Sergio Perez blamed himself for spinning out of the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Sauber driver was running right behind Lewis Hamilton - the man he will replace at McLaren next year - when he lost lost control of his car when trying to avoid hitting the Briton when braking for the hairpin.
Perez spun out and was unable to rejoin.
"I feel very sorry for the team," said Perez. "It worked well when I got passed Lewis Hamilton for the first time on lap six, but then it didn't when I tried it again.
"Lewis went quite late to the inside and I had only room on the outside. But it certainly was my mistake."
Sauber team-mate Kamui Kobayashi finished the race in third position, the first podium of his career in Formula 1.
