Hamilton bumps off his critics

LEWIS Hamilton arrived at his home race on Thursday to face a barrage of questions about his absence from Wednesday’s F1 Live event in London – and his personal preparations for this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

His non-attendance at the promotional event in the capital was the most topical subject as he and championship leader, Sebastian Vettel, reconvened at the Silverstone circuit for the 10th round of this year’s title race.

“I’ve tried to prepare the best that I can by being very relaxed over the past few days,” said Hamilton, who slipped 20 points adrift of the fourtime champion at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix where he started eighth on the grid, thanks to a five-place penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change on his Mercedes car.

“I’m excited for the weekend as always.

“The championship is the most important thing so coming to the home of motorsport and such an intense weekend, as every year, it is a “must win” for a British driver so I’ve tried to prepare the best I could.”

Hamilton, seeking a fourth consecutive home win and a fifth overall, said he had spent two days away on holiday in Greece to escape from the pressures of Formula One between the two races.

He said he had not followed events in London. “I genuinely haven’t been on my phone for the past couple of days,” he said.

“I’ve been trying to switch off. I turned it on a couple of times to receive messages, but other times I’ve tried to stay away from it.

“People will have opinions about it but I am trying the best I can and as it is a very intense season I am trying to prepare the best I can for the battle.”

The three-time champion