LEWIS HAMILTON said he was grateful to be alive following his extraordinary crash with Max Verstappen at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Hamilton and Verstappen collided for the second time in five races in Monza following another riveting chapter of Formula One’s best championship battle of recent memory.

Mercifully, the halo protection device, which sits above the driver’s head, and was controversially introduced in 2018, absorbed the crushing impact of Verstappen’s 750kg machine.