Lewis Hamilton comforted by dad Anthony’s return to his corner as Britain’s F1 world champion battles one of the toughest spells of his career
Mercedes ace boosted after reaching breaking point in Japan as he saw bitter rival Nico Rosberg storm into a 33-point lead
LEWIS HAMILTON has had a timely boost from his dad as he battles one of the toughest spells of his career.
Hamilton, 31, reached breaking-point in Japan two weeks ago, lashing out as the strain of defending his title began to show.
Hampered by mechanical problems, the Brit has watched bitter rival Nico Rosberg storm into a 33-point lead in the championship.
But Hamilton is comforted by having dad Anthony back in his corner just when he needs it most.
Hamilton Snr said: “Lewis is still the same person he always was but he lives in the bubble of motorsport. The human side of Lewis is what you saw recently.
“My advice is always the same to him. We are older, we are wiser and we always love them and care for them whatever the situation, and we’re always there for them.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are and whether you want to listen to your parents or not.
“I always send Lewis messages that say ‘Dude, focus, be positive. You know how great you are and just continue believing in yourself’.
“Lewis might be a triple world champion but he’s still like you and me, he’s still the same. It hurts when you don’t win and things go wrong, but typically he’s a believer.”
It was Anthony who funded Hamilton’s fledgling racing career taking multiple jobs to pay for tyres and petrol to run his go-kart.
From their council house in Stevenage they dreamed of conquering Formula One in the same way Hamilton’s idol, Ayrton Senna, did. But their father-son-manager relationship has not been smooth with the pair regularly falling out.
Hamilton Snr added: “A lot of parents want their kids to be successful and the kids want to do something else.
“You have to find exactly what your child is interested in then say ‘OK I’ll dedicate a certain period of life making sure you can achieve that objective’.
“But you can’t push too much, it’s gentle encouragement.”
And in an interview with CNN he praised younger son Nicolas, 24, who has cerebral palsy, adding: “Nic’s probably the bigger superstar — he is an amazing young man. Everything that was done for him with tough love was done positively.
“He is so independent now. He will take nothing from anybody, he wants to do everything himself.”