Hamilton still asked race engineer for help despite being absent from Mexico

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that despite race engineer not being in Mexico due to health reasons, he has still asked for his help during the weekend. Peter Bonnington will be away for both the Mexican and American Grand Prix, as he has been present for all four of Hamilton's title wins with Mercedes.

The Brit will secure the title later today if he finishes fourteen or more points ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas in the final standings in Mexico.

 "Yes, it is certainly strange. We have achieved a lot together, but he is still with us this weekend," Hamilton told Motorsport.com. 

 "Together with Marcus [Dudley, the replacement] he has also done extremely good work during the preparation for this weekend.

 "Of course I have been working closely with Bono for years and today I sent him another message for the qualification. 

 "Just to be able to talk about the adjustment together. So he is still active in the background."

 The Brit starts from third on the grid after Max Verstappen was given a three-place penalty for ignoring a yellow flag yesterday in qualifying.