Palmer: Hamilton putting too much pressure on himself

Lewis Hamilton is yet to win a race in 2018 as he attempts to defend his world title, and former Renault driver Jolyon Palmer believes that Hamilton is pressuring himself too much and therefore making mistakes.

The four-time champion finished fourth in China in what has been a consistent yet uninspiring start to the season.

However, after Sebastian Vettel’s eighth place in Shanghai, Hamilton is only nine points away from the championship leader.

In Australia, it looked as if Hamilton’s dominance would continue as he took a supreme pole position, although a miscalculation in the race allowed Vettel to slip through in the pit stop phase to win the race.

Third place in Bahrain was all Hamilton could manage, as he was off the pace of the Ferrari. It could have been worse had there not been retirements for both Red Bulls and Kimi Raikkonen.

Palmer believes Hamilton is not concentrating entirely on the job in hand, saying: “In China, he seemed to be driving while constantly thinking about the past, with regret and frustration.

“It began with him apologising to his team for a bad start. It’s something you never hear from other drivers.

“In the early laps you are too busy getting your head down and fighting for position.”