Hamilton Happy That Mix of Circuit and Circus Will Not Harm World Title Bid

Lewis Hamilton's recent flurry of publicity appearances has inevitably prompted talk that the McLaren-Mercedes driver is spending too much time tearing round the glad-handing circuit and too little racing round the track. The promoters' events will take their toll on the 23-year-old, say the critics, and if he is to sustain his focus on winning this year's world championship he should seriously consider rationing his time away from the cockpit.

Having been given exceptional access to Hamilton's diary for the four days of the British grand prix meeting at Silverstone, the details of which are reproduced below, it certainly appears to be a punishing schedule for a young driver - though in reality it is an all too typical program of events that are part and parcel of the life of any contemporary formula one driver. The sponsors behind the team make sure the men behind the wheel sing for their expensive suppers.

Hamilton himself is confident his mind will be fresh and focused this weekend. "I'm very, very relaxed," he said. "It's very important you don't worry about things so you try to keep your mind very clear. I might talk to my brother or watch some comedy, whatever it takes to take my mind off the actual race.

"If you think about the race you think about the first corner, you think about the start, the possibilities of people crashing in to you - all these different things. It's better you don't think about that and just go out there. I know how to drive and you've got to hope for the best."

Hamilton has been managed throughout his career by his father, Anthony, whose opinions and judgment are highly valued by his son. Last year he impressed the paddock by negotiating a reputed £1m fee for Lewis's official - if somewhat premature - memoirs and the youngster will probably earn 10 times that amount under the terms of his new deal with Reebok sportswear, which was announced in Amsterdam earlier this week. There may, though, come a time when father and son need outside help to deal with the explosion of commercial interest in Lewis's career.

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren's chief operating officer, is adamant that all the drivers' sponsorship commitments are carefully built around their racing activities over a grand prix weekend and that none is allowed to impinge on the main business at hand, seeking to win the race. "I think it is very clear that we have a good sense of balance in the team," said Whitmarsh. "Everything is done to keep the drivers' minds clear from any extraneous distractions. In that respect I believe we managed things rather well."

It was not always thus. Niki Lauda recalled that Nelson Piquet, his fellow triple world champion and a team-mate in the early 1980s, would turn his back on a fat cheque from BMW for a personal appearance, preferring to stay in bed for as long as it took his fancy.

"Racing drivers are independent-minded souls," said Lauda, "and I don't think you'll get them to do anything they set their mind against at the end of the day. In that respect Lewis just needs to get on with things, as I've said before, and not worry what anybody outside McLaren says or thinks."

After winning in Monaco in May, Hamilton is eager to conquer Silverstone - a circuit he describes as "a British phenomenon"- and complete a personal hat-trick after his season-opening triumph in Australia. "Winning your home race is something that every driver wants to achieve," said Hamilton, who is 10 points adrift of Ferrari's Felipe Massa in the drivers' championship.

"People talk of winning the big four - Silverstone, Monaco, Monza and Spa - but it's more straightforward for me. I want to win the first race of the season, I want to win Monte Carlo - both of which I did for the first time this year - and I want to win my home grand prix.

"Those are my goals and I'm ready for the challenge at Silverstone this weekend."

Race weekend schedule

Today

10.30am Arrives at the McLaren brand center in the Silverstone paddock

2pm Walks across the paddock to the engineers' office, situated in one of the articulated transporter trailers parked behind the pits, for a technical pre-brief with his race engineer, Phil Prew

4.15 Briefing with UK print media

6.30 Sponsorship appearance for the team's major investor, Vodafone

7pm Brief filming session with Johnnie Walker whisky for a "Responsible Drinking" campaign

8pm Boards chartered helicopter for 20min flight to team's hotel, Le Manoir aux Quatre Saisons, near Oxford

Tomorrow

7.30am Arrives by helicopter at the circuit. Drops by McLaren brand center where he may have a quick massage from his trainer Adam Costanzo

8.30 Engineering meeting with Prew, team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, test driver Pedro de la Rosa and the rest of the technical team to discuss any last-minute adjustments prior to free qualifying - choice of tyre compounds, possible aerodynamic adjustments and brake balance settings etc

10-11.30 Free practice

11.45-12.45 Engineering meeting in transporter behind pits, running through data gained during session

2-3.30pm Free practice

5pm FIA drivers' briefing from race director Charlie Whiting

6.30 Helicopter flight back to hotel.

Saturday

8am Arrives at circuit by helicopter

8.30 Engineering briefing. Preliminary chassis set-up work will have been completed on Friday and Lewis and Prew will now be narrowing their technical focus to such minutiae as tyre pressures and wing settings

10-11am Free practice

12.15 Engineering debrief - the last chance to discuss qualifying strategy

1-2pm Qualifying

3.05 Pole position press conference in which Hamilton will hope to feature

3.30 Post-qualifying technical debrief

5.30 Another appearance for Vodafone

6.30 Sponsorship appearance for Mobil, the supplier of team fuel and oil

7.15 Appearance for Banco Santander

8pm Helicopter back to hotel

Sunday

7.30am Helicopter to the circuit

10am Engineering briefing to discuss last-minute adjustments to the car, plus examination of weather forecast

11.30 Join other drivers on the back of an articulated truck for the mandatory drivers' parade prior to the race

1pm Race start

3.30-4pm Analysis and debrief in McLaren's silver transporter