» Hamilton: First-lap error could cost me the title

A contrite Lewis Hamilton accepted full responsibility for his first-lap collision with Felipe Massa that took him out of the race, and admitted that this could prove costly in the scheme of the World Championship.

The then championship leader – holding a three-point margin to Mark Webber – broke his right-front suspension after tagging Massa’s Ferrari at the Roggia chicane on the first lap of the Italian Grand Prix.

“It was clearly a mistake by myself, one of those things that happens when you’re racing and you’re pushing hard,” Hamilton told the media when he returned to the paddock.

“I was trying to position the car in a certain way and I was too close to Massa and he clipped my wheel and damaged the car. Nothing I could do.”

But Hamilton shouldn’t write off his championship chances just yet, with his nearest rival Mark Webber finishing in sixth place, which was enough to see the Australian resume the championship lead, but with a margin of just five points to the McLaren driver.

“It’s not over, but it’s days like this, and mistakes like I made today, that lose you world championships,” Hamilton added. “I only have myself to blame.”

[Original image via Formula1.com]