Raikkonen brands Hamilton 'stupid' after red light blunder in Montreal

Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen sit on pitlane after their collision

The McLaren racer drove straight into the back of world champion Kimi Raikkonen as he tried to re-enter the circuit following refuelling, despite a red light telling him to stop. The 45mph impact brought an end to both their races. Hamilton was punished by the stewards with a 10-place grid penalty for the French race in a fortnight, while Raikkonen was scathing, saying: 'I saw the red light and chose to stop. Unfortunately, someone else saw it and chose not to stop.

'If I go 300km an hour and lose control and hit somebody, it is natural. But if I do it in the pit lane under a speed limit and two cars are stopped in front of me, it is stupid.'

Hamilton said of his punishment: 'I'm not happy about it but they can throw at me what they want. I'll come back stronger.'

The Briton fell to third in the championship standings behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa, with race winner Robert Kubica leading the way. Hamilton added: 'It's not a racing incident but I think it is unfortunate. It is a lot different if you crash into the wall and you are angry with yourself.

'I apologise to Kimi if I ruined his race. I would rather neither of us be out. I was so quick I was breezing it. Next time.'

Hamilton's mistake let Pole Kubica claim his first grand prix victory, a year on from his horror smash here. The BMW racer took a four-point lead in the standings with seven races of the season left. He said: 'I'd just like to thank Lewis for choosing to hit Kimi and not me!'