Hamilton 'pushing flat out' to close gap

Lewis Hamilton says he will be "pushing flat out" to close the gap to Nico Rosberg in the championship standings.

Having retired from the Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton dropped 22 points behind team-mate Nico Rosberg who finished second. Earlier in the season Hamilton was unable to finish the Australian Grand Prix as Rosberg won, but four straight wins from that point saw Hamilton overturn the deficit to take the championship lead. Admitting that the DNFs are hurting his title chances, Hamilton says he takes hope from the way he has already closed the gap before.

"Montreal was a bit of a strange one for me," Hamilton said. "I felt I had the pace right from the beginning of the weekend, but things just never quite came together. It's frustrating when these things are out of your hands.

"The two DNF's so far this season have not been ideal but that's racing and there's a long, long way to go. I caught up before and I can catch up again. It's going to take another four wins to make the difference so I'm going to do my best to get those results."

And Hamilton said he was motivated by the unknown of racing at a new circuit when F1 returns to Austria next weekend.

"Right now, I'm just looking ahead to the next race in Austria and another chance to catch up to the lead. I've never driven the circuit but I've been working on it in the simulator and I'm sure I'll learn it pretty quickly when we get out on track.

"It's always exciting to go to a new venue, so it should be an interesting weekend. I'm feeling good in the car right now and I'll be pushing flat out to come away with maximum points this time around."