Lewis Hamilton clarifies comment that teammate Bottas "left the door open" for Verstappen

Seven-time Drivers' Champion Lewis Hamilton has taken to social media to clarify some comments he made about teammate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull Racing's Sergio Perez after the Mexican Grand Prix. The Brit finished second behind title rival and championship leader Max Verstappen, thereby leaving him seemingly annoyed with his Finn teammate who started on pole position.

Hamilton felt that Bottas could have defended better against Verstappen and made it harder for him to overtake at Turn 1 instead of 'leaving the door open' for him. As for Perez, the 36-year old said that he was surprised the Mexican was able to follow him so easily on a track, where most drivers struggled to do so. He believes his comments about Bottas and Perez may have been taken wrongly by some of the fans which is why he believed, it was important to clarify.

Lewis Hamilton clarifies statements about Valtteri Bottas

Lewis Hamilton posted an Instagram story on his official handle where he wrote, "We all have bad days. We live and learn. Yesterday I said that vb [Bottas] left the door open, and naturally, people will jump to criticise. We are a team, and we win, and we lose as a team. There is not one single person responsible for winning or losing. We do it together good or bad. You may be able to beat us, but you can't break us! On to the next one Valtteri. Let's keep pushing bro!"

Lewis Hamilton also clarifies comments on Sergio Perez

After clarifying comments about Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton also explained his comments about Sergio Perez. "Just want to make sure people don't read what I was saying wrong yesterday. I have a lot of respect for Sergio Perez and think he's doing a great job in his new team. He's improved so much this season, and I know how hard it is to progress with a new team. It takes time. My comment was simply that following another car in Mexico is the hardest thing due to the low drag we all have. That's why there is very little overtaking. However, he was able to follow so closely, which highlights just how much more downforce they were able to carry. Big up Checo for keeping it clean."

Speaking of Perez during his post-race interview, Hamilton had said, "[Red Bull's] pace, it was just unbelievable, and there was nothing I could do to battle that... and when you've got Checo [Perez] on your tail, you know the car is quick." The Brit was afraid that fans would take the latter part of his statement out of context, and hence, he believed it was vital to clarify what he meant.