A fresh breeze was blowing down the paddock on a hot and sticky morning at the Albert Park circuit when Lewis Hamilton appeared in the McLaren Mercedes garage for the first time in his second season in Formula One. The young man tipped by many to become one of the sport's great drivers was in characteristically confident and relaxed mood as he conferred with his engineers at the start of a day of free practice for tomorrow's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

With his driving suit undone to his waist and wearing a cream polo-neck decorated in sponsors' logos, the 23-year-old, who last year came within a point of becoming the first rookie world champion, looked at home in Formula One's spotlight. Minutes later, with his suit now done up, his earplugs in, his fire-proof balaclava pulled tight over his head and his yellow crash helmet on, the four-time grand prix winner climbed into the “silver arrow”, the McLaren MP4-23 with No 22 on the bonnet. Then Hamilton's mechanics fired up the car and the most exciting British prospect in Formula One for years drove his growling machine slowly out through a guard of honour made up of photo-graphers and cameramen.

Thus began “season two” for Hamilton as he gunned the throttle and his car, howling with ear-splitting intensity, hurtled towards the first right-left chicane on the slippery street circuit.

It was to prove a productive first day for Hamilton as he finished second fastest behind Kimi Raikkonen, of Ferrari, in session one and went quickest in the afternoon when Raikkonen could manage only sixth place. It was a confident and polished display from a young man determined to show that the sceptics in the Formula One paddock - among them many fellow drivers - who believe that Raikkonen is going to sweep him aside this season are wrong.

Hamilton is no idle boaster, yet he had no qualms about admitting that he believes he has the car to win this weekend. “My gut feeling is yes, I feel confident,” he said when asked if he could post his fifth career win in Melbourne, where McLaren have not topped the podium since David Coulthard's victory in 2003.

“I am happy with the balance of the car, the engine was strong, I feel very comfortable and I think it is going to be close,” Hamilton said. “It felt great to be back in the car. The build-up has been too long. It was a different feeling this time. I was not learning the circuit, I felt I knew the track and could only get better.”

Like everyone, the super-fit Hamilton found the stifling late summer heat a big challenge. “It must be a good 50C and you are in a suit, so if everyone else is sweating, just imagine what the drivers are going through,” he said. “It's like putting on four jumpers, shorts and trousers on top and getting into the sauna.”

Although practice is just that and one should not read too much into it, the opening day appeared to confirm that McLaren and Ferrari are again the form teams. Honours were even in the Ferrari camp between Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, who was third fastest in both sessions, while at McLaren, Hamilton was comfortably ahead of Heikki Kovalainen, who was fourth in both rankings.

The sessions also underlined that Fernando Alonso, who partnered and fell out with Hamilton at McLaren last year, is facing a character-building season in a Renault that appears to be difficult to drive at the pace the Spaniard is used to. In the morning, a twitchy Alonso was sixth quickest and he fell to thirteenth in the afternoon. Nelson Piquet Jr, his new team-mate, struggled on his debut, spinning in the first session and missing much of the second as the Renault mechanics worked on repairs.

Alonso did not shrink from highlighting the challenges he faces with the R28. “We made good progress,” he said after running through the gravel on several occasions, “but we still have to improve the stability of the car under braking and its overall balance.”

Season of highs

The numbers that made up the most successful season by a rookie in Formula One history

4 Grand prix wins Lewis Hamilton secured. He was runner-up five times and finished third on three occasions

6 Pole positions

109 Points won

2nd Finishing position in title race