Force India's Nico Hulkenburg signals intent for 2013

"Looking at the incident I think it's just one of those things in racing. I think he could've turned away a bit. But the way it worked wasn't good for either of us."

Hulkenberg was given a penalty for the crash that left Hamilton fuming.

The Briton said he was disappointed that an apology was not immediately forthcoming after the race, although his McLaren team later said that Hulkenberg did eventually say "sorry".

In a wild conclusion to a chaotic contest, Hulkenberg's Force India team-mate, Paul di Resta, crashed two laps from the end, causing the race to finish behind a Safety Car.

Di Resta said: "When we went back to the intermediates in the closing stages, we were more competitive and I was up in eighth place. Unfortunately, with a lap to go, I aqua-planed in the final corner.