Lewis Hamilton stood by his claim that Sebastian Vettel produced an illegal defensive manoeuvre as the pair went wheel-to-wheel during the Russian Grand Prix.Though most of the post-race headlines were about the use of team orders by Mercedes to essentially gift the reigning world champion victory in Sochi, before that controversial decision could be made, Hamilton had to undo the damage of a rare strategy error at his pit-stop.Opting to keep Lewis out a lap longer than the Ferrari driver on his used Hypersoft tyres, the Brackley-based team misjudged the power of the undercut with Vettel able to use his single lap on new rubber to jump ahead into second.Hamilton immediately responded however, and produced a bold move on the German at a non-typical passing place into Turn 4.Just before that though Vettel produced a Schumacher-style defence on the approach to Turn 2, leaving no room up the inside as the Mercedes closed rapidly using DRS.“Ultimately for me, he did move over to the inside and then he moved again and nearly put me in the wall,” said Hamilton.

“I thought that was a double move but I guess they didn’t see that. Nonetheless, I was able to stay out the wall and still get around the corner."

The stewards did investigate the incident and decided Vettel's action was firm but fair, but fired up by what happened, the Briton was not going to be denied at the next opportunity.

"It was a question of who was going to brake earlier for the next corner and I wanted it more at the time," Hamilton concluded.

Though questions could be asked as to whether Vettel defended strongly enough when Lewis did get by, he suggested Mercedes were guilty of playing a few games of their own.

“I mean, obviously Valtteri, as soon as he saw I was behind, he backed off,” he claimed.

“I lost one and half seconds just to make me probably run into him but I didn’t mind because I thought I could sneak DRS."

It was a mistake of his own doing though, which put Hamilton into the position to attack.

"I had a tiny lock-up there [Turn 12] and then the last two corners were particularly difficult," he explained.

“Lewis was close and he was on really new tyres, whereas mine were just a lap old but not new.

“Then he had a run into Turn 2. I managed to cover but then I didn’t see him through the left-hander [Turn 3], I wasn’t really sure where he was.

“I saw that he was somewhere on the outside but then I think you also need to be fair enough and give room, even if I didn’t want to, to make sure it remains hard but fair.”