Hockenheim, Germany: Jenson Button has accused Lewis Hamilton of getting into unnecessary “fights” in the German Grand Prix on Sunday, as he was left baffled after their collision during the race.
Button, who finished ninth, said that his compatriot and former McLaren teammate had presumed wrongly that he would provide no resistance when they found themselves in close company on lap 30.
“Why would we let anyone through?” Button said. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but a lot of drivers do that line to get a good exit from the corner. I think the problem with Lewis is he expected me to let him past.
“I don’t think I’m the only person he drove into today. It’s strange, when the car’s so much quicker you’d think he wouldn’t get into so [many] fights, but there you go. He drove into my rear wheel, that’s all I’ve got to say and I don’t know much else about it.
“I’m out there doing my race. It would make it boring if we all let him past when he was coming through the field.”
Hamilton was apologetic after the incident, even putting his hand up to Button when he eventually got through on the following lap. The 29-year-old said that he had been caught unawares by Button’s wide line.
“The incident with Jenson was just unfortunate,” he said. “He has been such a gentleman this year and not given me too much trouble getting past but it was just a misunderstanding today.
“I wasn’t close enough to try and pass but I was on the inside line in the corner. It looked like he had gone wide, then he cut back across the corner and perhaps didn’t see me there.”
Button was not the only one dishing out blame on Sunday night. After their spectacular first-corner crash, Felipe Massa claimed that Kevin Magnussen was at fault, even though the stewards elected not to issue any penalties, and it seemed as if the young Dane did all he could to avoid an accident.
Massa, who was unhurt, said: “If anyone needs to watch, it is the car behind. At that corner you cannot have three cars side-by-side, and I backed off a bit to not be side by side with my teammate. It is normally a guy who comes from GP2 who causes this accident.”
Magnussen made a stunning start, positioning himself on the inside for the Nord curve. Massa, caught unawares, turned in only to connect with the McLaren’s right front wheel. The Brazilian was sent careering into the run-off area, upside down, sparks flying from his Williams.
Magnussen protested his innocence. “I did my best to try and avoid the accident, but there wasn’t much else I could do,” he said.
