Lewis Hamilton refusing to talk to Sebastian Vettel as German's on-track actions likened to Michael Schumacher

Vettel received a 10 second stop and go penalty and three points on his racing licence for the move, which was generally condemned in the F1 paddock

Lewis Hamilton is in no mood to kiss and make up with Sebastian Vettel (Getty)

Lewis Hamilton insists that he isn’t interested in talking to rival Sebastian Vettel about the incident that marred the Azerbaijan GP yesterday.

“I’m just going to do my talking on the track, that’s most important for me,” he said.

It was the American writer Dale Carnegie who once famously said: “Two men looked out through prison bars, one saw mud, the other saw stars.”

One wonders in the cold light of a post-race Monday morning whether Vettel still sees a different picture to the one that Hamilton, the race stewards and hundreds of thousands of F1 fans across the world saw in Turn 15 on the 20^th lap when the German ran into the back of the Englishman’s Mercedes before pulling alongside and deliberately driving into it.

Vettel received a 10s stop and go penalty and three points on his racing licence for the move, which was generally condemned in the F1 paddock, yet was adamant that Hamilton should also have been penalised even though the latter was cleared by the stewards, who included former Tyrrell F1 racer and 1985 Indianapolis 500 winner Danny Sullivan, of any suspicion that he brake tested the Ferrari.

“He was accelerating then he braked so much that I was braking as soon as I saw but I couldn’t stop in time and ran in the back of him. I just think that wasn’t necessary. He damaged my front wing. I drove alongside mostly to raise my hand, I didn’t give him a finger or anything.”

Veteran racer Niki Lauda, who works for Mercedes, suggested that the move tarnished Vettel’s reputation, as it drew comparisons with some of his compatriot Michael Schumacher’s more questionable on-track behaviour. Vettel disagreed.

“No. We’re grown-ups and people expect us to race and use our elbows, that’s what they want. Here and there you might get a bit close but people want real overtaking not just us driving past.”


 Hamilton and Vettel clashed in Baku 
 (Getty)

Hamilton suggested that Vettel had “disgraced himself” with his actions. “There’s no reason to pull up alongside the leader at that point. It couldn’t be clearer, it’s as clear as blue skies.

“We’re world champions, we’re the best drivers in the world. Maybe if you are going down the road in your road car and you put your hand out the window and you do this, you might swerve to the right. But we don’t do that. We’ve been racing for years, we just don’t do that.”

Where Schumacher’s behaviour often betrayed a streak of ruthlessness, Vettel’s on occasion is petulant, and Sunday’s move perhaps illustrated the pressure he was under on a tough weekend for Ferrari. There were allegations that part of the reason for their worst qualifying performance of the year in comparison with Mercedes may have been due to the FIA tightening up on some engine regulations, notably the one which precludes the use of some additives in the lubricating oil which can also act as fuel to create more power. And his myriad visits to escape roads suggested that for once Ferrari were struggling to get their tyres in the correct temperature operating windows. Usually that’s been Mercedes’ problem.

Hamilton seemed more bemused than angry when he discussed the incident later.


 Vettel was penalised for his collision with Hamilton 
 (Getty)

“I did pretty much exactly the same as I did the previous lap. So coming into Turn 15 I could see the safety car lights go out. At that point, I didn’t have to keep up with the pace of the safety car so I could not have to speed up. The only thing there was a couple of different tactics in the sense of when I decided to push. But that’s after Turn 16. So at that point I had to shuffle it because I couldn’t do the same thing as I’d done the time before.

"But in 15 I did exactly the same, I was trying to let the safety car go. Generally the car behind wants to get as close as possible and honestly I think it’s a misjudgement from him. To blame it on the car in front… I think some people don’t like to own up to their own mistakes. But it doesn’t really bother me.

“I need some time to reflect on it all, but I think ultimately today what happened was disrespectful. If I had had any ill intent in terms of my driving towards him, brake testing whatever it may be, I still think it’s not deserving of that kind of reaction from someone that you do have respect for and always showed it to on the track. I don’t think it’s great. In every other class and category there’s kids on TV watching us and you would think a multi, multi world champion would behave better than that. That’s the kind of thing you see in go-karts.”


 Vettel still leads the championship after Baku 
 (Getty)

Vettel suggested that he would talk with Hamilton privately rather than in front of the media, but Hamilton said he wasn’t bothered.

“Firstly, he doesn’t have my number. And I’ve not come out of the race pointing the finger. It is what it is, it happened. I don’t think it was right but the biggest bit for me was that I lost the race through the headrest issue. All I’m thinking of is getting my head together. I want to win the next 12 races.”

Hamilton’s boss Toto Wolff, who admits to friendship with Vettel, said he preferred them to be fighting rather than “schmoozing”, as he described their previous cordiality.

“You are at war the moment that the race starts. They're fighting for the race win and for a championship. Sebastian wasn't being brake-tested. But he's an emotional guy. The consequence we have seen. But these two share seven championships among them. Sebastian will know that that didn't look great. I don't need to talk to anybody or bang any heads.

“The sport needs the rivalry and I think what we've seen today has the ingredient of a great championship. At a certain stage, the best ones that compete for world championships can't be friends. Maybe we've seen the limitation of the respect today.”