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Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton spoke out about the state of F1 over the Australian Grand Prix weekend, before the Grand Prix Drivers' Association released its own statement on behalf of the entire grid.

While Hamilton is not a member of the GPDA he confirmed when addressing the media in Bahrain on Thursday that the drivers' body had his full support.

It was part of an impassioned outpouring from the three-time world champion, who made clear that he feels the need to voice his feelings due to his love for motor racing all the way back to his days in karts.

Here, in Hamilton's own words, are his feelings on the state of Formula 1 in 2016:

I'm not a member of the GPDA. I was for some years then I opted out. But I was in the meeting when we all sat and collectively stood together. We all stand together as drivers. There are occasionally issues where a united front is necessary and that was one of them.

Our objective is not to be the decision-makers, we don't want to be the decision-makers. We're the only ones out there who can help you guys know what more is needed in order to make racing fun.

All us drivers are doing what we do today because we love cars, we love racing, we love wheel-to-wheel. We nearly all started in karting and aspired to be like the greats in the past.

When you're now driving and you're not being challenged in the way you should be challenged, whether it be physically or mentally, by the car, and the decisions that have been taken for the rules are taking it in the wrong direction, we can't just stand still and let it happen.

People have fallen out of love with the sport, and ultimately that will lead to maybe you guys also and also for us and we don't want that, because it has the opportunity to be the greatest sport in the world, which is what it should be.

I don't have all the answers. There's a lot of things that can be improved. At the end of the last race I spoke about how the cars can be better. For me it's about the car, and how we interact with the fans, how we engage with the fans more, which I try to do on social media.

I miss go-karting. Today I had an interview which was great, it was about 2000 when I was in karts. It was some of the best racing I've ever had, with Nico [Rosberg] and other drivers. It was the wheel-to-wheel racing that excited me, and it's hard to have that today.

In the last race, it's not that I can't overtake a Toro Rosso, it's because it's like you have 100 dollars and you have to spend it over 40 laps. If I spend 90 of it trying to overtake that car then I'm not going to get to the end of the race.

People don't care - people want to see me race to the end. They want to see me sweat my nuts off and make a fantastic manoeuvre.

I'm not in the GPDA for personal reasons. But when there's a really critical thing - safety or something really important - I'm there. Such as the last race where they wanted us to stand together for our love of this sport.

I told them, 'if there's something you really need me for, let me know, and I'll be there, and hopefully I'll agree with you and I'll stand with you'.

You see small things changing over time, but I don't really know, it's too early days to say whether it's really going to make much difference. I don't want to judge it now and then find things don't change. Ultimately our point is just that we want to make racing better.

People who are watching the race don't know all these different control switches, they just want to see wheel-to-wheel racing. And they want to see battles, they want to see smoke coming out of the back of the car. When you get a lock-up and see a bit of smoke, that's exciting.

One of the best races was 2014 here [Bahrain]. But in order to have that race we had to have a second and half difference in tyres - that was the only way [Rosberg] could get close to me.

That shows there's something fundamentally wrong. How can we get round that to make it more like that race? Because that was one of the most exciting I've had in Formula 1. I want that every weekend.

I want there to be times when you don't win but you've had that race at least. It's the most satisfying feeling when you've come from the back and battled through. That's definitely a better feeling that starting from pole and winning.

Hamilton's comments are an edited selection taken from his responses in his regular pre-event media session with journalists ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix