Lewis Hamilton jokes that 'this s*** is killing me' as F1 star uses Snapchat bunny filter to amuse himself during Japan Grand Prix press conference

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Lewis Hamilton was forced to defend himself on Twitter after having another moan in the build-up to the Japanese Grand Prix, with pre-race press conferences in the British driver's firing line this time.

Hamilton looked uninterested during Thursday's media duties but found a way to beat the boredom as he made use of Snapchat's 'bunny rabbit filter' to entertain himself.

Hamilton, who had to retire 15 laps from the end of Sunday's race in Malaysia, took to the social media platform to share the amusing snaps of himself and other drivers with the caption 'this s*** is killing me.'  

Lewis Hamilton kept his fans updated on Snapchat during Thursday's press conference

Hamilton was far more concerned with taking amusing selfies than answering questions

Hamilton records video footage using his smartphone as Kimi Raikkonen (bottom left), Pascal Wehrlein (top left), Jolyon Palmer (top right) and Fernando Alonso look on

Even old rival Fernando Alonso (right) was entertained by the Snapchat filters

Hamilton also took a video of Carlos Sainz, sitting behind him, before adding a fake fox's ears and nose to the Spaniard's face.

With the press conference, which is aired live on television, still ongoing, Hamilton then showed the videos to Alonso and Sainz who each shared a smile. 

Asked what was so amusing, Hamilton replied: 'It's quite funny. Just some snaps of us drivers. We've been doing this [format of press conferences] a long, long time and it's the same. Just got to keep adding new things to it.' 

Even Bradley Lord, Mercedes' communications manager, wasn't safe from Hamilton's antics.

'Could this interview get any more boring. I wonder if I will have time to go B&Q on Monday. Need a new sofa,' Hamilton joked as he took a snap of his unsuspecting team member. 

The Mercedes driver also used the filter on Carlos Sainz (top left) as he spoke to reporters

The Spaniard was blissfully unaware as Hamilton made fun of him to his followers

Sainz (left) laughs as Hamilton shows him the sneaky picture he had taken

Even Bradley Lord, Mercedes' communications manager, was not safe from Hamilton's iPhone

Hamilton had plenty of time for fans as he enjoyed the media day in Suzuka

Hamilton took to Twitter following the press conference to explain his actions after critics had branded them out of order.

He tweeted: 'Today was meant to be fun, not at all disrespectful. Some people take themselves to seriously.

'I had a blast, highlight of my day! It's been the same for 10 years. It's not the media or mediator, it's the format. Fans should be asking the questions!'

The Brit will need to keep up this positive mentality if he is to claw his way back into the F1 title race. 

The events in Malaysia leave Hamilton 23 points behind Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the championship standings with five races remaining.  

Hamilton suffered yet another engine failure with 15 laps to go at the Malaysian Grand Prix

Mercedes have discovered the cause of the engine failure which has left the three-time world champion a race against time to win his fourth championship. 

His engine was sent back to Mercedes' headquarters in Brixworth for analysis, and, ahead of this weekend's race, the team have revealed that the power unit unexpectedly suffered a big-end bearing failure. 

As such, Mercedes also revealed that they will adopt a conservative strategy here in Suzuka. 

'Our analysis has shown that Lewis' engine suffered a big-end bearing failure,' Mercedes said on Thursday. 

Lewis Hamilton has just five races to overturn a 23 point deficit from team-mate Nico Rosberg

'This happened without warning after 618 kilometres (384 miles) and was preceded by a loss of pressure in turn 15.

'We will introduce revised engine parameters for all Mercedes engines this weekend.' 

A furious Hamilton hinted at sabotage from within his own Mercedes camp after the race on Sunday when he said: 'Somebody doesn't want me to win this year.' He later insisted he was referring to a 'higher power'.

On Wednesday evening, however, the 31-year-old posted a series of messages on his social media accounts paying tribute to his car crew and engineers.