I like winning – Lewis Hamilton responds to Nico Resberg ‘mind games’

While one of Rosberg’s eyes was red and a slight tic betrayed the pressure he was under, Hamilton was a picture of serenity.

He said: “I have no doubt that I can drive the fastest lap, but it’s just that in that moment, on that lap, it doesn’t always happen.”

Rosberg’s attack last Sunday was, even the German admitted, proving a massive own goal after he accused Hamilton of not driving fast enough.

“Why not simply overtake then?” asked Hamilton, his palms upwards.

After just three Grands Prix in 2015, we are already into mind games – the preserve, usually, of the desperate.

“I don’t really pay any attention to it,” said Hamilton. “I take the light side of it and continue to do what I love doing.

"I don’t look at it as meaning I have an edge. Everyone is talking about the psychological stuff. The only psychological warfare is in myself. I want to be the best I can be. Your worst enemy can be yourself, you’re fighting that invisible worst enemy.”

The statistics make grim reading for the Rosberg camp – Hamilton has won eight of the last 10 races.

“I’m in the form of my life. Generally I was last year too,” admitted the Brit.

Second time around, aged 30, Hamilton has a new-found maturity to enjoy his success, unlike his title seven years before.

The only blot on his career is 2011, as his relationship with pop star Nicole Scherzinger fell apart and he was outgunned by Jenson Button.

“If I’d been at my best and beaten that would have been hard to swallow,” he added. “That year I was so off, it was going to happen one day.”

The Hamilton of a few years back would have been publicly and privately tortured. No more.

“I wake up these days and think, ‘Damn, that’s a good looking brother,” he joked. “I remember going to school wanting to be a driver, and now I’m here, it’s all such a whirlwind. It’s like you don’t ever want it to end.”

BERNIE ECCLESTONE has given Lewis Hamilton a massive boost by backing him for title glory.

The billionaire, 84, waded into the China feud between Hamilton and Mecedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, coming down on the champion’s side.

“I don’t know what Nico was complaining about,” said Ecclestone. “Lewis was going fast enough to win the race. Did Nico want him to drive slower? Lewis has always been a great champion and it would be great to see him win the title again.”

But Ecclestone did not write off the chances of Sebastian Vettel, who ended the first practice in Bahrain on top.

“He’s the same calibre as Lewis,” he said. “But Lewis looks in good form.”