Italian GP: Lewis Hamilton escapes serious injury after a nasty crash with Max Verstappen - Watch

Reigning champion Lewis Hamilton escaped a massive tragedy at the Formula One Italian Grand Prix as title rival Max Verstappen's car flew over his head after they took each other out of the race on Sunday (September 12). 

Both the racers crashed out of the Italian GP after hitting each other halfway through the race as the protective Halo device prevented a serious injury that might have happened to Hamilton. 

ALSO READ | Daniel Ricciardo wins F1 Italian GP as Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen crash out

Red Bull driver Verstappen tried to dart past Hamilton just after the Briton's pit stop but ended up with his back wheel rolling over the top of his rival's Mercedes, narrowly missing Hamilton's head. 

The drivers then slid into the gravel and were forced to retire from the race, which Hamilton was hoping to make his 100th Grand Prix victory. 

Watch the video here:

After the incident, Verstappen took to his official Twitter as he wrote, "Today was very unfortunate. The incident could have been avoided if I had been left enough space to make the corner. You need 2 people to make that work and I feel I was squeezed out of it. When racing each other, these things can happen, unfortunately"

As far as the race is concerned, Daniel Ricciardo won it and he was followed by his McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the British team's first win since the 2012 Brazilian GP, while Valtteri Bottas will take third despite starting in last place due to a five-second time penalty for Sergio Perez. 

(With inputs from agencies)