Hamilton: I didn’t have equal opportunity

Lewis Hamilton revealed in an interview that he is still feeling the pain from the disappointment of losing the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship title, blaming technical failures which he suffered during the course of the season for the loss.

Speaking to Time magazine a couple of weeks after finishing runner-up to Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, Hamilton said, "It’s been quite a painful couple of weeks."

"This is really a time of year when you’re turning, trying to leave the negative behind and take the positive forward. But of course, it will build. The yearning for next year will build."

Hamilton lost the title by a mere five points, and can point to the Malaysian grand Prix as the decisive moment in the championship battle. His Mercedes engine went up in smoke while he led comfortably, a DNF that cost him 25 points. His title rival finished third.

Hamilton reflected, "The team’s job is to provide both drivers with equal opportunity. And unfortunately, I didn’t have equal opportunity, because I had failures on our side of the garage. The other side didn’t. So that puts more stress on the importance of myself sucking every ounce of opportunity."

The triple F1 World Champion did everything he could to bridge the gap to Rosberg in the final four races. In the Abu Dhabi finale Hamilton drove a tactical race in a last ditch effort to snatch the title, which Rosberg hailed as "perfect". However his actions on the night drew criticism from his own team chief Toto Wolff who cried "anarchy" after the race.

But Hamilton has no regrets, "At the end, that’s all I could have done. I didn’t do anything dangerous. I didn’t put anyone in harm’s way. I’d do it again. You’re out there to fight."

Despite the disappointment of losing the title Hamilton insists, "I’m in a good head space. I have a process that I need to take into next year. When I lost the championship, the motivation to want to take it back next year became twofold. I now have twice the desire."

"There’s very little that can distract me, really. I’m very much a person of energy, and when you meet someone you naturally feel an energy, good or bad, you know?"

Hamilton points to the parting of ways with his manager father Anthony Hamilton in 2010 as a h=key moment in his career, "It was a pivotal moment, and still the toughest thing I’ve really ever gone through. Growing up so close to someone and looking up to someone, and having them move heaven and earth for you every single day, and one day you say: I don’t want you to be a part of it anymore."

"It was necessary and a very positive thing in terms of moving forward. I’m almost 32 now. I’m not squandering my money. I don’t do drugs. I still have the values on which I was raised," added Hamilton who is estimated to be worth around $200-million.

He adds that five years down the road, his current relationship with his father is "a work in progress."

Hamilton and Mercedes will start the 2017 season as the combination to beat, with Rosberg's replacement the hottest topic of the preseason so far, but whoever it is Hamilton has no fears, "They can put any driver they want – bring Sebastian (Vettel), Fernando (Alonso), bring whoever you really want."