Lewis Hamilton Forced to Adopt Humility to Add to His Array of Abilities

Lewis Hamilton is a changed man. The undisguised sulkiness with which he greeted the discovery of his inability to defend his hard-won world ­championship has been banished from his public appearances. In its place are the philosophical smiles and emollient words with which he responded yesterday when asked about the plight in which he finds ­himself, 12 months after a masterpiece of a drive in the British grand prix supplied the momentum that carried him to his first title.

Perhaps somebody has been coaching him in the wisdom of taking defeat gracefully, at least in public. The example of Jenson Button, whose uncomplaining years in the wilderness now seem like the perfect preparation for success, may have been brought to his attention. Don't moan, don't try to blame others and, when the wins start coming again, the public will remember the dignity with which you endured your time of trial.

"You're growing all the time," Hamilton said on his return to Silverstone, where he shared a platform with the man most likely to replace him as champion. "I remember when I was ­sitting in front of Nelson Mandela, he told me that he's still learning today, and he's 90 years old. I took that on board. It was a very tough beginning to the season, knowing that we wouldn't be able to be challenging for wins, but I've worked on channeling those emotions in the right direction. I'm trying to do my bit to push the team forward."

The last time he raced here Hamilton was able to celebrate what he would call "by far the best victory I've ever had". On a day swept by intermittent showers he mastered conditions in which others floundered, finishing the race more than a minute ahead of his nearest pursuer. As he accelerated out of Woodcote corner to take the cheqckred flag, the sun broke through for the first time in the day.

In the run-up to the race he had been criticized for spending too much time ­fulfilling promotional commitments. This year, in the fortnight since the ­Turkish grand prix, where a 13th place summed up his season to date, he has spent time visiting the Mercedes-Benz and McLaren factories in Germany and England.

On Tuesday he was at the House of Commons to speak on road safety in the company of Lord Adonis, the transport secretary. On Wednesday he visited a scheme for underprivileged children and in the evening he attended a formula one party in aid of the Great Ormond Street ­children's hospital, hosted by Rory Bremner, with Duffy providing the entertainment.

The hectic schedule may be reminiscent of his first two years in formula one, which passed in a paparazzi-lit blur of charity appearances and celebrity encounters. This year, however, he is in the awkward position of a reigning world champion whose season has been destroyed by an uncompetitive car.

John Watson, the Ulsterman who won the 1981 grand prix at Silverstone ­during the second of his five seasons with the McLaren team, watched Hamilton's performance in Istanbul with dismay. "I haven't seen a McLaren look as bad since the day Eddie Jordan did a test drive at Brands Hatch," he said yesterday, only half joking. "Lewis may be the world champion but he's an inexperienced grand prix driver in terms of dealing with a bad car. Because of the way his career has been handled, he's never really discovered what it is to be in a situation like this.

"A lot of drivers who've come into formula one have had it harder in their early years. I wouldn't say his career has been an easy ride but it's been guided to ensure that his talent could shine through as quickly as possible. So for him it's going to be more difficult to adjust to the reality that it isn't just about the driver – it's also about the equipment and the team."

Watson believes that Hamilton's aggressive driving style, so effective from the front of the grid in a dominant car, has not helped him adjust to the very different circumstances. "It's the way he puts a lot of energy into the car. In Turkey it looked bloody awful, appalling. Heikki Kovalainen, who is a more self-effacing personality and doesn't drive in that manner, went marginally better.

"Had McLaren not handled the Fernando Alonso situation so abysmally two years ago, it's possible that Alonso would still be in the team now and his experience and knowledge would have directed the team to solutions more quickly than Lewis can, because Lewis doesn't have a clue. All he does is drive his heart out."

But perhaps the most painful of Hamilton's burdens, and the most unexpected, is having to turn up at all those glittering functions and being introduced as the reigning world champion without the current results to justify the status.

"It's hard," he said. "When you're standing in front of people and you're admired, but people can see that you haven't had a win, you haven't had a podium finish, they don't realize what's going on. They don't know that I'm working just as hard as before and driving just as well. But that's the way the sport is."

The consolations are few in a season that has so far yielded a meager nine points from seven races. "I've still got the No1 on my car," he said. "And there was a point at which I was the one to beat." Wistfully elegiac on paper, in person he imbued those words with hope for a better future, albeit one that is probably not scheduled to start at the scene of a former triumph this weekend.