The triple world champion was forced to clarify comments made after retiring from the Malaysian Grand Prix, having said “something just doesn’t feel right” and called on Mercedes to provide an answer to his poor reliability this season.

In an interview with ESPN – which was given ahead of his decision to not talk to media in response to coverage of his phone usage during a press conference – Hamilton says those who criticise how he sometimes reacts emotionally should remember the importance of F1 in his life.

“Every now and then I’ve seen people have an opinion about how emotional I get; like I should be more happy even when I’ve lost,” Hamilton said. “But I think people that comment on that forget how heavily invested I am in this sport.

“It’s the same for anyone whatever they are doing, it’s about how much investment they have put in, and my heart has been invested in this for 23 years.

“This has been part of my life since I was eight and it is literally an extension of my life and my body. It’s really odd, but I feel it. I guess that’s why I’m good at what I do, because I don’t just drive with my head, I feel it in my heart, I feel it my chest, I feel it in my abs, I feel it in my butt, I feel it in my neck, I feel everything.

“That’s why I love it, because there is nothing else that I do that feeds all that and I can get those feelings from.”