Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa had their fifth coming together of the 2011 season in India, but for once, it was Massa who got the penalty after he was deemed to have caused an ‘avoidable incident’.
Hamilton stated during and after the race that the Brazilian simply didn’t leave any room as he attempted to pass, which led to inevitable contact – both drivers rejoined the race but Massa later retired with suspension damage not linked to the collision.
“There’s not really much to say is there,” said the 26-year-old after the race in which he finished P7. “A disappointing day, very, very sorry for my team. They worked hard weekend as they always do and they deserved a better result.”
Hamilton says he made an effort to talk to Massa before the race, but admits the pair haven’t talked for a long time.
“We had the one minute silence before the start of the race and me and Felipe were standing next to each other and he hasn’t spoken to me since a long, long time. I made the effort, put my arm around him, and just said good luck for the race.
“In the race, I tried to overtake, I tried to come out of it because it didn’t look like he was going to give me any space and we collided. But again, just really, really sorry for my team.”
The McLaren driver says he will go home before the Abu Dhabi GP in two weeks time to refocus.
“I’ll fly back and try to get my head back in the game. The Indians did a fantastic job this week, the track was great and we’ve been treated really, really well this week. We’ve been treated like Kings and I’m grateful for that.”
