Lewis Hamilton said he “may not always get it right in the face of adversity” two days after accusing the racing governing body, the FIA, of trying to stop him from winning.
Hamilton was denied a chance at victory at the Russian Grand Prix after being handed two time penalties for two pre-race incidents. The world champion was deemed to have conducted practice starts outside of the designated zone to do so.
Hamilton was furious with the penalty, calling it “ridiculous.”
He went on to say, “I need to go back and see what the rules are, what exactly I did wrong,” according to Sky Sports. “I’m pretty sure no one has ever got two five-second penalties for something so ridiculous before.
“I didn’t put anyone in danger, I’ve done this at a million tracks over the years and never been questioned over it. But it is what it is.”
Hamilton was initially handed two penalty points on his superlicence, but they were rescinded in place of a fine for Mercedes following a review after the race.
On Tuesday, Hamilton posted to social media what appeared to be a climb down from the comments made in Sochi.
The post read: “I may not always get it right in the face of adversity. I may not always react the way you want me to when tensions are high, but I am only human after all and I am passionate about what I do. I’m learning and growing every day, and I’ll take my lessons and keep fighting on to the next one.
“Thank you to those who continue to support and are right there and fighting with me. Still we rise!”