Pastor Maldonado has revealed that Lewis Hamilton called him to apologise for ending his Monaco Grand Prix.
The incident happened with just a handful of laps remaining following a restart of the race. The two collided at turn one, leaving the FW33 with race ending damage, knocking him from sixth to 18th.
Hamilton suffered a 20-second time penalty for the collision which had no impact on the race results.
The Williams driver said it was an act of courage that Hamilton had personally called to explain his actions and after race comments, in which he labelled Maldonado “fricken’ ridiculous.”
“My phone rang and it was Lewis [Hamilton] himself. We talked for a few minutes fluently, he said that the intent of his call was to apologise for his behavior both on the track and in the statements [afterwards].
“He said he was under so much pressure in Monaco. He congratulated me on the race and my efforts on track and through the season, so he regretted the incident that occurred,” said the 26-year-old.
“I think it’s a gesture of chivalry that Lewis called me to discuss the situation and also an act of courage. Sometimes the pressure becomes a major internal enemy that can shake even the most sensible person and as I stated on Sunday, he looked very nervous and maybe the pressure exceeded him.
“I believe the incident is part of the things that can happen in a race, I’m not bitter. I simply turn the page and think to Canada and wish Lewis all the best.”
(Thanks to Conor for the tip)
