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Lewis Hamilton has revealed he told Formula 1 title rival Sebastian Vettel not to “disrespect” him again after their clash under the safety car during June’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
In an exclusive interview with Motorsport.tv’s The Flying Lap, Hamilton explained what he said to Vettel in private following the incident.
“When I spoke to him later, I was like ‘that’s a sign of disrespect, so don’t ever disrespect me like that again otherwise then we will have problems’,” said Hamilton.
“I’ve never done that to someone. I don’t even know what he was thinking to have done… I’ve never been in a position like that.
“I guess people react differently under certain pressures.”
Hamilton revealed that his quiet reaction to the incident at the time was caused by a desire not to cause a “negative swirl”.
“I think there’s different ways in which you can handle things,” said Hamilton.
“I knew what I was there to do and I wasn’t going to let anything distract me from doing that.
“I wasn’t going to let myself say something or react in a way that’s going to cause some negative swirl which is going to steer me off course from my ultimate goal.
“And naturally, with the experience you learn to just compartmentalise all those different things.”