Sebastian Vettel is looking to apologise directly to Lewis Hamilton after admitting responsibility for his actions during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that resulted in the German earning a ten-second stop and go penalty and three penalty points on his Superlicence for dangerous driving.
The four-time World Champion swerved into Hamilton as the Briton dictated the pace ahead of a restart following a safety car period, but Vettel said that he overreacted to the situation, with the Scuderia Ferrari driver now believing that the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team racer had no bad intentions when slowing the pack up.
The FIA issued a statement earlier saying that they would not take any further action over the incident after a meeting with Vettel in Paris on Monday, but the German issued a statement of his own admitting guilt and taking responsibility for his actions.
“Concerning the incidents of Baku I’d like to explain myself: During the re-start lap, I got surprised by Lewis and ran into the back of his car,” said Vettel on his official website. “With hindsight, I don’t believe he had any bad intentions.
“In the heat of the action I then overreacted, and therefore I want to apologise to Lewis directly, as well as to all the people who were watching the race. I realize that I was not setting a good example.
“I had no intention at anytime to put Lewis in danger, but I understand that I caused a dangerous situation.
“Therefore, I would like to apologise to the FIA. I accept and respect the decisions that were taken at today’s meeting in Paris, as well as the penalty imposed by the Stewards in Baku.
“I love this sport and I am determined to represent it in a way that can be an example for future generations.”
