Lewis Hamilton wrote a letter to the FIA to apologise for his behaviour in the aftermath of the Monaco Grand Prix last month.
Following what had been a frustrating afternoon for the Englishman, he gave a now notorious interview to the BBC in which his spleen was well and truly vented.
But it emerged today that he then wrote a letter to the FIA, and spoke with the drivers concerned, to say sorry for what he had said.
“Last week, coming back from the grand prix I had some time to reflect on my behaviour and my weekend, and just a feeling of it being a bad day in the office,” Hamilton is quoted as saying by Autosport.
“I wrote a letter to the FIA to apologise and spoke to the drivers [Pastor Maldonado and Felipe Massa]. I felt that was necessary to do, and it was the right thing to do, to put it behind me.
“This is racing… when you are competitive and this is the pinnacle of motorsport… it is not easy to overtake, so every move you make is questionable, sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don’t. It is inevitable – sometimes it will be right, sometimes not.
“The stewards are doing a great job, and since I am in F1 it has been improving, being much more consistent – and it makes it much better.
“While I would prefer not to be in the stewards’ room too often and I am trying, my whole life I was always in the headmasters’ office, so I am used to it and try and learn from situations I get myself into.”
Hamilton went on to praise those of whom he had been critical in the wake of Monaco.
“I know Felipe really well, I’ve known Felipe since [I was in] F3 and maybe GP2, having such a good relationship with him, so with him I gave him a call and he had calmed down also and he was able to understand the position,” said the McLaren driver.
“With Pastor, I’ve seen him, known him for many years, and he is doing a fantastic job. He was very quick that weekend and I am not wanting to put anyone out of the grand prix.”
