Lewis Hamilton has expressed confidence that the relationship between him and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel will remain respectful even after the Baku incident.
In the first press conference ahead of this weekend’s Austrian GP, the two drivers were present at the same time for the first time since the German deliberately banged wheels with the Mercedes driver.
The controversy continued as the FIA decided to launch a new investigation this past Monday, but no further actions were taken.
“I don’t think it does,” Hamilton said when asked if the incident changes anything between the two drivers on Thursday.
“Sebastian and I spoke after the race on the Monday and then shortly after that he messaged me the day after I think it was.
“For me, I just said that I still have the utmost respect for him as a driver and will continue to race him hard for the rest of the season, in the same way we always have, no less hard than we have been until now.”
For the Briton, the only point of contention with his main championship rival that remained was the original claim that Vettel made which caused his controversial reaction.
“My only point was I felt that saying I had brake tested him… I was saying I hope you can correct that publicly,” Hamilton said.
“People watching felt that was something I did, the data showed that was not the case, in actual fact he accelerated.
“The goal [for Vettel] was to be as close as possible, it was an error of judgement, my point was I hoped he’d make that clear.
“I had no intentions [of brake testing], there was no need for me to do that as I was in the lead, I accept his apology and move forwards.”
After the incident, Vettel now has nine penalty points on his race licence, two more than any other driver and just three points away from a race suspension.
In response to the press’ question on his delay of showing remorse till the FIA investigation, the 30-year-old stated: “I think the person I had to talk to was Lewis, that was the most important [thing].
“On Monday I went to Paris to see the FIA, we had the hearing, they asked me my opinion in terms of what happened, to run through the incident, that’s what I did.
“I don’t think there was a need in that regard to talk to you [the media] straight after, you’re not the most important people.
“As I said, the most important for me is the guy I’m racing with and that’s Lewis and that’s who I decided to call first.”
