Lewis Hamilton Dismisses Claims By McLaren Team

Lewis Hamilton says claims by his McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh that his form has been affected by team-mate Jenson Button's success are "rubbish".

Whitmarsh said after the last race in India that the 2008 champion was "feeling under pressure" from Button, but Hamilton said that was not true.

"He made some comments which I disagree with," said Hamilton. "It's rubbish.

"My issues have been much, much bigger than that - more personal. Jenson doing great is great for the team."

Button has won three races this season, in comparison to Hamilton's two victories in China and Germany, and is 38 points ahead of Hamilton in the hunt for second in the championship.

Whitmarsh, who Hamilton suggested could have been "misquoted", made his comments at the last race in India, where Button finished second and Hamilton was seventh after another on-track clash with Ferrari's Felipe Massa.


The English team-mates have been reticent about talking about their internal team rivalry but, at the penultimate race of the season in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton spoke openly about why he believes Button has out-performed him so far.

"Jenson has done a great job to get things in the right place," said Hamilton, who recently split from his long-term girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger and is no longer managed by his father Anthony.

"He's got his Dad, who's there at every single race, he's got his manager, he's got his friends and his girlfriend there all the time.

"He's got a great bubble around him and with that he's able to go out there and perform without any worries on his mind.

"He's in a much stronger position than me so I wouldn't expect anything less than the results he's been getting. But that's not affecting the way I'm performing. I've just been a bit unfortunate and I've got my own problems.

"I lost that bubble. It is a priority for me to create that atmosphere around myself because it's a happy bubble."

On the subject of his personal life, Hamilton added: "They affect everything you do, the things you say, the way you act, the groove you get into.

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