Hill warns Hamilton to keep his eye on the ball

Damon Hill has warned fellow F1 champion Lewis Hamilton to keep his eye on the ball. A year after the Mercedes driver's controversial run-in with teammate Nico Rosberg in Monaco, Hamilton has reportedly vowed to "go out first at the end of qualifying" to avoid a repeat incident, Telegraph correspondent Daniel Johnson reported.

Rosberg managed to end Hamilton's run of poles and wins recently in Barcelona, and another win this weekend will be a Monaco hat-trick for the German. Hill, the 1996 title winner, thinks a lack of focus might have hurt Hamilton's form in Spain.

"Nico went home (after Bahrain) and said, 'right, I'm not having any more of this' and focused on the next job," the Briton and former Williams driver told Britain's Express newspaper. "But look at the schedule Lewis indulged in between Bahrain and that race," Hill added.

Indeed, we reported recently that, between Bahrain and Spain, Hamilton clocked up thousands of miles in his private jet, skipping from Monaco to London, Mallorca to Monza, Los Angeles to New York before returning to the UK and Spain.

Hill said: "Even with someone with an abundance of talent like Lewis, to be absolutely at the sharp end you cannot afford to give anything away to someone like Nico. You should never underestimate your competitors," he insisted. "He is on target to become one of the most successful racing drivers. It's whether you want to dedicate yourself to that task and play afterwards," he added. (GMM)