Valtteri Bottas says he believed there was a genuine opportunity to pass Lewis Hamilton in the opening corner of the Bahrain Grand Prix after the pair clashed at Turn 1.
Bottas collided with the side of Hamilton's Mercedes in Turn 1 after attempting to dive up the inside for second place. Bottas received a drive-through penalty for the incident, but believed there was a gap to exploit.
"It could be one of the best and everything was going very well until 50 metres before Turn 1," he said. "I committed to brake late into Turn 1, I saw a gap on the inside 50 metres before the corner and I thought 'OK, that's going to be my spot' but I think Lewis didn't expect me to come on the inside, so we touched.
"It's a shame because it cost us a lot today, but even after that the pace was not great. Of course my front wing was damaged and it wasn't changed -- we still need to see why -- but the pace was not great and we were just going backwards."
But both drivers are willing to put the incident behind them, with Hamilton saying there is no need for Bottas to apologise.
"He doesn't need to, these things happen. He's a great driver, he came from a long way back, but mistakes happen. I have no problems.
"When you hit someone you get penalised most of the time. If you are more than half a car length behind, that sometimes happens. I don't particularly have an opinion. Under braking he was a long way back, but I left enough room for a car just in case but he lost the back end."