He may be the returning champion, but Lewis Hamilton says he is doing to take defeat in his stride if he loses to his teammate.
The Formula One driver has vowed to take his likely defeat to Nico Rosberg in the title race “like a man” as he turned on the charm offensive in the United States.
Hamilton, who attracted criticism in Japan after he fooled around on his mobile phone during the pre-race press conference, was summoned by the sport’s governing body to appear in front of the media once more on Thursday.
His appearance was worlds apart from his bizarre outing in Suzuka, where he spent the majority of the televised media session on Snapchat.
The 31-year-old Briton arrives in Austin 33 points adrift of Rosberg in the championship and with only four rounds remaining, the title race is now out of his hands.
“I will try and take it like a man if Nico wins the championship,” said Hamilton on Thursday. “You can’t win them all.
“Look at all the world champions in the past that have won championships and lost championships. It is part of the game.
“I am in the position right now where there are still a lot of points available, so I will give it everything I have got and still have the belief that anything is possible.”
Hamilton cancelled two sessions with the print media in Japan following what he deemed as disrespectful coverage of his antics on Snapchat. He also subsequently blocked a number of journalists on Twitter.
“I don’t actually manage every single part of my own social media,” said Hamilton when quizzed on the matter. “I have a couple of people that do, and my general approach is if you see someone talking smack, cut it.
“I guess I had flown back to Asia, and I got a message later – I don’t know who had been blocked. I don’t have a lot of time to go online and do that.
“I think it’s a lot of people, not just media. It was a blocking spree. But I don’t even have the Twitter app on my phone.”
