Hamilton explains Monaco 'Senna' moment

The Mercedes driver brought his car to a halt at Portiers, having lost victory thanks to a pitstop blunder during a safety car period.

That moment brought about recollections of when Ayrton Senna threw away a win with a crash at the same corner in 1988 before heading straight back to his apartment.

Hardest moment of career

There had been suggestions that Hamilton was pondering abandoning his car there too to mirror what Senna did, but he insists he was stationary for other reasons.

"It was hard beyond belief," said Hamilton, recalling what happened in an interview with British newspapers that was published on Saturday.

"It was definitely the hardest moment for me that I can recall. I'm very strong in my faith and I stopped the car and prayed about it. It just gave me strength.

"It gave me a second to collect myself. Gave me strength to get through this, because I know there are going to be more positives moving forwards.

"[It] helped me be the man I know I am, and know I can be, to send a strong message to people, that no matter what's thrown at you, you can get by. That was really the ultimate test for me."

No anger

Hamilton appeared astonishingly calm after the race, rather than letting his frustrations get the better of him.

He said that it was important to behave like that in public, no matter how much the win loss hurt him.

"I was trying to keep my heart rate low," he said. "If I lost my temper, you guys would have given me the worst time."

He added: "I've got kids that look up to me nowadays, and the way I behave will affect how those kids perhaps will behave at school or when they're driving, or whatever. There's bigger fish to fry.

"There's a more important message. Don't be selfish for that single moment, and be acting up.

"Most people watching don't realise we've just been sweating our balls off in a race. But you don't want to show too much disappointment, because you know your teammate will get energy from that."