Hamilton on FP2 mishap: 'I'm surprised that I caught it'

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Lewis Hamilton says his mishap in FP2 that led to an incident with Max Verstappen could have resulted in much worse than a "cool" drift.

The Mercedes driver lost the rear end of his car on the entry into Turn four, slid wide, took out a bollard but managed to regain control on the outside in the run-off area.

Hamilton then rejoined the track in front of Verstappen who was forced to run wide on the exit of Turn 5, a move that warranted an investigation, but no further action, from the stewards.

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"It was a serious moment," said Hamilton. "I'm surprised that I caught it.

"I think if I had gone round I might have gone off into the wall, so I kind of got it under control drifting, and then I had to apply the brake and come off the brake and apply the brake and a little bit of gas to try and keep the balance.

"It was kind of cool. So I'm definitely happy with the save, and it didn't really damage the tyres either."

Hamilton said he was as cautious as possible when he collected his car and rejoined the track but admitted he had not seen Verstappen.

"I was looking in my mirror, but being along the white line, behind you, there's nothing there, because Max was quite far on the race line the other side," he added.

"So I was just trying to go slow to stay out of the way, I see him all of a sudden come round and luckily I wasn't close enough to him, I didn't stop him going into the corner, and then I think he had a big snap on the exit.

"But yeah, we were in there. It's practice, sometimes these things happen, it wasn't intentional or anything like that."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.