Lewis Hamilton has addressed his tense Ferrari radio conversations during the Miami Grand Prix, by downplaying the severity of them and describing his messages as "sarcastic".
The seven-time world champion started the sixth round of the season from a disappointing 12th on the grid, but elevated into the top 10 after pitting during a virtual safety car.
Following his pit stop, Hamilton had remarkable pace on the medium compound, helping him quickly catch team-mate Charles Leclerc for sixth.
Hamilton was eager to be allowed past, although Ferrari initially rejected the idea. It triggered some heated radio back-and-forths, before he was allowed to overtake.
Remarkably, he then had to return the position in the final laps at the Miami International Autodrome, yet the Briton has stressed that his radio discussions were not bad.
"Well, firstly, I really enjoyed the race," Hamilton told Sky F1. "Honestly, we knew it was going to be difficult today, starting from 12th, not where we want to be. We're lacking, clearly, a lot of pace.
"We've lost some performance over the past, some races, and we know where it is, and we're just waiting for a fix to regain some of it. So for us to be at the back of the top 10 is definitely not easy for the whole team.
"But, yeah, once I got past the Haas, and I got onto the medium tyre, I was feeling really optimistic. The car was coming back alive, and I was really thinking I had potential to catch the guys.
"I was hoping we'd have a safety car, but that never became. But then obviously I lost a lot of time behind Charles and in that moment, for sure, I was like, come on, like, let's make a decision really quick. Let's not waste time.
"I feel people didn't like certain comments, but, I mean, it was just, you got to understand, especially, people say way worse things than I say, you know, so it was more sarcastic than anything. I'm not frustrated now. I just will work internally."
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