McLaren back Hamilton to fight back

Hamilton hit out at the weekend over the criticism he has received in the media following his crash in the pitlane during the Canadian Grand Prix.

But his situation was not helped when he earned a drive-through penalty in France for gaining an advantage by cutting a chicane.

Despite that double disappointment, McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh has denied there is anything wrong with Hamilton's approach to driving - and thinks he will bounce back at Silverstone in two weeks' time.

"I think Lewis always comes out fighting," said Whitmarsh. "With what he had this weekend, two penalties, he did a great job. In the middle stint of the race, on heavy fuel, both of our drivers were very quick. There was nothing wrong with his mindset in the car and he is strong enough to deal with it out of the car also.

"There is great expectation thrust upon him and that goes with the territory. If you are going to try and lead in the sport as a team or as a racing driver, you set high expectations of yourself and that's placed with your fans and they are going to reflect that upon you.

"He knows that, we know that, and when people stop talking about us then we know we are not competitive enough.

"Lewis will be determined at every race and he will be extra determined at Silverstone. We have had a nightmare start to the season and he is 10 points away from leading the drivers' championship.

"That can swing in one weekend, and that's the frame of mind you have to have when you go into this. He has got to believe that he can win in Britain and come out on equal points."

Whitmarsh claims the critics who irked Hamilton so much following Canada are wrong to be so disapproving of the job the young Briton is doing.

"Lewis up until this weekend had done 24 races and he had scored more points than any other driver in that period," explained Whitmarsh. "If that's error prone then that's a little bit harsh.

"I think there is a tremendous spotlight and pressure on him and you always notice errors closer to the front than at the back. We are a top team and he is a top driver, and you have to expect criticism if you don't come up to the expectation of your fans."

And Whitmarsh thinks that Hamilton does not need to change anything in his approach to return to the kind of form that has helped him take two victories so far this year.

"He has been around in motorsport for a while and he is mentally pretty tough. Not everything goes the way you want it to and the reality is that he will be very focused and I know he will do a good job."