by Our Sports Desk

Lewis Hamilton will face the unknown of Austria next week seeking to soothe the frustration of suffering two heavy blows in his last two races.

As if the furore of his feud with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in Monaco was not bad enough to contend with last month, Hamilton then gallingly suffered his second retirement of the season on Sunday.

The loss of the Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K) energy store unit had the knock-on effect of causing a rear-brake failure for Hamilton at a time when he was vying for the lead.

Rosberg’s car encountered the same MGU-K issue but the German managed to nurse it through to the chequered flag to claim 18 very valuable points and open up a 22-point lead over Hamilton.

Surprisingly, Hamilton conceded the frustration he felt in Monaco was far more acute than that he experienced in Montreal.

The combined effect of both, however, now leaves him with the task of heading into the Red Bull Ring — as Austria hosts Formula One for the first time since 2003 — needing to regroup and refocus again.

“Before we had our problems (in Canada) I was on it but then it all fell apart,” said Hamilton.

“I now just have to try and make things less difficult for myself in the next race. I just want to get ready for that next race.

“I have a lot of training planned and I’ll be in the simulator and the team will be flat out trying to understand and fix for the next race the issue we had.

“The guys at the factory will be analysing it and they will make an improvement.

“I did say to them, though, that while it wasn’t a day we had all hoped for (in Canada), we have to take a step back and realise what an amazing job we have all done so far this season.”