Q & A with Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton: Racing is racing, I had a good race still.

Q. Was there any discussion with the team that you might pull over and let him back past?

LH: No. I kept pushing, I was racing.

Q. No conversation with the team at all?

LH: No.

Q. What was your response when the team told you you had a drive through?

LH: Fortunately they told me towards the end of my lap and I came in.

Q. Did you not question what it was for?

LH: Later on I asked them what it was for and they said it was for overtaking someone on the first lap.

Q. Did your head drop down after that?

LH: No, I kept pushing. There's nothing you can do that can distract me. You can keep on giving me penalties and whatever you want to do and I'll keep battling and try and come back with a result.

Q. It seems that if you are driving a silver car you're going to get a penalty, there's almost an inevitability to it. Does it feel like that to you?

LH: I'm not going to answer that one.

Q. How difficult was the race?

LH: I did everything I needed to do, I stayed out of trouble and drove what I thought was a fair race. We just missed the points, so that's three races now without scoring points but there's still 10 races to go.

Q. You had a good start...

LH: I had quite a good start, but there were about four people abreast in front of me so I took it easy. I was able to overtake a few people in turn five and I thought I overtook reasonably fairly into turn seven. Going in I was ahead but I lost the back end and to correct it I corrected it and I went over the kerb which I don't particularly see as cheating, but rules are rules.

Q. What's your point of view of the drive-through penalty?

LH: What do you mean, my mistake or whatever?

Q. What did you feel about it?

LH: I don't particularly feel I did anything. I went into the corner. I believe I was ahead on the outside and I couldn't turn in on the guy otherwise we would have crashed so I took the outside line, lost the back on the marbles and went over the kerb. I continued because I don't believe I overtook him by going over the kerb, I actually took him before that.

Q. You don't feel the penalty was justified?

LH: I'm not going to answer that.

Q. After the race you seemed quite angry towards the media? You didn't want to talk to us. Tell us how you are feeling.

LH: I feel cool. It's all good. Racing is racing. I'm still here, there's nothing you can do to get me out of it.