Lewis Hamilton admits his attempt at a humourous comment following a difficult Monaco Grand Prix wasn’t funny.
The McLaren driver was called to the stewards after the race to explain his move on Pastor Maldonado in which he was handed a 20 second penalty, his second of the day following an incident with Felipe Massa.
When asked why he was so magnetic to the stewards, he replied: “Maybe it’s because I’m black… that’s what Ali G says, I dunno.”
Following the comment, he chose to return to the stewards on his own accord to explain the comment, admitting his attempt at a joke wasn’t funny at the time.
‘I’ve just been to the stewards to make peace,” he told reporters later on Sunday evening.
“It was a bit of a joke, which wasn’t funny at the time. I made them aware that when emotions are high – and it’s very intense at the end of those kind of races – you don’t always say the right thing.
“We’ve made our peace. They accepted my explanation, they understood. We all shook hands afterwards. They said it was a tough weekend, let’s move on, and they all wished me well for the season,” he added.
“Should I have said it or shouldn’t I? Like I said I was trying to be funny, but it wasn’t funny.
“You’re not always right when you’re trying to be funny. Sometimes you really put your foot in it and you offend people.”
The 2008 world champion doesn’t expect any disciplinary action, explaining that the stewards would make the FIA aware of his intended humour.
“They said at the end that they would make sure other people in the FIA understand and that anybody else who has heard it and misunderstood, that they’ll clarify it with them and it won’t go any further than the meeting room.”
