HAMILTON BACKTRACKS

FOUR-TIME Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton yesterday distanced himself from comments he made after Sunday’s British Grand Prix about rival driver Kimi Raikkonen, with the two having collided on the first lap. “Kimi said sorry and I accept it and we move on. It was a racing incident and nothing more,” the Mercedes driver wrote on Instagram Stories. “Sometimes we say dumb s**t and we learn from it.” The Briton initially hinted he had been the victim of a planned move by Ferrari. “Interesting tactics, I would say, from their side, but we’ll do what we can to fight them,” he said. Raikkonen was given a 10-second penalty for the crash at the Silverstone circuit, which saw Hamilton – who had started in pole position – have to fight his way back from 18th. Hamilton eventually finished second in his home grand prix but Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel won the race and stretched his lead over the Briton to eight points after 10 of 21 races. weekend after a disappointing eight bogeys in the previous two rounds at Ballyliffin. “There were improvements over the weekend,” the 29-year-old told reporters. “I hit the ball the best I’ve hit it on Thursday and I felt like I sort of kept it up. It maybe wasn’t quite as good the last three days, but I putted a lot better today.” The British Open begins on July 19.