Esteban Gutierrez has accepted responsibility for the collision that forced him and Adrian Sutil out of the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Sauber rookie approached the turn 14 hairpin too fast, crashing into the back of the German's Force India.
The 21-year-old told Sky Sports News: "All I can say is my apologies to Adrian.
"It was definitely a mistake. I didn't consider the amount of speed I had on the straight and I lost a lot of downforce into that corner and tried to my best to stop the car.
"I should have considered a little bit more distance to brake as I approached the corner and the car in front quicker than I expected. I had nowhere to go."
The Mexican has been handed a five-place grid penalty at next weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix for causing the crash.
