Hamilton and Raikkonen shrug off pit lane near-miss

Despite a close encounter in the pit lane, neither Lewis Hamilton nor Kimi Raikkonen seemed inclined to make a big deal of the incident following qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday afternoon.

Raikkonen was waved out his garage by a Ferrari mechanic, but by the time he had completed his turn he was blocking the way for Hamilton who had been ushered out of the neighbouring Mercedes garage at almost the same moment.

"I was pulling out and all of a sudden he appeared and I thought he was going to hit me," Hamilton said after the end of qualifying. "I found it quite unusual.

"I think I did have to brake and lift, or at least lift, but I think he saw me.

"A little bit of an unsafe release I guess from them," he added. "But it’s not a race."

Raikkonen seemed put out even to be asked about the incident by reporters after the session. "This is your question after qualifying?", he shot back.

"It was nothing," he insisted. "We both went out at the same time. Once I saw him I turned as much as I could on the right, but for sure he had enough space to go."

The incident did not appear to have attracted the attention of the race stewards, and there was no indication that the matter would be looked at with a view to possible penalties for an unsafe pit release by either team.