London: Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who is yet to make a mistake in a Grand Prix race, crashed a go-kart that had been sold at a charity auction for $83,860 on Thursday.

“Oops, that was close,” the 22-year-old McLaren rookie said after hitting the barriers on the temporary track laid out in a central London square at a promotional event organised by Vodafone.

“It’s a bit bent on the back here,” he added apologetically after inspecting the kart which was bought by a Northern Irish bidder.

Hamilton has finished on the podium in all his seven starts and won the last two races from pole in Canada and the US. The Briton is 10 points clear of teammate Fernando Alonso. (Reuters)