Lewis Hamilton believes that the current season could very well be his worst after a number of incidents, stewards enquiries and on-track clashes.
The McLaren driver has rarely been out of trouble during his five years in Formula 1, but this year feels like his worst, according to the 26-year-old.
Indeed, Hamilton has suffered more penalties than any other driver this season; two drive-through penalties and two post-race penalties plus multiple reprimands have seen him in the stewards office more often than not.
Hamilton is determined to turn the season round, starting in Monza.
“I’m trying to get back to some good results,” he said. “It feels like it’s been a worse year than I’ve had previously. I’m an easy target because I’m always in trouble.”
Talking about his clash with Kamui Kobayashi in Belgium a fortnigh ago, in which he admitted blame, he denied it was because he’s too aggressive.
“It was just a mistake,” he added. “But it wasn’t because I was being aggressive. People blame it on aggressive driving but it had nothing to do with that. I didn’t even know he was there.
“I’ll continue to drive the way I do. I’ll just do my hardest to stay out of trouble. I’ll give people extra, extra room.”
The subject of Hamilton’s agression was put to Mark Webber and Kobayashi during Thursday’s FIA press conference for the Italian GP, both of which denied he was too agressive.
“No, he’s [Hamilton] not that aggressive, he’s OK. He’s just had a tough run in the last few races,” said Webber, whilst the Sauber driver added: “I think he’s OK as well. Maybe I think you need to be aggressive when you’re racing.”
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