Lewis Hamilton is not dwelling on his clash with teammate and championship rival Nico Rosberg at the Belgian Grand Prix, and is instead choosing to look forwards to the final seven rounds of the 2014 season.
On the second lap of the race at Spa-Francorchamps, the two drivers made contact when Rosberg tried to overtake Hamilton around the outside of Les Combes.
The German’s car touched Hamilton’s rear wheel, leaving the Briton with a puncture. He would ultimately retire from the race, conceding another 18 points to Rosberg in the championship race.
The F1 world had expected an on-track collision at some point this season, but the team had maintained that it would allow its drivers to race so long as there was no contact between them.
In the wake of the incident, Rosberg apologized to Hamilton and the team for causing the collision, but many believed that it would set the tone for a tense final leg of the season at Mercedes.
Speaking in a press conference on Thursday in Italy, Hamilton said that he was not looking backwards at the incident, and is instead putting all of his efforts into winning a second world championship in 2014.
“I’m really excited about moving forward,” Hamilton said. “I had a good couple of days break last week, so excited to be here, this is one of my favorite circuits so I hope we can have a good weekend.
“I know it’s something you all want to talk about but after the race it was important to really try and move forwards and that’s really what I’m focusing on.
“What’s happened in the past is in the past and it is what it is. I’m excited to get back in the car. I have seven races, there’s still a lot of points available and so that’s my focus.”
Hamilton was quick to dodge questions about whether or not it was a racing incident, but is now focusing on reducing the 29 point gap at the top of the championship standings.
You can watch this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix live on NBCSN and Live Extra on Sunday 7th September from 7.30am ET.
