LEWIS Hamilton insists he is not cracking under the demands being placed upon him in Formula 1.
There have been drives of brilliance from the 23-year-old this season, such as his triumphs in Australia and Monaco, but there have also been remarkable mistakes. Hamilton first stunned everyone in Bahrain where he made three errors over the course
of the weekend, initially destroying his McLaren in practice before driving into Fernando Alonso early in the race after momentarily stalling on the grid. Then 12 days ago in Canada he crashed into the rear of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari at 30mph in the pit lane, failing to spot that the Finn and Robert Kubica had stopped for a red light.
Despite such aberrations, Hamilton is only four points behind BMW Sauber's Kubica in the drivers' standings heading into tomorrow's French Grand Prix, in which he faces a ten-place grid penalty for his moment of Montreal madness.
Hamilton readily concedes the glare from the spotlight is incredibly intense this year, but he is confident he is far from being blinded: "There's so much pressure. I just can't begin to explain how much pressure I have on my shoulders," said Hamilton. "Being at the top in Formula 1, there's a lot more demand on you as all the sponsors want to see you and that's what is demanding.
"Last year I was in my first season and they probably wanted to see Fernando (Alonso] more than me as he was the well-known driver. But as the year went on and I became more and more popular, they started to ask for me as well.
"This year there's a great demand for me from sponsors, for different appearances, charity events and stuff like that. I'm trying to fit it all in with going to the factory, preparing for the next grand prix and for the tests we have to do. I'm trying to make sure I'm still fit, making sure I have some time for the family. Trying to fit it all in this year is a lot harder, but
even though there's all these demands on me this year, I'm actually managing to do a better job."
The mistakes on track stem from Hamilton's desire to do well and give of his best, adding: "I put a lot of pressure on myself, and when you don't succeed it doesn't feel so great. But these are character-building days, the days that make you stronger. I didn't win the last race, but I'm loving it. I'm always pushing to get better, and I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm really enjoying myself."
Hamilton will do well to enjoy himself tomorrow due to his grid penalty that will result in him starting from his lowest placing of his F1 career.
Hamilton has hope of a points- scoring position, potentially a podium after finishing practice with the fourth fastest time of the day as Alonso sandwiched the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Raikkonen.
Despite one excursion into the gravel in the afternoon, Hamilton said: "I was happy with the morning, although the afternoon was not as smooth as planned. Overall, we're up there, although at this stage Ferrari seem to be a bit quicker. At the moment we're focusing on the pace to make sure we are on the front row in qualifying. Although I'll be ten places behind, it will at least put me closer and then it's down to the guys to work out the best strategy."
The full article contains 597 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
