• Monaco Grand Prix

Hamilton apologises to Massa and Maldonado

Lewis Hamilton: "To Massa and Maldonado, with the greatest respect I apologise if I offended you" © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Lewis Hamilton
• |
• Pastor Maldonado
• |
• Felipe Massa

• Teams:
• McLaren

Lewis Hamilton has apologised to Pastor Maldonado and Felipe Massa for his comments following the Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished the race sixth after a difficult weekend and was clearly still frustrated when interviewed by the BBC following the race. He was penalised by the stewards for overtaking moves on Massa and Maldonado and in the heat of the moment criticised his fellow drivers, saying: "These drivers are absolute frickin' ridiculous, it's stupid."

However, on Monday he apologised to the pair via the social networking website Twitter: "To Massa and Maldonado, with the greatest respect I apologise if I offended you. Both of you are fantastic drivers who I regard highly."

Hamilton has already apologised to the stewards of the meeting for a joke referencing Ali G, which he admitted "wasn't funny at the time".

On Monday, he also sent out an apology to his fans via Twitter. "Hey guys. I wanted to apologise for last weekend's performance and also my comments after, I never meant to offend no one."

He added: "To my fans lost and my fans won, I wish you nothing but love and happiness. God Bless you. Onwards and upwards, Montreal next. Lewis."

And in British newspapers, Hamilton explained his loss of temper. "I don't do it to offend people or to hurt anyone," he said. "I do it because I love racing. I feel like I can do it better than others."

He also said his desire to succeed in Monaco, the past playground of his hero Ayrton Senna, is higher than ever. "In my heart of hearts I believe I can own this circuit," said Hamilton. "I feel like I can be the fastest here. I was, and not with the fastest car."

He admitted the events of Sunday's race had frustrated him. "I got hit [in the race] and my rear wing was hanging off and I was asked to come in and retire, and I refused. The first pit stop I was asked to pit and no one was there. So all the tension just boiled up."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.