Adrian Sutil is still waiting for Lewis Hamilton to extend the hand of friendship following their acrimonious fall-out two years ago.
Hamilton and Sutil were once the best of friends, a relationship that grew throughout their years in the junior categories and during the first few seasons together in Formula One.
However, the situation soured badly in 2011 after Sutil was involved in an incident in a Shanghai nightclub following Hamilton’s victory in that year’s Chinese Grand Prix.
Sutil had hoped Hamilton would serve as a witness in the trial that followed, but such an appearance never materialised.
The 30-year-old was ultimately convicted of causing grievous bodily harm for assaulting Lotus executive Eric Lux with a champagne glass, incurring an 18-month suspended sentence and a £167,000 fine.
With Sutil returning to Formula One this year with Force India the German missing last season as the team opted not to renew his contract at the end of 2011 his relationship with Hamilton was always going to be a focal point.
With the duo appearing together for the first time this season in an FIA press conference staged ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend it offered the opportunity to pose the question.
While Hamilton was relatively open, in contrast Sutil was far from enamoured with the Briton.
Hamilton said: “Things are definitely different. We’ve spoken a couple of times, and we plan to get together at some stage, just have a chat basically.
“We’ve been great friends for a long, long time and had some of the best times together along the way, especially in Formula Three.
“You can generally only count your good friends on one hand, some people say, as good friends are hard to come by. I want to make sure we get things right.”
Sutil, however, suggested he and Hamilton are still some way off patching up their differences, even now with the season two months old.
“As Lewis said, yes, it’s different,” said Sutil.
“I’m still waiting for a coming together, and I can’t say anything more.”