Lewis Hamilton has described as “rubbish” boss Martin Whitmarsh’s claim that he has been spooked by the good form of Jenson Button this year.
McLaren principal Whitmarsh floated the Button explanation recently when contemplating Hamilton’s uncharacteristically bad 2011 season.

But according to the BBC on Thursday, Briton Hamilton dismissed the theory that he has withered beneath Button’s pressure as “rubbish” and suggested Whitmarsh might have been “misquoted”.

“He (Whitmarsh) made some comments which I disagree with,” he said. “It’s rubbish.

“My issues have been much, much bigger than that — more personal,” added Hamilton, who recently split with his girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger.

He admitted however that his teammate Button, 38 points and 3 places ahead in the drivers’ standings, has a “great bubble” of support around him at grands prix, featuring his father, manager, friends and girlfriend.

“He’s in a much stronger position than me so I wouldn’t expect anything less than the results he’s been getting,” said Hamilton.

“I lost that (sort of) bubble. It is a priority for me to create that atmosphere around myself because it’s a happy bubble.”