‘I was wrong’ – Hamilton retracts Sirotkin criticism

‘Disrespectful’. That’s how Lewis Hamilton described Sergey Sirotkin’s driving after the duo narrowly avoided a nasty accident in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix. But on reflection, Hamilton has revised his view of the incident.

While Hamilton was driving slowly as he looked to make a gap and manage his tyres ahead of another flying lap, he was caught quickly by Sirotkin, who was pushing to get heat in his tyres.

When Hamilton saw the Williams in his mirrors, he moved left in a bid to get out of the way and Sirotkin took to the grass to avoid a collision.

Sirotkin said Hamilton “tried to avoid me” and there was “nothing I’m too angry with him for” while Hamilton, who ultimately went on to take pole position for Sunday’s race, said it was a “disrespectful move”.

But on Sunday morning, Hamilton sent out a message on Instagram. “Morning world,” he wrote. “I woke 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 ****** happens and I respect the way he handled it.”