Hamilton not worried by reduced gap

Hamilton saw his 12-point gap erased after failing to score for the first time in his rookie season, finishing in ninth place at the European Grand Prix.

McLaren teammate Alonso won the race to move within striking distance of the championship leader with seven races remaining.

"For sure I have Fernando breathing heavily down my neck, but that is not too much of a worry," said Hamilton during a sponsor event in Budapest, where reporters had their only chance to talk to the Briton after McLaren cancelled his regular sessions.

"Going into this race we have a great car, a great team, and I feel we can perform like we have all season," added the Briton, whose run of nine podium finishes in a row ended with ninth place at the Nurburgring.

"The last race was an eventful one. So it will be good to come here and get back on form. But I really came away from the last race with a smile on my face. Yes, I lost 10 points, but I learned so much as to when I should switch to wet tyres or dry tyres.

"I also reminded myself in the race that you never give up. I had a puncture, I went into the gravel, I got stuck behind the safety car, I chose the wrong tyres, lots of different things happened in that race, but I kept on pushing to the end.

"So it was a good stepping stone for me, to prove to myself that never giving up is the key."