Lewis Hamilton says maintaining his relationship with Nicole Scherzinger "hasn't been easy".
The two-time Formula 1 world champion has admitted he sometimes struggles with the long-distance nature of his relationship with his pop star girlfriend, who he first started dating in 2007.
Speaking about their romance, the 29-year-old racing driver said: "It's not been easy - she lives in LA, I live in Monaco and I'm travelling a lot for work.
"Her job is shifting all the time, whether it's 'X Factor' or 'Dancing With The Stars' or 'Cats' or music. Juggling your schedule to meet with the other is very hard, and it's a long year with F1.
"At one point I flew to Asia for five weeks and couldn't see her. It's been tough."
However, Lewis explained that having the 36-year-old beauty by his side as he won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday (23.11.14) to clinch the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship made the weekend extra "special".
He told The Sun newspaper: "So obviously this makes it hard for us. But having Nicole there at the weekend was special."
When asked if he liked being dubbed the 'Hamzingers', Lewis said: "We're not Posh and Becks or Brangelina. We're unique.
"Nicole loves twisting words around - 'schamazing' or 'schermazeballs' - she's always doing it. It's ridiculous. She's going overboard now."
Lewis and Nicole initially started dating in 2007 but split in January 2010 to focus on their careers. But they later reunited and split a number of times between 2011 and 2013 before eventually getting back together.

'Pacific Rim 2' will be a "different adventure" to the first movie.
Director Guillermo del Toro has confirmed Charlie Day and Burn Gorman - who portrayed squabbling scientists Geiszler and Gottleib - will be returning for the sequel but they won't be battling the same Kaiju enemy again.
The filmmaker said: "I think that two of our main characters like in the first one are Burn and Charlie. They are really, really - I mean, honestly, they are probably the guys I have the most fun writing along with Hannibal Chau so just from a purely selfish drive, I like writing them.
"You're gonna get a lot of that, but the Kaijus are very different and you're gonna see a very different type of the robots I think. It's gonna be quite a different adventure."
The sequel is set some time after the 2013 blockbuster and the filmmaker has promised "quite a jump" between the two.
He added in an interview with Collider: "It's a few years after the first one. It's not an immediate follow-up. It is the world having been freed of Kaiju, what happens to the world after - what happens to the Jaeger technology once the Kaiju are not a threat. It's quite a jump."
'Pacific Rim 2' is scheduled for release on April 7, 2017.

Richard Hammond "lost the ability to connect emotionally" after his coma-inducing crash in 2006.
The 'Top Gear' presenter was filming an item at the wheel of a jet-powered dragster when tyre failure caused him to crash at 288 mph and he's now opened up about the recovery from his two-week-long coma.
He said: "For a time I lost the ability to connect emotionally. I began picking away at my own personality and that was very dizzying. I don't think I was very easy to work with for a good while, The team was very patient."
The 44-year-old star - who has daughters Izzy and Willow with wife Amanda - revealed the accident left him susceptible to "depression, obsession, compulsion and paranoia" and questioning whether it'd been his own fault.
He explained to Radio Times magazine: "I was difficult on shoots, losing my temper, feeling threatened by everything, very defensive. And I massively needed to know if the crash was my fault, because I'd risked the girls growing up without their dad.
"The telemetry showed I'd done everything right and it was an accident. But the girls still remember it very clearly."

Sam Faiers wants to be "best friends" with Kim Kardashian West.
The former reality star has her eyes on Kim, as Sam admitted she wants to become close friends with the 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' starlet, after bumping into her while vacationing in Los Angeles.
When asked what it was like to meet Kim, Sam said: "She was really sweet and polite. The next step is to become best friends. They were filming ['Keeping Up With The Kardashians'] when I saw her - I might be in the background."
Sam - who starred in 11 series of 'The Only Way Is Essex' before quitting in April of this year - explained she would never want to swap her home in England for a place in Hollywood because she would miss her sister Billie and her four-month-old niece, Nelly.
She told Now magazine: "My friend lives there, so I want to go out there more, but I couldn't live there, no. I was Skyping Billie and baby Nelly after three days. I couldn't leave my home in Essex."

Metallica will headline Reading and Leeds festivals next year.
The 'Enter Sandman' rockers will top the bill at the dual-sited event for the fourth time next August and are "beyond thrilled" to have landed the gig.
Drummer Lars Ulrich said: "We are obviously beyond thrilled to be returning to headline the magnificent and mighty double shot at Reading and Leeds for the fourth time. We are practically the house band. Bring it!"
Event organisers are delighted to have landed Metallica - who headlined Glastonbury earlier this year - and think they will give an "amazing" performance.
Reading and Leeds Boss Melvin Benn said: "I'm excited to be able to announce Metallica as the first headliner for Reading & Leeds 2015. Their amazing live show promises to be a favourite with rock, metal and genuine music fans at the UK's most important music festival, perfectly topping a bill of brilliant acts from across the genres.
"I'm looking forward to revealing the rest of the Festival line up, which will feature the absolute best of rock, indie, dance and hip hop and will only add to the amazing atmosphere that make Reading & Leeds so special."
Other acts also confirmed to play next year include Jamie T, Pierce the Veil, Wilkinson, Refused, Run the Jewels and Manchester Orchestra.
The festivals take place over the weekend of August 28-30 and tickets are on sale now.

Liam Gallagher was "too ill" to attend a meeting for his child support battle last week - but was spotted in a pub a day later.
The 'Wonderwall' singer was due to be quizzed about his finances by Liza Ghorbani's lawyer in New York on November 21 but cancelled the deposition - which relates to payments for his 20-month-old daughter Gemma - because he wasn't well enough to fly out from the UK, but was seen socialising with friends the following day.
Liza's lawyer Ira Garr said: "Gallagher was supposed to be deposed last Friday, but his attorney filed an emergency application to the court because he was too ill to travel. It appears he has no great desire to be deposed."
According to the lawyer, the 42-year-old rocker - who disbanded his group Beady Eye last month amid speculation his most successful band, Oasis, are planning to reform - has been given three settlement offers so far but his representatives haven't responded.
He added to the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column: "Gallagher has indicated that Oasis is disbanded and his earnings are down, which is why he is reported to be selling off his homes in London and on Central Park South."
It is believed Liam needs to finalise his divorce from Nicole Appleton - the mother of his 13-year-old son Gene - before making an agreement with Liza, but that could take until next autumn.
And the US journalist is said to be particularly unhappy that the 'Supersonic' hitmaker - who also has daughter Molly, 16, and son Lennon, 15, from previous relationships - still hasn't met their daughter.
The lawyer said: "The fact that he hasn't even seen the child is a great source of disappointment to the mother."
Liam's lawyer confirmed he had been unwell but said a new deposition and hearing are scheduled for next week and he "will attend".
The legal representative added: "We have exchanged financial information with Liza's attorneys. It was vetted by accountants and was perfectly appropriate."

John Legend didn't think Chrissy Teigen was The One until "a couple of years" into their relationship.
The 'All of Me' hitmaker is too "cautious" to rush into things so it took him some time to "grow into" his feelings for the Sports Illustrated model, who he met on the set of his music video 'Stereo' in 2007 and married in September 2013.
Asked if he fell in love with her the moment they met, he said: "Not right away. I'm more cautious than that.
"I wasn't like, 'This is the woman I'm going to marry' from day one. For me I'm the kind of person who needs to grow into that feeling. It was probably a couple of years in when I could already see us being together forever."
The 35-year-old star's 2013 single 'All of Me' was inspired by the 28-year-old beauty and he admits it also took him some time to understand his relationship before he could use it in his work.
Speaking to the new issue of Los Angeles Confidential magazine, he said: "The more you know someone, the more you're inspired by your relationship.
"Also, I grew up just learning what it means to be in love with somebody... because I had never really been in love before. I guess you have to grow enough to be able to write that song with sincerity and authenticity."

Pixie Lott will release her "fun" fourth album in January.
The 'Mama Do' singer - who launched her greatest hits album 'Platinum Pixie' with a secret gig in association with Viber yesterday (25.11.14) - has taken a "fresh" approach to putting together her upcoming record.
The 23-year-old singer - who is currently appearing on this year's series of 'Strictly Come Dancing' - confessed her time on the BBC One dance competition has inspired the album's "fun, up-tempo vibe", and will also be featuring collaborations "with loads of different producers".
Pixie told BANG Showbiz: "The album in January is just going to be my fourth album. We've already got the sessions booked in. We're going to go to New York, LA.
"My last album, I wanted it to be really organic, I worked with like a small group of people, but this album, I think after just dancing and stuff, I want to do more of a fun, up-tempo vibe, do some collaborations, do something fresh and be up for working with loads of different producers."
The blonde beauty - who was joined at the secret London gig by fans who had been following her Public Chat on the Viber messaging app - has also teamed up with rapper Plan B's writing team and is keen to duet with some of her favourite British artists in the future.
She said: "I have got a session next month with Plan B's writers. It's really hard to schedule anything this month because I don't know when I'm going to be chucked off Strictly.
"I love the British talent, like Ed Sheeran, Labrinth, Disclosure, Rudimental. I think we've got loads of homegrown talent."

Jennifer Aniston felt "uncomfortable" filming scenes for 'Horrible Bosses 2'.
The 45-year-old actress has admitted to feeling a little uncomfortable as she filmed some sexually provocative scenes with some extras for the sequel to 'Horrible Bosses'.
When Jennifer's co-star Jason Sudeikis reminded her of a particular scene where her character Doctor Julia Harris watches some sexy security footage with two other girls, Jennifer said: "That was one of the most uncomfortable days, I have to say. We were just talking about it like it was the funniest TV show you've ever seen."
She also revealed that some hilarious scenes featuring Charlie Day were omitted from the final cut. The 'Friends' actress said: "Charlie and I also had a wonderful surveillance camera moment that ended up not being in the movie. I had to do it on top of him in a coma, and he broke, half-way through the take, when I grabbed him."
Speaking of her character Julia's sex addiction, Jennifer told the website Collider: "I find it extremely entertaining, the way she speaks, because I don't really think that she thinks that she's saying anything inappropriate."
Despite being known for her comedic roles, Jennifer has starred in several serious films, including the up-coming drama 'Cake' - which is due out in 2015 - and she noted that she enjoys exploring both genres.
She said: "I love doing both.
"There's comedy in drama. There's drama in comedy. I don't find the two exclusive of one another."

Taylor Swift says Lorde and Lena Dunham as the "most important" people in her life at the moment.
The 24-year-old musician really appreciates the friendship of the pair and insists it's great to have peers you like and respect.
Referring to 18-year-old Lorde - real name Ella Yelich-O'Connor - and 'Girls' writer Lena, 28, Taylor said: "They are the most important things to me right now. Ella and Lena both represent the type of woman I want to be. Ella and I might be in the same job but we don't see each other as anything but two female friends.
"The type of girls I hang out with are strong and know their own mind. But we don't see each other that often as we work so hard. But when we get together it's worth the wait."
Taylor - who has previously dated Harry Styles and Jake Gyllenhaal but is currently single - values the advice of her close pals, and when she got into the party circuit they advised her that her antics would bring her unwanted attention.
Speaking to HELLO! magazine, she explained: "My friends have asked am I partying too much and suggested I party less. There was a point where I really wanted to stop stories being written about me going out, so I stopped going out."

Susan Boyle blames her single status on her Catholic parents' "coded behaviour".
The 'Wild Horses' singer has revealed her mother and father's strong Christian beliefs have affected the way she approaches romantic relationships as an adult.
Susan, 53, said: "My parents were stalwart Catholics, and there was a kind of coded behaviour I had to keep to - that's why I'm still single. Simply put, the right guy hasn't come along yet."
Susan is open to a relationship and still dreams of one day having her own family.
She said: "It would be nice to have somebody in my life, as I'd like to have a baby, so I'll just keep waiting. In the meantime, I have 16 nieces and nephews - plenty to occupy me with. If God wants it to happen, it will."
Susan credits God for giving her the vocal ability that has made her a star since she finished as a runner-up on 'Britain's Got Talent' and says she is still a very religious person.
She said: "God must think singing is good for me. My faith is important to me, my favourite saint is St. Bernadette. She was from a poor background and raised to a high position, spiritually. I feel an affinity to her, though not on her level..."

Jordin Sparks has taken a swipe at her ex-boyfriend Jason Derulo in a song.
The 24-year-old beauty appears to take aim at her former lover, with whom she had a three-year relationship that ended in September, in her latest remix of Drake's song, 'How About Now'.
Jordin discusses looking after Jason, 25, in the aftermath of him suffering a neck injury in 2012, singing: "Feeling like I have to get all of this off my chest / I know you are sitting there thinking 'What is she going to do next?
"Remember I deleted all my other guys' numbers out my phone for ya? / Remember when you broke your neck and I had to wash your back for ya? You probably don't remember half of the s**t that I did for ya."
Since splitting earlier this year, Jason has conceded that they're not on particularly friendly terms.
Jordin, meanwhile, has remained quiet about their failed relationship for the most part.
But shortly after announcing their split, Jordin said: "I'm good actually. I read this quote [yesterday], and it said, 'When something unexpected happens in your life, or you think something bad happens, just say 'Plot twist!' and move on.'"