The writing has been on the wall for some time. Now, after Lewis Hamilton’s victory in a dramatic Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, even the most blinkered supporters of Fernando Alonso can read it.

Strange days, indeed, in Formula One, but few neutrals could disagree that Hamilton has got the Spanish double world champion worried.

During the winter, when the pair were testing together for the first time for McLaren Mercedes, the rumour spread that Alonso was looking anxiously at Hamilton’s long-run pace. Then, in the early races of the season, that anxiety proved justified as Hamilton led Alonso in Australia, did so again in Bahrain and Spain and threatened to beat him in Monaco.

What has been obvious is that Alonso has had to drive on the limit to try to counter Hamilton’s pace and the result has been a succession of errors for the 25-year-old from Asturias who, at the beginning of this season, was regarded as potentially one of the all-time greats.

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• How the Canadian Grand Prix was won

Alonso went off into the gravel in Spain, but it was at the tricky Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last weekend where the pressure told. In qualifying on Saturday he was forced to dig deep to try to beat Hamilton’s fastest lap but ran wide at the hairpin. Then, in the grand prix on Sunday, Alonso looked the rookie as he went off four times in a miserable race that has left his World Championship chances severely dented.

The first corner summed it up. Alonso started second on the grid and was desperate to get past his teammate. But he ended up in the grass while the British rookie drove on; yet again Hamilton had got through the skirmish at the first bend cleanly, as he has in every race this season.

The incident underlines that Alonso is not only feeling the pressure from Hamilton’s raw speed but is also being worn down by the Briton’s poise and presence of mind in the heat of battle. The result is that Hamilton has been on the podium in all six races, while Alonso has been on it only four times.

Of course, the wheels could come off Hamilton’s season at any moment, but each encounter is helping to build his plentiful confidence in his ability. Every success is helping him to understand that he can take forward the impressive start he has made in Formula One and be champion this year, something no one thought possible when the season started.

So where does that leave the balance of power between the McLaren teammates and rivals? Hamilton’s father, Anthony, who has learnt to tiptoe round these issues for fear of rocking the boat, was unequivocal about his son’s position after his maiden victory. “We’d be foolish right now if we didn’t believe we are serious contenders for winning,” he said. “But we are going to enjoy this week for sure because, you know, we might not be the leaders at the end of this year.”

Imagine if, instead of Hamilton and Alonso, there were two drivers of equal stature and experience at McLaren and that one was not three years older than the other, being paid about £15 million a season and had arrived at the team as the youngest double world champion in Formula One history.

In that scenario, Ron Dennis, the team principal, would have little difficulty choosing which driver should be given the best chance of going for the title if one was outperforming the other.

However, life is not that simple in Formula One and all sorts of “political”, commercial and financial factors are in play, as well as McLaren and Dennis’s preconceptions about how the season should develop.

But Hamilton’s beautifully honed natural talent may dictate matters for Dennis and his team. The young Briton walked away from the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with a sudden and significant leap in the points. From being level with Alonso going into the race, he is eight clicks up and has a race win in the bag, too.

We all know that Indianapolis, where the Formula One circus moves this week, is Alonso’s bogey track, so the Spaniard may struggle there. Hamilton, by contrast, has shown that he can drive to his limit even in places he has never been to, so Indianapolis may not stop him producing yet another podium finish and the points gap could get wider.

After that it is the French Grand Prix and then Silverstone, where, by rights (Alonso was given the more aggressive strategy at his home race in Barcelona), Hamilton should be given every chance of winning.

For some weeks it has been clear that Hamilton’s biggest battle in his bid for the title is with his teammate. Ferrari are also a potent threat, but after a strong start to the season, the Scuderia’s disappointing performance in Canada has surprised the paddock and suggested that the Italian team may have slipped behind McLaren. If that is the case, the picture looks simpler for Hamilton, but there is a long way to go in this extraordinary season.

— Anthony Davidson, the British Super Aguri driver, blamed a collision with a beaver for costing him a possible first Formula One points finish in the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday. Davidson hit the animal while in third place behind the safety car at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. He finished eleventh after making an unscheduled pitstop to replace a damaged front wing. “It’s such a shame about the beaver,” Davidson said. “It had it in for me, for sure. I couldn’t even see it at high speed and I could not understand why suddenly I locked up the front tyres.”