McLaren driver Lewis, 26, says the X Factor supremo is one of the key reasons that his four-year romance with Nicole Scherzinger hit the skids.

<p><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; background-color: #d3dce2;"><div class="article-image fl-left" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: #fcd8d8; background-image: url(http://images.mirror.co.uk/collections/m4_art2/imagegallery-bg.jpg); clear: both; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="image-caption" style="font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><img alt="Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger (Pic:PA)" border="0" height="396" src="http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/sep2011/7/3/lewis-hamilton-and-nicole-scherzinger-pic-pa-951463224.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; float: left; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="610" /><p class="caption" style="font-weight: bold; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: #ffffff; text-align: center; color: #000000; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger (Pic:PA)</p></div></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">IT’S just as well Simon Cowell likes fast cars – he might need to speed off sharpish if F1 race ace Lewis Hamilton claps eyes on him...</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">McLaren driver Lewis, 26, says the X Factor supremo is one of the key reasons that his four-year romance with Nicole Scherzinger hit the skids.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">He reckons 52-year-old Cowell’s decision to offer Nicole, 33, a judging job on X Factor USA – replacing Cheryl Cole – put “immeasurable strain” on the couple’s relationship.</p><div class="inline-ad span-16 last" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: right; width: 310px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="caption" style="font-style: inherit; font-size: 0.917em; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: #727272; line-height: 1.636em; text-align: center; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"></div><div class="ad0 mpu InSkinHide" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; width: 300px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div id="tmgdfc-rk2" style="font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><img alt="" height="1" src="http://ad.360yield.com/status?publisher_user_id=f76b9966-281a-42c6-a68e-a7c070233c30&publisher_dsp_id=2&publisher_call_type=redirect&publisher_redirecturl=http://ad.360yield.com/match" style="font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="1" /></div></div></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Lewis has been tied up on the Grand Prix circuit while former Pussycat Doll singer Nicole’s own hectic schedule has prevented her from spending time with him on race days.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">It means they have barely seen one another in person since May.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Concerned by both their hectic lifestyles, Lewis is understood to have decided they needed a break – as I revealed on Monday.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Last night, a source close to the couple confirmed: “Lewis and Nicole have been having problems for the past six weeks.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">“Increasingly hectic schedules this year have meant limited face-to-face time.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">“They’ve probably spent more time on the phone or on Skype than they have in person.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">“Sadly, Nicole’s job on X Factor USA – which, professionally, has been an unmitigated success – appears to have come at the cost of her relationship.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">“Nicole was under enormous pressure to succeed and was desperate to please Simon, her boss.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">“But Lewis found their intense working relationship hard to contend with.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">“This, plus Lewis’s crazy international jet-set lifestyle, put immeasurable strain on the pair.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">“She was crushed and did everything she could to make it work. They are still good friends though and the break-up is all very amicable.”</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Multi-millionaire Lewis, who was said to be in a “vile mood” after last weekend’s Korean Grand Prix, recently said he was a long way off wanting to start a family.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Meanwhile, Nicole has become friends with host Steve Jones, who is said to have a crush on her.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Last night, a spokesman for the couple declined to comment.</p><span style="font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><br /><br /><br /></span></span></p>

McLaren driver Lewis, 26, says the X Factor supremo is one of the key reasons that his four-year romance with Nicole Scherzinger hit the skids.

Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger (Pic:PA) IT’S just as well Simon Cowell likes fast cars – he might need to speed off sharpish if F1 ra...

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