Gascoyne: Lewis can't expect to be let by.

Force India technical director Mike Gascoyne has added his voice to those who blasted Lewis Hamilton's performance in Bahrain last weekend - by describing the McLaren-Mercedes ace's angry gesture towards Giancarlo Fisichella as 'totally unnecessary'.

Hamilton entered the weekend leading the championship but departed again down in third place, after committing a litany of errors that ultimately left him well outside the points at the chequered flag, having botched his start and then run into the back of former team-mate Fernando Alonso.

On his way back up through the field, the 23-year-old spent some time trying to find a way past Fisichella's Force India - the Italian punching well above the squad's weight in what is still only its third grand prix - and shook his fist at his rival when he finally got by. The pair ultimately finished the race in twelfth and 13th positions - with Fisichella ahead.

"I don't know why he did that," an unimpressed Gascoyne told Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell. "Fisichella was fighting with him for position, and he can't expect to just be let past.

"The gesture was totally unnecessary, so it was especially good to be in front of him at the end."

Following even more severe criticism from three-time world champion Nike Lauda [see separate story - click here], Hamilton did receive support, however, from a fellow former grand prix star in the shape of Hans-Joachim Stuck.

"The pressure on him is enormous," the Austrian told Germany's Bild newspaper, suggesting the spotlight on the Briton is too intense for what is still only his second season in the top flight. "He is the team leader at McLaren-Mercedes and has so much hype surrounding him. F1 is on such a high level that even tiny errors are punished harshly."