Hamilton: Show me more respect

BUDAPEST, Hungary (CMC ):

Days after winning last week's rain-hit German Grand Prix, four-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has accused some pundits of not showing him enough respect.

Last Sunday, Hamilton, whose paternal grandparents hail from Grenada, delivered a masterclass in the wet conditions in his Mercedes to win from 14th on the grid as many, including fellow four-time World champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, slithered off the track.

The victory leapfrogged him from eight points adrift to 17 ahead of Vettel in the championship.

However, after watching his performance on television, Hamilton said he was shocked by the lack of praise forthcoming from former F1-drivers working as pundits.

"I watched a race that felt so great in my heart on the track, but there were certain things that were not being perceived that way.

"There was a point where I was three seconds a lap quicker than the other drivers. The difference that I was making in the car and the different lines I was choosing were not explained," Hamilton said.

However, 1997 World champion Jacques Villeneuve took issue with Hamilton's comments, claiming that the Briton was acting as though he believed he was Jesus.

"He confuses Formula One with Hollywood," the Canadian racer, now a pundit with Sky Italia, told German magazine Auto Bild. "Everything he does is staged. He portrays himself on social media like he is Jesus.

"The way he knelt next to his car after his problem in qualifying (in Germany) looked like the suffering of Christ. And what he said afterwards was the 'Sermon on the Mount'. Then he gestured so dramatically on the podium that everyone could see who sent the sudden rain," Villeneuve said.