Lewis Hamilton in Twitter plea for forgiveness

Published on Monday 30 May 2011 17:30

LEWIS Hamilton last night begged racing fans to forgive him for the foul-mouthed race rant which stunned F1.

His explosive interview on Sunday night after the Monaco Grand Prix saw him question fellow drivers Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado - before joking that the authorities may have it in for him because he is black.

The 26-year-old Brit told more than 230,000 followers on Twitter last night: "Hey guys. I wanted to apologise for last weekend's performance and also my comments after, I never meant to offend no one (sic].

"To Massa and Maldonado, with the greatest respect I apologise if I offended you. Both of you are fantastic drivers who I regard highly.

"I would also like to say thank you to everyone on here, for their positive messages and also to the angry messages. I can respect them both."

He concluded his gushing apology with: "To my fans lost and my fans won, I wish you nothing but love and happiness. God bless you. Onwards and upwards, Montreal next."

McLaren driver Hamilton stunned the Cote d'Azur on Monday in an angry post-race interview. He was punished on Saturday after causing collisions with Massa and Maldonado.

He said: "Out of six races, I've been to the stewards five times. It's a joke. It's an absolute frickin' joke. It's just ridiculous. These drivers are absolutely frickin' ridiculous. Just stupid."

He added: "Maybe it's because I'm black. That's what Ali G says. I don't know."

He finished sixth in the race. The other drivers criticised Hamilton, who was hit with a 20-second post-race penalty. "He was too aggressive", Massa said. "They (the FIA] need to think about something for him, or he will not learn."