Hamilton moves to heal rift with father

LEWIS Hamilton is set to be reunited with his father this weekend at Silverstone as the pair continue to rebuild their fragile relationship.

Anthony Hamilton, who had previously attended all his son's races, has not been to a grand prix this season after being sacked as his son's manager shortly before the start of the campaign.

However, the driver expects his father to be cheering him on at the British Grand Prix on Sunday. "I think he's coming, yeah - I've invited him. It will be good that he's there," he said yesterday. "I've got grandstand tickets so I said you can choose whether you want to be in the paddock or the grandstand. I said he should go into the paddock but then he should maybe go and experience something different because he's always watched it either from TV or in the paddock."

The pair did not speak for several weeks after the shock split and their relationship remains fragile. However, the 25-year-old, who leads the championship standings by six points, believes it was the right decision.

He added: "Everything is not 100 per cent but we're definitely continuing to build on the relationship and things are moving slowly. We're letting things take their time and move naturally rather than forcing things. He's always sending me positive messages before races. But it has given me space. I've just grown.

"Bit by bit I've focused on things, working in certain areas that I didn't necessarily understand or know about before. Sometimes it takes longer but it's going well."

Meanwhile, Damon Hill is fully expecting the battle for this year's Formula 1 world title to start to boil over at this weekend's race.

Five drivers, spearheaded by a British of one-two Hamilton and Jenson Button, are separated by just 29 points as the season reaches its halfway point at Silverstone. The fact the past two world champions and McLaren team-mates are in front, just six points apart, adds to the spice of the occasion, one Hill feels "is going to be even better than it has ever been before". But, with Red Bull duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in the mix, along with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, 1996 world champion Hill expects this year's title battle to go right down to the wire.

"It's just been on simmer for the moment. Now it's going to start to boil over," said Hill. "This could be the start of the rest of the season."