Lewis Hamilton has absolute confidence Mercedes are treating him no differently compared to team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton is eager to allay the rumours sparked on the internet that, as Rosberg is German and driving for a German manufacturer, there is perhaps slight favouritism towards him.
The Twitter trolls were certainly in evidence following qualifying on Saturday for the German GP when Hamilton crashed out due to a right-front brake disc failure, going so far as to suggest sabotage.
That was naturally a ludicrous extreme, but the perception is there in the eyes of some that Rosberg is fav-oured over Hamilton by Mercedes.
Pointedly asked whether he was receiving equal treatment to Rosberg, and setting the record straight, Hamilton said: “Yep. I feel really comfortable. The team is doing a great job.
“I’ve great engineers and the support from my guys on my car. I’ve never seen such a hungry group of guys passionate to win from their side. It’s the same on Nico’s side, they want to win so badly.
“You work on a car and it’s your baby, and they want to help get the best result possible.
“I was recently speaking to one of my mechanics, and although we’ve been hit by a couple of DNFs (did not finish), we will just keep on ploughing through.”
Hamilton concedes, though, he has not had as smooth a year as Rosberg given his two DNFs and a number of qualifying issues.
With a 14-point gap to Rosberg heading into the last grand prix prior to the summer break, with Hungary the venue where Hamilton has won on four occasions in seven attempts, he appreciates the need for a pick-me-up at least.
“As always, it’s going to be important to regain points,” he added. “But as you can see (with regard to Germany ), anything can happen in a weekend, so I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next one.
“I’m certainly not planning on starting at the back in Hungary!
“But a clean weekend is what I’m aiming for, to come away from there with some strong points ahead of the break.”