Paul di Resta says he totally accepts Lewis Hamilton’s apology after the Force India driver had to take avoiding action when the McLaren span.
Hamilton admitted to making a mistake at the chicane as he was the first driver to encounter the wet track which resulted in him spinning 180º to face oncoming traffic.
He, the then leader, buried his foot on the accelerator to correct the spin, but forced Di Resta off-track. Hamilton apologised, justifying his move because he didn’t see the Scotsman coming.
“I had a big mistake, my left front tyre was pretty worn, so I went a bit wide, came out of the chicane and span which is very, very rare. I think it’s one of the first times I spun.
“After that, I have to apologise to Paul di Resta, I didn’t see him. I had absolutely no clue, I don’t know where or what happened but I got a penalty for something which is to be expected I guess, sometimes, so apologies to him.”
In a BBC interview, Di Resta said he understood why Hamilton did what he did, but admitted had he lost points because of the move, the situation may have been different.
“I think, thankfully, I saw him quite early,” said the 25-year-old. “Going into the chicane he had a bit of a moment, and just as I came out of the chicane I was a bit surprised but at the same time, there was time to take action on it and I think Lewis was leading the race at that point, so I can fully understand what he was trying to do.
“There’s no harsh feelings, I spoke to Lewis about it and he just said he didn’t see me but, you know, if it had cost us a lot of points then it would have been a hard one.”
