Hamilton won't give Norris advice

In the press conference previewing this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton took various questions including one about whether he would act in a mentor role to McLaren's new driver, Lando Norris, and his response came as a surprise to some.

Norris is viewed as one of the most promising young drivers in the world and was recently promoted to Formula One for the 2019 season by McLaren.

As a fellow Brit, Hamilton was asked whether he would give advice to his compatriot.

"I won't give him advice," Hamilton told the journalists in the press conference.

"I don't look at nationality. I don't look at the grid and think it's another Brit or another German."

Norris, no doubt tongue-in-cheek, replied on Twitter to the news with a singular, crying emoji.

???? — Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) September 13, 2018

One of the main news stories circulating the F1 paddock at the moment is the speculation that a third car could be introduced for each team, but Hamilton likes the idea of more teams being involved rather than extra cars for current teams.

"I quite like the idea of having more cars and more teams, rather than having three drivers in a team. It’d be a handful!"

Hamilton went on to preview the race itself, and disputed suggestions that his mind not totally be focused on the action on the track due to his current traveling to promote his fashion brand, saying he and the team at Mercedes have been working hard in their preparations.

"It’s been a hectic time for me," the championship leader continued.

"But from experience I’ve always been able to arrive and switch into race mode. There’s never a moment when I’m not thinking about racing and this championship.

"Collectively as a team, we’ve done a great job over the past few races – we just want to keep that up. There are still a lot of points still available. Our approach seems to be working."