Lewis Hamilton’s former performance engineer has told talkSPORT that he gets frustrated by people thinking the star is a prima donna.The seven-time world champion was recently forced to publicly shut down claims he had demanded staffing changes at Ferrari.Clear (left) was Hamilton’s performance engineer at Mercedes before he moved to FerrariGettyHamilton’s retirement from the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month all, but ended his bid for a record eighth world championship.His DNF in Madrid left him 101 points behind his Mercedes successor, Kimi Antonelli, in the drivers’ standings with just nine rounds left.Lewis Hamilton is very much a team player – People are just creating noiseReports in Italy then claimed that Hamilton had challenged Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur to shake up personnel within the team.One such example cited behind the Brit’s frustrations was his grievances over the team radio during August’s Dutch Grand Prix.However, in the wake of Hamilton’s denial that he has called for replacements at Ferrari, Jock Clear, who was his senior performance engineer at Mercedes during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, was asked whether such stories were all part of the global attention of being a driver for the Scuderia.“Yes, I think so,” Clear exclusively told talkSPORT.com, via betselect.co.uk.“I think more so than you see in any other team.“Lewis seems to have this media background conversation going on constantly about he’s demanding this, he’s demanding that. “I don’t know where it comes from. It certainly doesn’t come from Lewis, that’s for sure. “Lewis wants to create a team. He’s very much a team player, and it frustrates me when people think he’s a bit of a prima donna.Hamilton has fallen out of title contention as he now trails Antonelli by 101 pointsGetty“He is a team player, and when you’re on his team, you feel it very strongly,” Clear continued on Hamilton.“So Lewis will want to build a team. “I think people are just creating noise.”Hamilton has secured five podium finishes for Ferrari this season, including a maiden main race victory in red at Barcelona in June.The 41-year-old is now without a podium finish since his home Grand Prix at Silverstone, six rounds ago.“Well, I mean, he’s 101 points ahead of me,” said Hamilton when asked about his prospects, ahead of the Azerbaijan GP this Saturday.Claims that Hamilton is a prima donna have been laughed offGetty“Just in two races he gained something like 40-odd points on me, and we’ve been working so hard to gain just a couple of points here and there.“There is still a long way to go, and I think the focus for me is, if we can hold on to second – if not, somehow catch Mercedes – for the constructors’, I think that would be remarkable.”