Both Hamilton and Rosberg called to face the stewards after the race; Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says clash was 'brainless'
Wednesday 13 July 2016 15:49, UK
Lewis Hamilton believes he was blameless for his crash with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg at the climax of the Austrian GP despite being booed on the podium.
Rosberg was handed a ten-second penalty by the stewards after they ruled the world championship leader had caused the crash by not leaving Hamilton 'racing room'.
However, Rosberg accused Hamilton of causing the crash immediately after the race and later added he did not agree with the stewards' verdict. "They gave me the blame, which sucks. I respect that, but I am of a different opinion," he said on Sunday night during a video briefing on Facebook.
But Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: "I went to the outside, I believe I was ahead going in but he was in my blind spot. I left tons of room for him to make the corner and I got to the white line and I began to turn and boom, big hit.
"I'm pretty sure he hit me, rather than the other way."
Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle concurred with Hamilton's account, arguing: "I don't think Lewis could have left him any more room.
"Lewis was on the racing line and couldn't have gone any further left. He was up against the white line, presumably hoping to cut back underneath Nico from a more acute angle. I think Nico will look at that incident and realise his attempt to intimidate Hamilton and run him wide was a critical error."
Remarkably, a second collision between the two Mercedes cars nearly occurred when Hamilton, bumped onto the run-off area at Turn Two, attempted to return to the track and overtake his team-mate for the lead.
"I tried not to lose too much ground and he didn't leave any space," said Hamilton.
"Normally when you have an incident like that you kind of move over if the other car is coming on, but he hugged the white line, and as I came out he appeared out of nowhere so I had to take the grass. But it was ok."
Referencing the boos he received on the podium, perhaps because the on-track commentary suggested Hamilton was at fault for the collision, the world champion added: "These things are not the greatest, but it happens, I forgive them."
"Obviously I've experienced being up there when other people have been booed for a real reason - taking someone out or doing something intentional - but I don't see how they got that opinion today."
