Loneliness of the title race for Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is battling loneliness in his pursuit of Michael Schumacher’s seven world titles.

Heading into tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix 37 points clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the Mercedes driver remains on course to equal the German’s record haul.

But t he pandemic has restricted him to the confines of his motorhome this season and his“bubble” consists of just his physio and assistant.

Hamilton said: “The journey of an F1 driver fighting for a championship can often feel like a lonely one.

“Luckily, work gets me by. These days at the track are the good days, but the ones in between are a little bit trickier. When you are at the races and you don’t see any fans you feel removed from that contact.

“Normally you are at events and you are interacting with so many people, but I have interacted with fewer people this year than I have in my entire life which makes it tricky,” added the 35- year- old. “But everyday I am trying to remind myself to be grateful that I have my job and that we still do what we do.

Earlier this week, Formula One boss es rubberstamped a 17- race calendar, adding around in Turkey and two in Bahrain. The season will conclude in Abu Dhabi on 13 December. Yesterday it was confirmed that the second Bahrain race will take place on a different layout at the Sakhir Circuit. Lap times are predicted to be under 55 seconds at the 2.28- mile track – the quickest in the sport’s history.