• Briton reacts after Charles Leclerc squeezed him off track • ‘If that’s how we are allowed to race then I will race like that’

Lewis Hamilton has said he will adapt his driving after Charles Leclerc was not penalised for squeezing him off the track on his way to winning the Italian Grand Prix.

Hamilton also insisted that had he not been focused on winning the world championship he would not have given ground and the pair would have collided, while Michael Masi, the race director, defended the FIA’s decision only to issue Leclerc with a warning.

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Leclerc won at Monza after a tense battle with Hamilton that lasted for much of the race. With Hamilton chasing the Ferrari driver he moved to pass going into the Roggia chicane. Leclerc squeezed him wide and Hamilton was forced to go off track, immediately insisting that Leclerc had not given him a car’s width of space. Masi opted to give Leclerc a warning rather than a penalty and Hamilton was unequivocal that the decision would influence his driving in future.

“If that’s how we are allowed to race then I will race like that,” Hamilton said. “As long as we know that you are allowed to not leave a car width for example. You are allowed to run wide even if someone is there and you only get a warning flag. As long as it is clear that that’s the way moving forward it’s fine, so I know how to go into battle.”

Hamilton is pursuing his sixth title and, with a 63-point lead over his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, he still looks set to seal it. He admitted that his focus at Monza was on the championship and ensuring he was not eliminated from the race. When asked what he would have done had the title not been at stake, he insisted he would have held his line. “I wouldn’t have moved, we would have collided.”

Hamilton described some of Leclerc’s driving as dangerous but maintained he bore no ill-will towards his 21-year-old rival. “We don’t have a problem, we are not in a fight. Charles is one of the most respectful drivers. This is the first time I have gone wheel to wheel with him and with a new driver you learn how they approach different scenarios and maybe position your car differently next time, maybe I will do a better job next time.”

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Masi confirmed the decision in Italy was in line with the direction the FIA has been taking. “We said we are going to reintroduce the use of the [black and white, warning] bad sportsmanship flag,” he said. “Pierre Gasly, for a very similar incident in Spa, received the bad sportsmanship flag. In that case there was no contact and it was, if you use the analogy, it was the professional foul, it was Charles’s warning.”

He admitted it would have an effect on how drivers approach racing. “It changes the dynamic. I think there’s various factors of the ‘let them race’ principles, the ongoing discussions that have been happening throughout the year, they’ve all played a part in that.”