Hamilton retains "utmost repsect" for title rival Vettel

Lewis Hamilton has not lost any respect for rival Sebastian Vettel despite the controversial clash at Baku. Vettel drove up alongside the Mercedes driver and bumped into him, as Vettel thought Hamilton had purposely brake checked him.

Vettel was handed a 10 second stop/go penalty for the incident before the FIA called the German to a meeting in Paris. Following an in-depth discussion, the governing body decided not to hand Vettel any further sanction.

"I don't think it does," Hamilton said when asked whether the incident had changed the nature of their rivalry. "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."

"My only point was I felt that saying I had brake tested him… I was saying I hope you can correct that publicly," he continued. "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 [from Vettel], 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."

Fergal Walsh