17/04/2010
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton has admitted to being surprised by the criticism from fellow drivers for his tactics in Malaysia, but says that lessons has been learned.
During his battle with Vitaly Petrov in Sepang the Englishman was adjudged to have weaved in his attempts to stop the Russian re-taking track position. The McLaren driver was subsequently warned by the FIA's official Race Director, Charlie Whiting.
In the build up to this weekend's race however, fellow drivers have expressed their unease with Hamilton's tactics, Williams driver Rubens Barrichello being the first to speak out before several others followed suit.
Speaking today, Hamilton revealed that Whiting had already clarified the position on defensive tactics when warning him and suggested that the criticism from rival drivers smacked of whingeing.
"He gave us a warning for that not to happen again," said Hamilton, referring to his 'chat' with Whiting. "I discussed it with him and he made it clear that's not what he wants to see and so we just don't do that again. Lesson learned and we move forward."
Asked whether he saw his fellow drivers' criticism as whingeing, the McLaren driver replied: "You can write that if you want".
"I didn't understand why everybody was fussing about it, it wasn't really much of a problem for me," he added. "They seemed to be talking about it for some time."
Hamilton is concerned that what some might perceive as weaving, is, in reality, merely an attempt to break the tow one is giving the driver running behind. "It's not that clear in what is called defending and breaking the tow," he said. "That's not made clear."