Can Lewis Hamilton handle the pressure??

After his stunning win in Monaco Lewis Hamilton has suffered for the past two races, due to rookie mistakes and has suddenly fallen out of love with the media, yes British media included. The pressure has clearly gotten to Lewis Hamilton, the question is how well he can cope with it and overcome it before it's too late. He has got the gift that not many other drivers possess - raw talent and ability and given a competitive car he can make it do wonders. McLaren have a bigger role to play here - to ensure they protect their driver from outside influences.

Lewis Hamilton has been a part of the Ron Dennis owned McLaren family for over a decade and has had the best possible (and comfortable) route to Formula One. The first time he met Ron Dennis, during a karting race, he confidently told him that not only will be race in one of his cars but he would also win the Formula One World Championship in one of his cars. He has never looked back and has now reached the heights of his stardom. Hamilton has been backed by McLaren almost throughout his career and has won the F3 Euroseries Championship and the GP2 Championship on his way to Formula One.

He was deadly in his rookie year in F1 as took the battle to both Alonso and Raikkonen. He had the advantage of having the best car, which was being setup by a two-time World Champion, and had absolutely no pressure on himself. If he lost to Alonso, it was ok as it was his rookie year, and if he beat Alonso, he would be the rookie that beat the two-time World Champion. After having a great rookie year pundits predicted Hamilton as the title favourite this year, along with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen. He started off strongly by winning at Albert Park, but has failed to show results that match his ability thereafter. Monaco was a great win for him, despite hitting the barrier, but apart from that he has looked very ordinary.

He crawled from the start line in Bahrain and soon hammered the back of Alonso's Renault before the end of the first lap. Canada was a disaster as he hit Raikkonen at the end of the pit lane. For the first time in his career, this mistake was seen as a very stupid one and people were slowly starting to doubt his abilities. A crucial mistake Hamilton made was not admitting to this being his mistake. This was not received well by the public, British media included, who have been his strongest supporters ever since he reached Formula One.

His ten-second penalty was completely justified and Hamilton always knew he was at a disadvantage coming into Magny-Cours. After getting on to a great start he blew his chances when he received a drive-through penalty, by refusing to yield a position to Sebastien Vettel, when he crossed the chicane to get past him. This has been the topic of controversy for the past few weeks but as far I am concerned, I don't see any problem with the decision. Yes you could say he was clearly ahead going into the chicane, but that is only because he did not brake and cut the chicane. If Hamilton had braked or eased for the corner, I am quite confident he would not have been ahead and would have had to wait before getting past the German. if he had just yielded the position he would have gotten past in no time. This is where I feel the team let Hamilton down, it was so close that the driver does not have the visuals that the team will have.

McLaren in their statement have said they did not even know about this incident until FIA Formula One race director Charlie Whiting called the team and asked them to inform Hamilton of this penalty. After the incident, the team should have immediately called Charlie Whiting and checked whether Hamilton should have let Vettel back in front. Their inefficiency has just made things even tougher for their star driver. Hamilton refused to talk to media after the race and was visibly upset with the weekend.

The British media have supported Hamilton through thick and thin, and have also been his greatest admirers. For the first time in his F1 career, they have attacked their blue-eyed boy, criticizing him to no ends. The question is how will Lewis respond to this? In my opinion, Lewis will respond the only way he knows, by blowing the competition away at Silverstone. Best way to get them back on his bandwagon is to deliver the results we all know he is capable of. Riding high after last week's testing at the Northamptonshire circuit, Hamilton is supremely confident going in to this weeks British GP, with my money on Lewis winning it. He will be more charged up than ever before, like any driver will be at their home grand prix.

Lewis cannot afford any more mistakes at this stage or he will be left behind by both the Ferrari's. If I was you, I would think twice before counting Lewis out of this year's championship. Hamilton's performance in the next couple of races will depend on how he handles the pressure, but remember one more mistake and the media will be all over him like a swarm of flies and getting back from that will be tougher than ever before..