Hamilton puts Vettel close shave down to 'rookie error'

Lewis Hamilton said he was guilty of making a "rookie error" in practice for the Singapore Grand Prix when he nearly rear-ended title rival Sebastian Vettel. The championship leader's blushes were spared when he locked up his front wheels in FP2, as he came away with just a flat-spotted tyre to show for it.

Hamilton enters yet another race with Vettel as the favourite, but recent victories in Germany, Hungary and Italy have helped him open up a 30-point lead in the drivers' standings.

Vettel's race ended at the first corner at Marina Bay last year and the German was ultimately hampered in FP2 after clipping the wall, costing him any chance of a long-run simulation, but it could have been worse had Hamilton not managed to desperately avoid careering into him earlier in the session.

"Basically I let the guys [Vettel and Force India's Sergio Perez] past and they both backed off, they were going quite slow, and I was trying to recover ground," Hamilton said.

"And I basically had my brake balance too far forward. And Sebastian tried to speed up, and then I locked up and I was going to hit him, so I had to shove to the left to avoid him and killed my tyre.

"Kind of a rookie error from myself, but that doesn't happen too often."

Hamilton's FP2 time suggests that the Silver Arrows might not be as far off the pace as had been predicted and Valtteri Bottas hailed the team's development.

"The car has been improved massively in the high-downforce trim," Bottas said.

"It is much quicker, even compared to the beginning of the season. The fast cars also make it more challenging - the quicker you go, the more G forces you have to pull."

VIDEO: Scary moment for Hamilton and Vettel in FP2