Lewis Hamilton on Friday (AEDT) criticised the FIA for poor communication in the wake of his track-crossing incident in Qatar and added that he had learned his lesson and was “moving forwards”.
The seven-time champion said he did not feel he was singled out for his breach of the rules when he crossed a ‘live’ track following his collision with Mercedes teammate George Russell.
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He was fined 50,000 euros, 25,000 of that suspended for the rest of the season, and reprimanded after he apologised to the race stewards who, this weekend in Texas, will have the power to give out fines of up to one million euros for breaches of the sporting code.
Following the incident in Qatar, the FIA said it wished to revisit the Hamilton incident and review it in the light of his role-model status.
Asked about this at the Circuit of the Americas on Thursday, Hamilton said he did not feel he was singled out, but blamed the FIA for poor communication.
“I don’t think I was singled out. It was poor communication,” he said.
“I don’t think what they said is what they meant.
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“What they mean is that they’re looking into how they can tackle it, moving forwards, so it doesn’t happen.
“There was a karting accident recently where a kid was hit. They need to speak to their PR agent to do a better job!”
He added that he was fully aware of a need to send the correct messages about on-track conduct.
“They have spoken to me and their point is important,” he said.
“What’s important is to send the right message, particularly to young drivers, that it’s not the thing to do.
“They’re looking to make sure it doesn’t happen moving forwards.”
And regarding his clash with Russell, he said: “The great thing about our sport is there’s always another day to get back on the horse. There’s nothing I can do about the past, but there’s things I can learn – which I have.”
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