Lewis Hamilton stated he has accepted the apology Sebastian Vettel gave him after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix via a text message.
Speaking at Thursday’s press conference ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, both drivers were thrown questions by the media on their controversial clash in Baku, Hamilton also emphasised he still has the utmost respect for the four-time world champion.
“I accepted his apology and we moved forward,” Hamilton said. “For me, I still have the utmost respect for him as a driver & will continue to race him hard.”
When asked if there was anything he said after the race he regrets saying, he replied: “I don’t think I said anything I wish I would particularly want to take back. I’m still under the same opinion of what happened, but it’s water under the bridge now and there’s not too much need to say too much more.”
The Briton also wanted to make sure Vettel knew there was no intention of making contact and make that known to the public after numerous messages were sent to Hamilton after the incident.
The three-time champion added: “I really don’t feel there’s tension here, you guys might feel there is, we distinguished that when we spoke on phone.
“There’s two things most important for me. Firstly it was Sebastian acknowledged I didn’t brake test him, which while he had apologised I don’t know if people understand that, that’s important for me.
“People were sending messages to me saying I was out of order. I had no intentions, there was no need for me to do that as I was in the lead, I accept his apology and move forwards.
“Secondly obviously road safety is a big issue, that campaign the FIA are constantly pushing. It was obviously a decision on how they govern the sport and how it reflects to the rest of the world, they were the two points I was focused on.”
