP2 during his first soft tyre run and drifted towards the barrier, narrowly avoiding contact with the wall, before coming back on to the track slowly.

That saw Verstappen avoid contact with the reigninඣg Formula 1 world champion, having been on a fast lap himself before sliding wide at Turn 5, which the FIA race stewards investigated suspecting Hamilton of unsafely re-joining the track in front of the Red Bull driver.

But after being cl🌺eared of any wrongdoing having gained support from Verstappen, Hamilton felt he was fortunate to avoid𒁏 a bigger incident in the barrier.

“It was 𒀰a serious moment, I’m surprised I caught it,” Hamilton said. “If I had gone around I might h🐭ave gone off into the wall.

“I got itꦓ under control but💛 drifting, then I had to apply the brake, and come off the brake and apply the brake and a bit of gas to try and keep the balance, it was kind of cool.

“So I am definitely happy with the save. It didn’t really damage the tyres either. I went off, tried to trundle back onto the track,𒉰 away from the racing line, but then naturally you get to the racing line.

“I was looking in my mirror, but being along the white line, you look behind you, and there’s nothing there – beca💮use Max was quite far on racing line on oth🐻er side, I was just trying to go slow to stay out of the way, I saw him all of a sudden come round.

“Luckily I didn’t stop him goi𓄧ng into the corner, think he had a big snap on exit. It’s practice, sometimes these things happen, it wasn’t intentional or anything like that.”

The French GP FP2 incident follows a very similar🐷 crash he suffered last time out at the Canadian Grand Prix, also in FP2, when he slid wide and hit the wall🀅 which wrecked his session.