Image by Sam Bloxham/LAT
Hamilton accepts Raikkonen apology, says he will learn from outburst
Lewis Hamilton says he will learn from his comments after the British Grand Prix after accepting Kimi Raikkonen’s apology for their collision on Sunday.
Having dropped from pole to third at the start of the his home race, Hamilton was hit by Raikkonen at Turn 3 and spun, dropping him to the back of the field. After delivering an excellent recovery drive to finish second to Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton accused Ferrari of using “interesting tactics” on the podium after the race.
Team boss Toto Wolff also suggested Mercedes was questioning if the collision was deliberate after a similar incident between Valtteri Bottas and Vettel in France, but Hamilton says he has accepted it was unintentional.
"Kimi said sorry and I accept it and we move on,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram. “It was a racing incident and nothing more. Sometimes we say dumb s**t and we learn from it.”
Hamilton also explained his reasons for not giving an interview in parc ferme -- where he initially missed Raikkonen accepting blame for the incident -- and heading to the drivers room.
“I lost nearly 3kg trying to get back to the top for you and my team. I barely had any energy at the end to stand let alone talk. If you can’t understand and appreciate that then I fully understand. However, it was nothing to do with anger, literally just exhausted both physically and emotionally.
“Thanks to everyone for the incredible support this weekend -- we win and lose together! Onwards and upwards.”
As a result of Sunday’s race, Hamilton dropped eight points behind Sebastian Vettel in the drivers’ championship, having held a 14-point advantage following his victory in the French Grand Prix two weeks ago.
-Chris Medland
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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