Hamilton penalised as F1 roars to life in India

Lewis Hamilton is ready to make up for the mistake he knows has put himself and McLaren “on the back foot” for tomorrow’s Indian Grand Prix.

Hamilton, along with Sauber’s Sergio Perez, was given a three-place grid penalty following yesterday’s first practice session at the Buddh International Circuit as the long arm of the stewards again hit the 26-year-old hard.

The McLaren star, however, had no complaints as he willingly took full responsibility for ignoring double waved yellow flags at a time when Pastor Maldonado’s Williams was being recovered following a spin.

Hamilton should have slowed considerably, but instead went on to post the fastest lap of the 90-minute morning run as Formula One roared into life for the first time on the sub-continent.

His initial reaction to the penalty was a stern “same old same old” comment, given it was the umpteenth time he has seen the stewards this year – and his sixth penalty overall.

But as the inquisition continued, so Hamilton mellowed, remarkably admitting that when he went in to see the stewards “I put my hands up”.

He added: “I said ‘I accept whatever penalty I get’. That’s what I said, and they gave me one.

“I’m a bit frustrated with myself. It’s my fault. So I just have to do whatever I can from wherever I qualify tomorrow.”

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa finished in front, ahead of double world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Massa, with his car sporting a new front wing as the team look to build for next season, set a lap of one minute 25.706secs, just 0.088secs ahead of Vettel.

Team-mate Fernando Alonso, who managed only four laps in the first session due to an engine issue, was third and a quarter of a second down, with Hamilton 0.748secs adrift.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber and Jenson Button in his McLaren were fifth and sixth, the latter a second off the pace.

As a dusty, slippery circuit at first gathered grip, and as drivers pushed, there were a number of incidents.

In particular, Maldonado spun a second time early in the second session, the Venezuelan beaching his car in the gravel.

The biggest shunt of the day involved Virgin’s Jerome D’Ambrosio, who brought out the red flags for a second time, with the Belgian hardly helping his cause of acquiring a new contract by slamming into a barrier that removed the rear wing and right-rear wheel.

Flying the flag for the home nation, Paul di Resta was ninth for Force India, finishing half a second down on team-mate Adrian Sutil.