Championship leader Lewis Hamilton said he would be willing to get a warning flag for a risky move if it meant potentially winning a race.
Hamilton finished third in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, behind Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and race winner Charles Leclerc, who ended Ferrari's nine-year wait for success at its home track.
Hamilton was in relentless pursuit of Leclerc for most of the race and almost got past on Lap 23 but his younger rival veered to the right and forced him onto the run-off.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco, second right, celebrates with third placed Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, right, and second place Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas of Finland, second left on podium after winning the Formula One Italy Grand Prix at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)
"He didn't leave me a car's width," Hamilton yelled on team radio. "He pushed me off."
The 21-year-old Leclerc was shown a black-and-white flag — the equivalent to a yellow card in soccer.
"If that's how we're able to race, then I'll race that," Hamilton said afterward. "As long as we know that you're allowed to not leave a car width for example, you don't have to do that now.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, right, congratulates Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco winning the Formula One Italy Grand Prix at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)
"You're allowed to run wide even if someone's there and you only get a warning flag, you only need that once to potentially keep the guy behind you. So as long as it's clear moving forwards that's fine, just so I know how to go into battle, same for all the drivers."
Max Verstappen was given a five-second penalty for a similar move last year at Monza. When Hamilton was questioned about it, he replied tersely: "I guess the stewards woke up on a different side of the bed this morning, I don't know."
Another defensive move from Leclerc later in the race had Hamilton saying on team radio: "Some dangerous driving going on here."
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco, center, celebrates with runner-up Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas of Finland, left, and third placed Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, on podium after winning the Formula One Italy Grand Prix at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Sunday, Sept.8, 2019. (AP PhotoAntonio Calanni)
However, Hamilton said later that he had no qualms about Leclerc's style of driving.
"There is absolutely zero issue with us," the five-time world champion said. "I think he did an exceptional job day today and I don't have any problem. It is what it is.
"I haven't spoken to him but if we get some time together we might chat for a second, just reverse roles, just make sure he's cool if I'm in that position and that happens. If that's cool then that's how we're racing."
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco is chased by Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain during the Formula One Italy Grand Prix at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Sunday, Sept.8, 2019. (AP PhotoAntonio Calanni)
Hamilton saw his championship lead trimmed by two points but is still 63 points ahead of Bottas with seven races remaining.
The 34-year-old Hamilton said he would have driven differently in the first incident if he already had the title wrapped up.
"I wouldn't have moved and we would have collided," he said.
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
ISTANBUL (AP) — More than 40 people remained stranded in cable cars high above a mountain in southern Turkey on Saturday, 19 hours after one pod hit a pole and burst open, killing one person and injuring seven.
The accident occurred around 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Tunektepe cable car just outside the Mediterranean city of Antalya during the busy Eid al-Fitr holiday. Operations to rescue the stranded people continued throughout the night.
“128 citizens in 16 pods have been rescued under difficult conditions,” Okay Memis, director of the Turkish search and rescue agency AFAD, told media Saturday morning. “The rescue of 43 others in eight remaining pods is ongoing.”
He added that rescuers hope to complete rescue operations before dark.
The casualties occurred when a pod hit a pole and burst open, sending its passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials said.
State-run Anadolu Agency identified the deceased as a 54-year-old Turkish man. The injured were six Turkish citizens and one Kyrgyz national, including two children. They were rescued by Coast Guard helicopters.
Images in Turkish media showed the battered car swaying from dislodged cables on the side of the rocky mountain as medics tended the wounded.
A total of 543 first responders and seven helicopters are involved in the rescue operations, including teams from AFAD, the Coast Guard, firefighting teams and mountaineering teams from different parts of Turkey, officials said.
Friday was the final day of a three-day public holiday in Turkey marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which sees families flock to coastal resorts.
The cable car carries tourists from Konyaalti beach to a restaurant and viewing platform at the summit of the 618-meter (2,010-foot) Tunektepe peak. It is run by Antalya Metropolitan Municipality. The cable car line was completed in 2017 and receives a major inspection around the beginning of the year, as well as routine inspections throughout the year.
Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation. An expert commission including mechanical and electrical engineers and health and safety experts was assigned to determine the cause of the incident.
Rescue and emergency team members work with passengers of a cable car transportation system outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. At least one person was killed and several injured Friday when a cable car pod in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials and local media said. Scores of other people were left stranded late into the night after the entire cable car system came to a standstill. (Dia Images via AP)
Rescue and emergency team members work with passengers of a cable car transportation system outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. At least one person was killed and several injured Friday when a cable car pod in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials and local media said. Scores of other people were left stranded late into the night after the entire cable car system came to a standstill. (Dia Images via AP)
Rescue and emergency team members work with passengers of a cable car transportation system outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. At least one person was killed and several injured Friday when a cable car pod in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials and local media said. Scores of other people were left stranded late into the night after the entire cable car system came to a standstill. (Dia Images via AP)
A rescue team work with passengers of a cable car transportation systems outside Antalya, southern Turkey, April, Friday 12, 2024. A cable car disaster in southern Turkey left one person dead and seven injured over the busy Eid al-Fitr public holiday on Friday, local media reported. (IHA via AP)
A severely damaged cabin of a cable car transportation system is seen outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. At least one person was killed and several injured Friday when a cable car pod in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials and local media said. Scores of other people were left stranded late into the night after the entire cable car system came to a standstill. (Dia Images via AP)
Rescue and emergency team members work with passengers of a cable car transportation system outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. At least one person was killed and several injured Friday when a cable car pod in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials and local media said. Scores of other people were left stranded late into the night after the entire cable car system came to a standstill. (Dia Images via AP)
