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Five themes to watch for in Valencia

Can Lewis Hamilton deliver the clean race he desperately needs? Will the rule adjustments affect the race form, and how will double DRS pan out? Edd Straw analyses Valencia's pre-race storylines

Hamilton under pressure

Lewis Hamilton claims that having the likes of Niki Lauda accusing you of being dangerous has no effect on him, but there's no doubt that events in the Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix will be on his mind during Sunday afternoon's race. Speaking after qualifying, he said that he had no plans to change his approach, although he admitted that perhaps he might think twice before launching one of his trademark overtaking manoeuvres. He will be determined to have a clean, relatively uneventful race, and it's only natural that he might choose to curb his more aggressive tendencies.

Balanced against that is the fact that to beat a Red Bull you have to take every single opportunity presented to you. So if he is to win the race, can he afford to hang back? From third on the grid, four tenths down, there is every reason to expect McLaren's stronger race pace to put him into the fight for victory if he can clear Mark Webber at the start.

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