11/07/2011
NEWS STORY
In the wake of claims that promotional duties ahead of the British Grand Prix left his feeling burned out, Lewis Hamilton has been given a break ahead of next week's German round of the world championship.
In the days leading up to the Silverstone event, Hamilton was involved in promotional work for a number of parties including sponsors and broadcasters. Although such work is undertaken by most drivers, being his home race and one of the sport's true superstars, the McLaren driver found himself more in demand than most.
Combine this with the need to take the fight to Sebastian Vettel and his rivals, not to mention twenty-four hour coverage of every aspect of his life from the media, and it's easy to see why the youngster might feel overwhelmed.
In the wake of a difficult weekend at Silverstone, and no doubt appreciating the strain his driver is under, McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has revealed that Hamilton will be given some R&R in the build up to the Nurburgring event.
"I think Lewis has done too much coming into this grand prix," he told Reuters. "Therefore, we've managed to organise a bit of a break for him before Germany, which I know he wants. Then he has a big break after that in August as well.
"It's one of those things," he continued. "He is a world superstar and lots of people want lots of his time, but we're generally being criticised for protecting him too much, aren't we?"
Referring to the Silverstone weekend which saw Hamilton qualify tenth - his worst result of the season - and subsequently find himself compromised during the race due to a lack of fuel, Whitmarsh said: "He drove a fantastic race. He drove without a mistake, with the right levels of passion and aggression and above all with the right level of discipline and control."