Another day, another prize, although this one mattered most to Lewis Hamilton. Britain's new Formula One world champion received his winner's trophy last night at the sort of glittering ceremony that he is used to these days: private jet, plush hotel and a gala dinner in Monaco, where he was fêted by the rich and famous.

This has been a whirlwind week in the life of the lad from Stevenage, in Hertfordshire. It started on Sunday at another glittering dinner in London's Park Lane, was followed by a handshake for the cameras with Gordon Brown, led to a drive in a taxi for Boris Johnson, the London Mayor, to help to raise awareness about the dangers of drink-driving and will end tomorrow night in front of 10,000 people in the Echo Arena, Liverpool, at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.

It seems that Hamilton is never out of the news, but he has been to the BBC's annual feast of sport once before as the most high-profile man of the moment and failed to turn his ubiquity into votes. Last year, Hamilton was the plucky World Championship runner-up and odds-on favourite to scoop the award, only to be pipped at the chequered flag by Joe Calzaghe, the undefeated boxer.

Will it be another day, another defeat for Hamilton, but this time at the hands of one of the nation's Olympians? Sentiment is an odd thing among sports fans and when the montages play on millions of television screens tomorrow night, and the voting viewers are reminded of that astonishing August of Olympic sport in Beijing, Hamilton could be pushed down the roll of honour.

The year 2008 will be remembered for producing one of the richest crops of sporting memories: the Olympics, Calzaghe beating the world, Andy Murray fulfilling his potential on the tennis court and Hamilton becoming Britain's first Formula One world champion since 1996.

Whom to choose? Racing drivers have a fantastic track record in the Sports Personality competition. But the sheer brilliance of Chris Hoy, the triple gold medal-winning track cyclist who has inspired tens of thousands of people to get back on their bikes, and the cheeky grin of Rebecca Adlington, who brought home two golds from the pool after becoming the first British woman to win an Olympic swimming event for 48 years, could prove irresistible.

Hamilton was installed by the bookmakers as their favourite the instant he won his world title in Brazil last month, but public opinion seemed to swing immediately towards the Olympians and it could be that choosing Adlington or Hoy would represent not only a vote for the BBC Sports Personality, but also a vote of thanks to the most successful Great Britain Olympic team in a century.

Most of the ten who have been shortlisted for the BBC prize have been noticeable only by their anonymity over the past few weeks. While Hamilton has hobnobbed with the great and good and been plastered over the magazine racks, Adlington has been ploughing up and down the swimming pool, her only interruptions coming from the odd radio reporter.

Hoy's appearances have been limited to a series of interviews at an empty Manchester Velodrome this week. The genial Scot will get a moment in the spotlight at the Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium tomorrow afternoon, when he will race around a specially made circuit against Hamilton. Hoy will be on his bike, Hamilton gets a Mercedes sports car. Hardly seems fair, does it? Although Hoy will get a taste of the high life when the Race of Champions organisers transport him and Hamilton to the ceremony in Liverpool by helicopter.

“I have never done anything like this before,” Hoy said. “All seems a bit bizarre, but quite exciting.” It is all in a day's work for a multimillionaire racing driver who lives in Switzerland as a tax exile, but a cyclist on a £24,000-a-year grant from UK Sport sees the world a little more humbly.

Adlington, meanwhile, sees things from slightly higher up, but only because of the four-inch heels on her Jimmy Choo shoes, the one extravagance of another £24,000-a-year UK Sport beneficiary.

Little has been heard recently of the other five Olympians on the shortlist. Ben Ainslie, who sailed to gold in the Finn class, Christine Ohuruogu, who won the 400metres title in Beijing, and three more gold medal-winning cyclists in Bradley Wiggins, Nicole Cooke and Rebecca Romero. Hoy, somewhat gallantly, would give the award to Ainslie, ranking his golds in three consecutive Games alongside the achievements of Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent, the multiple Olympic champions, in rowing. But that is his opinion - the public have all the votes.