Hamilton: Wrong to call Sirotkin disrespectful
ByAutoSport
Updated 11/11/2018 at 13:51 GMT
Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has admitted he was wrong to label Sergey Sirotkin 'disrespectful' over their near miss in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - GP of Brazil 2018
Image credit: Getty Images
Hamilton and Sirotkin nearly collided in the early stages of Q2, with Hamilton running slowly on track to prepare for a qualifying lap while Sirotkin was pushing hard to warm up his tyres.
The Mercedes driver had hit out at Sirotkin for not showing respect in the way that the Williams man overtook on an out lap.
"Respectfully, between all the drivers, we all do respect [the gaps] - I could have tried to overtake Valtteri, or Valtteri whoever was in front of him. We all know [to] keep our space by that point," said Hamilton.
"It was generally quite a disrespectful move. It was dangerous between us both."
When Hamilton's criticism was put to him, Sirotkin explained that he believes the world champion had done nothing wrong.
In an Instagram post on Sunday ahead of the race, Hamilton said he had changed his opinion.
Hamilton wrote: "Morning world. I woke [up] this morning feeling I should correct some of the words I used yesterday.
"I was wrong, it wasn't a disrespectful move by Sergey, it was a misunderstanding and I honestly attempted to get out of his way.
"Didn't work that well but sh*t happens and I respect the way he handled it."
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