Hamilton, who has been upbeat about the battle of champions and the fight his Mercedes team have on their hands, appeared more subdued as mechanics cleared the Bahrain Grand Prix paddock. After three races, Hamilton is 2-1 down to Vettel and seven points adrift of the German four-times world champion in the standings. Hamilton had missed out on a seventh successive pole on Saturday, with Bottas beating him to it. "Today, I lost position at the start. You practise and practise and practise but you only have 20 opportunities this year and if you mess up it's painful.

Source: The Star April 16, 2017 20:15 UTC