Hamilton under pressure to win

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will be willing Lewis Hamilton to win his home grand prix on Sunday and end a depressing run of two races without a point.

After compatriot Andy Murray battled from two sets down to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals, McLaren's 23-year-old Formula One title hope can follow suit with a comeback of his own at Silverstone.

With a dizzying whirl of social and promotional engagements in the week leading up to the race and a sell-out crowd of 240,000 expected for the three-day event, Hamilton's profile has never been higher.

Yet the youngster, who took a storming pole position in front of his home crowd in his rookie season last year before finishing third, has played down the soaring expectations.

He has also been at pains to calm fears that the title may be slipping away from him, with Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa now 10 points clear coming up to the halfway point of the season.

"Kimi (Raikkonen) was 17 points behind with two races to go last year," Hamilton said on the McLaren Web site (www.mclaren.com) of the Ferrari driver who beat him to the title by a single point last season.

"The fact that he not only came back but also won the title tells you a lot about how unpredictable this sport can be. You can never take anything for granted.

"And that's why I'm still confident and focused," added Hamilton, who slipped to fourth overall after leading the championship with victory in Australia in March and again in May when he won in Monaco.