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SAO PAULO, Brazil - Lewis Hamilton ended a long-running Formula 1 feud with Felipe Massa by walking up to the Ferrari driver after the 2011 Brazilian GP and giving him a hug.
Hamilton said: "It's been a long, hard year for all the drivers and I hope they all have a good winter. It was good to have a nice chat with Felipe after the race. I have great respect for him and I'm already looking forward to racing against him again next year."
MAGNETIC ATTRACTION
Massa welcomed the gesture: "I was pleased that Lewis came around to see me... it was a very nice gesture on his part."
Hamilton and Massa have had a magnetic attraction on the track this season, colliding six times - most recently in India in October - and ending up barely on speaking terms.
The two looked like they might be on for another coming together at Interlagos, with Hamilton hot on Massa's heels in a battle for fifth place until a gearbox failure sidelined the Briton.
Martin Whitmarsh said: "Even in this race we've had the magnetic attraction between Lewis and Felipe which has sometimes gone wrong. For a few moments there we thought it might just happen again. In fact at that point Lewis didn't have a seventh gear so although he was quite a lot quicker, getting past was going to be a bit of a challenge for him.
"So it was nice at the end of it, in an impromptu way, for Lewis to have a hug with Felipe... so let's hope that story will now end and we'll move on to a great championship fight for next year."
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said: "I was very pleased to see today Lewis Hamilton come in here and hug Felipe. At the end of the day that is what it is all about. It was a good gesture and I am very happy that today this was pretty clear."
Hamilton said: "It's been a long, hard year for all the drivers and I hope they all have a good winter. It was good to have a nice chat with Felipe after the race. I have great respect for him and I'm already looking forward to racing against him again next year."
MAGNETIC ATTRACTION
Massa welcomed the gesture: "I was pleased that Lewis came around to see me... it was a very nice gesture on his part."
Hamilton and Massa have had a magnetic attraction on the track this season, colliding six times - most recently in India in October - and ending up barely on speaking terms.
The two looked like they might be on for another coming together at Interlagos, with Hamilton hot on Massa's heels in a battle for fifth place until a gearbox failure sidelined the Briton.
Martin Whitmarsh said: "Even in this race we've had the magnetic attraction between Lewis and Felipe which has sometimes gone wrong. For a few moments there we thought it might just happen again. In fact at that point Lewis didn't have a seventh gear so although he was quite a lot quicker, getting past was going to be a bit of a challenge for him.
"So it was nice at the end of it, in an impromptu way, for Lewis to have a hug with Felipe... so let's hope that story will now end and we'll move on to a great championship fight for next year."
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said: "I was very pleased to see today Lewis Hamilton come in here and hug Felipe. At the end of the day that is what it is all about. It was a good gesture and I am very happy that today this was pretty clear."