Lewis Hamilton told to ‘calm down’ by Massa

In interviews he tends to be mild-mannered, polite and self-effacing. But the aggressive driving style Lewis Hamilton has shown in this season's Formula One races is coming in for renewed attack in the build-up to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend.
 
Hamilton has had a number of run-ins with race officials recently after risky manoeuvres on the course. The 26-year-old was punished for two accidents at the Monaco Grand Prix in May. Two weeks later he was involved in three incidents with other cars in the Canadian Grand Prix's first eight laps, including hitting his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button.
 
With the Brit returning home to try to get his season back on track at Silverstone – Hamilton is in fourth place in the drivers' championship, 89 points behind Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel – fellow driver Felipe Massa has offered some advice in the form of thinly veiled criticism.
 
"When you have some difficult races, when maybe you're trying too much, you have to calm down a bit," the 30-year-old former champion told his rival. "It would be better for him, too, because he was paying for it. He was penalised in a few races. And it wasn't just with me – he even hit his own team-mate!"
 
While British fans may be quick to dismiss the Brazilian's comments as pre-race mind games, criticism from English racing legend and knight of the realm Sir Stirling Moss is harder to wave away. "I am very concerned about him," Sir Moss told the Daily Mail this week, before reprimanding Hamilton for doing some "pretty dumb" things this year.
 
"In my mind he needs the guidance of his father," Sir Moss said. Hamilton was managed by his father until last year when he dismissed him. "Anthony was a tremendous manager and caretaker of his son… It would appear to me that his persona has changed since he moved away from being with dad."
 
This is not the first time Hamilton's driving style has been attacked by past F1 greats. Last month former world champion Niki Lauda blasted the Englishman for being "completely mad," performing manoeuvres that "go beyond all boundaries".
 
But Hamilton appears nonplussed in the face of such negativity, refusing today to change his approach to the sport. "I'll take my driving style to my deathbed, for sure," he told the BBC. "People overreact to everything. You make a squeak and people overreact to it. That's the way of this world." ·