Lewis Hamilton says he and Nico Rosberg have "pure respect" for each other following their collision at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The two Mercedes drivers came together on the run to Turn 4 after Hamilton lost control on the grass having been trying to overtake his team-mate. When asked if there was less ill feeling this year compared to events in Monaco and Belgium in 2014 - when the pair also collided - Hamilton said he feels both drivers are more mature.
"I think it’s really just showing the growth between Nico and I," Hamilton said. "We spoke to each other today and in the past there would have been some kind of tension of some sort, but today it was just pure respect.
"I said ‘I have all the respect for you’ and he said the same. It doesn’t change anything or how we approach our racing. So maybe we are just getting old! We are good at our jobs and we know it, we are just getting older."
And Hamilton says the emotions may have been different had both cars not retired, but believes the incident highlights how cleanly the pair have raced so far together.
"For sure it would be different situations, different emotions and different feelings for sure. There are 16 races to go and we have a long career left of racing with one another, so we have done pretty well in the God-knows-how-many races we have done not to collide at the detriment of the team’s result.
"You have to assume there are going to be more, of course we will do everything we can to avoid it, but there is going to be racing. At some stage there are going to be lots of close encounters and we have to try our best to make sure that it’s nothing in terms of affecting our results.
"Every scenario is different. This one is the one we are faced with right now and we are getting past it in a positive manner. Hopefully in the future we will be better prepared but the emotions will depend on the situation."
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