Hamilton: Hungary row now behind us

The McLaren teammates met privately in Istanbul on Thursday afternoon to talk over the events in Budapest, where Alonso held up Hamilton in the pits in the closing stages of qualifying.

And with team boss Ron Dennis having also met the drivers individually to reflect on the matter, Hamilton told reporters at Istanbul Park on Friday that everyone at McLaren was now moving forwards.

"Things are looking better, a lot better than you would imagine after the last race," he said. "Everything went as bad as it could ever be.

"A lot of that is from the press who are always writing stories about me and Fernando being at war. It obviously sells a lot more papers, but we are not at war.

"We are both very extremely competitive drivers wanting to win the world championship, but that doesn't deter us from the fact that we respect each other and want to get on."

Hamilton said that he believed all the individuals involved in the controversy had learned from what happened after having had time in the summer break to think over things.

"Ron has had a good holiday as well and has had time to reflect on his actions and it is the same for me and Fernando," continued Hamilton. "We have learned from our lessons and I really feel so fresh coming into this race. 

"I spoke to a lot of people at the team and they feel we have turned over a new leaf. We have put it behind us and moved forwards and that is the most important thing."

Hamilton revealed that the talks on Thursday provided reassurance to both himself and Alonso that they have always been, and will continue to be, treated equally.

"We addressed our issues that we have with the team and we have been assured that it is equal and we are having equal equipment and equal opportunities. Fernando and I, we have to keep on pushing but the war is not between him and me. We have to work together as a team to get the constructors' and drivers' championship.

"If I win it is great for the team and if he wins it is great for the team. But we need to do it for the team and for us as well."

He added: "The fact is that we get on well. We don't have issues; we are not fighting, or wrestling each other. We are just two extremely competitive drivers.

"You cannot be best friends. It is always hard when you are competing against someone in your own team, but the fact is that we get on really well. Even today we were playing PlayStation.

"We had our meeting yesterday and we said let's start with a clean slate: I apologise, you apologise and let's just it over and done with and keep pushing for the rest of the year."