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Hamilton explains Wilson tribute misunderstanding

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Lewis Hamilton has explained why he didn't remove his hat during a moment's silence in tribute to Justin Wilson before the Italian GP.

Hamilton was criticised after continuing to wear his cap and his music headphones as the drivers lined up at Monza on Sunday to remember the former Minardi and Jaguar F1 driver who was killed in a freak IndyCar accident at Pocono Raceway two weeks ago.

The world champion's breach of etiquette was noted by Sky Sports F1 pundit Johnny Herbert, who wrote on Twitter: "Disrespectful @LewisHamilton not taking your cap off for Justin Wilsons [sic] 1min silence."

Hamilton subsequently explained that it had been a misunderstanding and that he had been expecting the moment's silence to take place nearer the start of the Italian Grand Prix in the same way that the drivers had paid their respects to the late Jules Bianchi a few weeks earlier in Hungary.

"Guys, I honestly hadn't realise it was a minute of silence. I was so focused & listening to my music, I thought we were taking a photo," Hamilton posted on the social media site after the race.

"I have the upmost respect & appreciation for Justin & his family. My sincere apologies," he added. "I was told the minute of silence would be on the grid same as it was for Jules. I was misinformed..

Before the race started, Hamilton tweeted a personal message commemorating the 37-year-old from Sheffield.

"Justin, before we race today know I am thinking of you. May you be resting in peace & Fly high with the Angels bro," he wrote. "God watch over his family always."

Hamilton had been doing his best not to be photographed without his cap on during the Italian Grand Prix weekend, as he appeared somewhat embarrassed about his shock of newly-blonde hair, although he did remove his hat for the Italian anthem on the grid before the race and for the British national anthem on the podium after he won.

"With my hair, it's because I can, and just because I wanted to experience something new," he explained. "I'm very much in an experimental phase of my life right now, I'm experimenting with lots of things. It's short term at the moment, I don't know what colour I'll do next."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.