Jenson Button has revealed that he and Lewis Hamilton have already moved on from their clash at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton and Button on good terms despite contact in Canada
Jenson Button has revealed that he and Lewis Hamilton have already moved on from their clash at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton attempted a daring overtaking manoevre on Button which resulted in the former world champion puncturing his left-rear tyre, forcing him to retire later on the lap.
It was one of three incidents involving Hamilton during a dramatic race, just a fortnight after being twice penalised by race stewards for causing accidents in Monaco.
But his McLaren team-mate, who went to win the grand prix after passing Sebastien Vettel on the final lap, defended Hamilton against another slew of criticism.
"Lewis is in the headlines a lot, and a lot of it is because he is bloody good," said Button.
"He's a racer, a fighter. For me that is the reason why I wanted to be here, against and with a driver that is super talented, one of the best drivers Formula One has ever seen.
Aggressive
"It's good challenging him on the circuit. We have a lot of respect for each other, we've raced each other a lot this year, and last year, and we've never touched. We've always given each other room.
"For me that's a great position to be in. So I don't agree with what Niki has said. I think his driving style is aggressive and he always goes for gaps.
"Sometimes he's right, sometimes he's not, but it's the same for all of us. He just finds himself in that situation more often than others."
Button revealed he cleared the air with Hamilton after the race and that there is no animosity between them that could spill over at a later date.
"Obviously I'm very sorry I collided with Lewis," added Button. "We spoke about it, and it's one of those things. I didn't know he was there. He went for a move, we collided, which is sad for both of us.
"Initially it played on my mind because you never want to crash with your team-mate. It's the worst thing to do.
"But we spoke about it, and he was very good actually. He was one of the first people to congratulate me after the race, which was really nice to see."
