Jamie Whincup apologised to Shane van Gisbergen following the pair’s clash in Race 26, admitting he “made a bit of a meal of” his attempted pass on the Kiwi.

Both Red Bulls spun at the Turn 8 hairpin on lap 12 of 35 after Whincup made a lunge at his team-mate as they battled for second place.

Van Gisbergen dropped back to sixth before clawing his way up to third, while Whincup lost vital points as he came home 25th after a drive-through penalty.

“I feel bad,” said Whincup before apologising to his team-mate in the Pukekohe pitlane.

“Everyone wanted it to happen but we were trying to make sure it didn’t.

“It was completely my fault. I locked the rears.

“I had a much quicker car than Shane and he half let me through and I made a bit of a meal of it. It was my bad.

“I think I might be in a bit of trouble but I’ll go and see Shane and have a chat to RD (team principal Roland Dane).”

Van Gisbergen was relaxed about the tangle post-race, noting that he was struggling with his car before the contact.

“The car wasn’t quite good enough,” he said.

“I tried my best but Jamie was really fast.

“I gave him some room on the inside and maybe he locked up, I haven’t seen it.”

With the Red Bull duo fighting for the championship amongst themselves, Dane also had a pragmatic view on the incident.

“It happens,” he said.

“You’re not going to race side-by-side forever without having something happen sooner or later.

“It wasn’t terrible. I’d be more annoyed if they were in a position where they can be beaten for the championship and they can’t be.

“It’s one of those things. I’m not going to cry about it.”