The Mercedes driver also referenced Ayrton Senna’s famous quote about no longer being a racing driver if you don’t go for a gap.
The Turn 15 incident led Perez to retire from the race with bodywork damage and triggered a five-second penalty for Hamilton after the stewards decreed that he was predominantly at fault.
That dropped him from fourth place on the road to seventh in the final sprint results, while he also received two penalty points.
"I mean my only thought is that it's tricky conditions out there, we're all trying our best, and of course it wasn't intentional,” said Hamilton when asked about the incident.
“I think I went for a gap, he was slow going through Turn 14, I went on the inside, I was more than half a car length up the inside, and if you're not going for a gap then you're no longer racing as Ayrton always said. That's what I did.
“When I watched it back it feels like a racing incident to me. I just feel like we're in a racing period, we don't want to be deterred from racing."
Source: Autosport