Hamilton: Vettel put me in the wall!

Lewis Hamilton pointed the finger at Sebastian Vettel over their on-track squabble at the Russian Grand Prix, accusing the Ferrari man of putting him in the wall at turn two. Hamilton eventually got past his championship rival, having lost out at the pit-stops, and went on to win thanks to Mercedes ordering Valtteri Bottas aside.

Hamilton's battle with Vettel would prove to be the turning point in the race as the Brit picked up tyre damage, prompting Mercedes to deploy team orders and change the race result.

Ferrari's strategy has been much-maligned in recent weeks, but it paid off as Vettel undercut Hamilton to take track position behind Bottas, but Mercedes' greater pace across the weekend ultimately told for Hamilton – despite a scary near miss a few corners earlier.

Stewards judged that no further action was necessary, but it was clear Hamilton did not agree.

He said: "For me, he did move over to the inside and he moved again and he nearly put me in the wall.

"So I thought that was a double move, but I guess they didn't see that.

"Nonetheless, I was able to stay out the wall and still get around that corner and then it was a question of who would brake earlier in the next corner and I wanted it more at the time.

"We shouldn't have been in that position. I don't understand how we strategically ended up in that place."

Naturally, Vettel saw the incident a different way to his rival.

"I didn't see him and I wasn't sure where he was," the Ferrari man said. "I saw he was on the outside and I needed to give him room even if I didn't want to - so it remains fair, but then he got past."

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