Lewis Hamilton has said that he declared war on his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg after the German took him out on the second lap of the Belgian Grand Prix.
The British driver made the bold statement after winning the US Grand Prix, his fifth victory in succession and a run that has resulted in him building a 24-point lead over Rosberg in the Formula One world championship.
According to Hamilton, the ruthless desire to win he has displayed in recent races could be traced back to Spa in August.
The Briton said that he had those four early wins from Malaysia to Spain and then there was a bad patch from Monaco onwards; and then Spa was like, he is going to turn this up, and this means war, that kind of feeling, The Guardian reported.
Hamilton said that reflecting on it, he took that energy and turned that negative bomb into a positive.
The crash happened when Rosberg, attempting a clumsy overtaking move, hit Hamilton and lost part of his front wing. He finished second to Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo but Hamilton sustained a puncture in the incident and was forced to retire.
Hamilton was furious and accused Rosberg of deliberately crashing into him to prove a point. Mercedes then held a team meeting and reprimanded Rosberg, who apologised to Hamilton for wrecking his race, the report added.