“The race incident was again uncalled for, so I think he needs to think about
his mind-management. Michael [Schumacher] has had the same problem, but all
the great drivers, the Fangios, Jim Clarks, Niki Lauda, myself – we didn’t
have many accidents.”
Neither McLaren nor Hamilton’s management agency, XIX Entertainment, would
comment on Monday on accusations made by the driver’s father, Anthony, to
the effect that his son lacks support at races.
Anthony Hamilton, who guided Lewis’s career for over 20 years until they split
up acrimoniously at the start of last year, suggested on Sunday that
Hamilton was lacking a personal touch from his new management team.
No one from Hamilton’s new management, Simon Fuller’s XIX group which also has
David Beckham and Andy Murray on its books, was present in Singapore.
But it is understood that Hamilton was consulted over that decision and
decided himself that he would be fine with McLaren’s support as he was for
the whole of 2010.
Following Sunday’s race McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh dismissed
concerns that Hamilton was not getting enough support from McLaren.
“Lewis is getting plenty of love from the team,” he said. “I’ve known him
since he was 11 and there’s affection between us and many other members of
the team.
“Undeniably this has not been a good year for Lewis Hamilton. He’ll regroup as
there are five more races and he’ll try to win them and try to win the
championship next year.”