“You sign up a Formula One driver, so come and do your job. No disrespect
to anybody but that’s how this business is.”
Hamilton and Massa had earlier been involved in a collision while vying for
fifth place, for which Hamilton was awarded a drive-through penalty.
Afterwards a furious Massa, who suffered a puncture as a result of the collision
and finished ninth, grabbed Hamilton by the shoulder and, giving a sarcastic
thumbs-up, said: “Good job, man, well done”.
Hamilton, who recovered from the penalty to finish fifth, spun around and
appeared to snap back: “Don’t touch me, man.”
The pair, who scrapped so memorably for the 2008 drivers’ championship in
which Hamilton prevailed by a solitary point, have been involved in a series
of scuffles this year.
After a collision in Monaco, for which Hamilton was also handed a drive-through
penalty, the McLaren driver appeared to label the Brazilian’s driving
“frickin ridiculous” while Massa called for the McLaren driver
to be punished more severely.
In qualifying on Saturday the pair again clashed both on and off the track,
with Hamilton accusing the Brazilian of “blocking” and Massa responding
by saying the Briton was “not using his mind”. It was a theme to
which Massa returned last night. “”He destroyed my race,” he
said.
“Yesterday he tried to be Superman in qualifying and today he tried to
do the same. He could have caused a big accident.
How many races this year has he gone in the wrong direction? He never learns.
“I tried to speak to him, but he didn’t listen to me. I called him twice,
but he didn’t listen, he passed through. He didn’t even look at me. Maybe
his father can do something about it.”
Asked if further disciplinary action should be taken against him, Massa added:
“It is up to the FIA. You can’t say they made a mistake (here) because
they penalised him. But he is paying so much for his driving.”
Anthony Hamilton agreed that his son was at fault for the incident but appeared
more concerned by the fact that, for the second time this season, Lewis did
not have his manager present. No one from XIX
Entertainment, Simon Fuller’s company which also has David Beckham and Andy
Murray on its books, was present in Monaco either.
“Unfortunately, the issue in the race was an ‘aggressive Lewis’ issue,”
Hamilton Snr said. “It was a misjudgement. What can you say? I have
seen Lewis and he is fine. He will be back.”
Earlier this year, Sir Stirling Moss suggested that Hamilton should re-engage
his father as his manager. The pair split in acrimonious fashion prior to
the 2010 season.