Lewis Hamilton Q&A: It was my mistake

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton knows that his error on lap one at Monza could prove critical to his title hopes. Minor contact with Felipe Massa’s Ferrari, the result of over eagerness he admits, was enough to put the Briton out of the race. The only consolation? That team mate Jenson Button secured a good haul of points and that his closest title rival, Red Bull’s Mark Webber, was unable to score heavily…

Q: What are your feelings after this very short race?
Lewis Hamilton: The good thing is that Jenson (Button) is up there on the podium and he was fighting with the Ferraris, so he did a great job, which is good for the team as it shows that we are very competitive.

Q: The tight battle at the start: if you were in this situation again, would you do anything different?
LH: Probably, and then I would still be racing. I tried my best, and sometimes things don't go your way. I had a good start and gained one position, which left me in fourth spot, and ideally I should have stayed there for a while. I tried to get third in the second corner, and that was a little too much. It was somehow my own mistake, as I wanted to position the car in a certain way and got too close to Massa, which led to our cars touching and my front wheel got damaged. And then there was nothing that I could do anymore. Still I am optimistic for the next races, and I have to apologize to my team.

Q: In terms of the championship battle, were your eyes then on Mark Webber and what he would be able to achieve?
LH: No, not too much. I have to try to collect my thoughts for the next race and try to help the team score as many points as I can, for either Jenson or myself, to win the championship. Even though my championship is not over yet, it is days like this and mistakes like I made today that make you lose a championship. But then you always have to say that the glass is half full, rather than being half empty.

Source: Formula1.com