Mercedes' head rips Hamilton for 'stupid' mistake in crash with teammate

Non-executive chairman Niki Lauda is faulting Lewis Hamilton for the crash that took both Mercedes cars out of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Hamilton tried to navigate around a tight opening provided by teammate Nico Rosberg early on, but gravely misjudged the available space, ending Sunday's race early for both Mercedes drivers.

Lauda didn't hold back on Hamilton's critical lapse in judgment.

"Stupid," Lauda said after the race, according to The Telegraph's Daniel Johnson. "It's very simple for me. It was a miscalculation in Lewis' head. I blame him more than Nico. For the team and for Mercedes it is unacceptable. Lewis was too aggressive to pass him and why should Nico give him room? He was in the lead. It is completely unnecessary and for me the disaster is that all Mercedes are out after two corners."

After apologizing for the error, Hamilton explained his reasoning for the unsuccessful attempt at passing his teammate.

"Firstly, I have already apologized to the team. It's a very painful experience for all of us,” Hamilton said. "You make a calculation in a split second. You never go to the outside. It’s not where you want to overtake. The gap is one car width. The inside is two car widths. So I went for that one."