Lewis Hamilton is a shrewd young man who learnt long ago to recognise the types of questions he should notattempt to answer. This was made clear yesterday when The Times cheekily inquired whether Hamilton thought that Sir Paul McCartney had been fleeced by Heather Mills, his former wife.

The subject of McCartney had arisen during a media briefing in the McLaren Mercedes motorhome in the sweltering paddock at the Sepang circuit outside Kuala Lumpur, where Hamilton will go for his second win of the season in the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday. Diverting from the perennial issues of tyre pressures, fuel strategies and ways of coping with the heat and humidity in Malaysia, Hamilton had mentioned the Beatle as one of his musical heroes and a composer whose songs he strums on his guitar in his hotel room between races.

Back to the question. So was he fleeced? Hamilton leant back in his chair, drew a deep breath, spotted the elephant trap waiting for him and nimbly stepped round it, just as you would expect from a young man who has been working as a “professional” racing driver since he was signed by McLaren at the age of 12. “Do I look like an idiot?” he said as the assembled company, Hamilton included, broke into laughter.

As the above indicates, Britain's new star of Formula One was in top form as he chatted in the build-up to the race on Sunday, when he will be looking to extend his lead at the head of the championship table after a well-judged win in a chaotic season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne last weekend.

Relaxation between races is a key goal for Hamilton this year and, it turns out, there is nothing he likes doing more on his travels round the globe than getting out his electric guitar and working through his favourite songs and riffs in his hotel.

Sound familiar? Jonny Wilkinson, the World Cup-winning England fly half, is another guitar-playing superstar who uses his “axe” for exactly the same purpose.

“It's a great way to relax,” Hamilton said. “Burning time is easy to do when you're travelling all the time. You soon run out of films to watch, you soon get bored of reading, there's only a certain amount of things you can read on the internet, so this is another thing. I can spend hours playing my guitar and feel quite comfortable.”

Hamilton sings along, too. He plugs his guitar into a small amplifier and listens to his playing on headphones, then sings the lyrics out loud in a way that probably sounds better to him than anyone who may be listening. But the winner of five grands prix is adamant that he has a good voice. People have told him so at karaoke bars, such as Shanghai Blue in China, where he has been known to perform.

The 23-year-old British driver has been playing guitar since about the time he signed for McLaren. These days he likes practising tunes by Tracy Chapman, Oasis, Bob Dylan, Lenny Kravitz and even Jimi Hendrix. While his favourite artist is Michael Jackson, his favourite music is reggae and he named the guitar solo from No Woman, No Cry, Bob Marley's classic love song, as among the riffs he most enjoys playing.

“Reggae is my favourite type of music to relax to,” Hamilton said. “I was basically brought up on reggae. In my family, whenever we have a big get-together they will always be listening to reggae, so I've been listening to Bob Marley ever since I was born. In terms of artists, Michael Jackson's my favourite of all time, I like Prince and Sir Paul McCartney is a legend.

“I feel I am quite open-minded musically. When I was younger I was narrow-minded and said I only like this type of music or that, but I guess when you are on your travels, trying new things is good - I like rock, I like funk, I like hip-hop, I like R&B, soul and jazz.”

Hamilton is not having lessons and rarely looks at guitar books, preferring to play by ear. “I just play by myself. I don't play to anyone - I can pick up songs when I need to,” he said. So does he have ambitions to lead a band when he has finished in Formula One, and become a rock star? That was another obvious trap to fall into and Hamilton only partly obliged. “No,” he said, laughing. “I'd never be a rock star - I'd probably be a rapper.”

Sporting strummers

— Lewis Hamilton is in good Formula One company as a guitar player. Damon Hill, Britain’s last champion, never missed an opportunity to wield his “axe” in public. His turn on stage at Silverstone, with Eddie Jordan on drums, is remembered fondly. Less so his cover of the Beatles’ Drive My Car, once voted the fourth-worst Fab Four cover.

— Tennis players are among sport’s best strummers — hardly surprising since, with headbands and rackets, they already have the guitar hero starter kit. Pat Cash is in a covers band, while John McEnroe gave up on a rock career because “the guy at the corner shop” sang better than him. Mats Wilander released a mini-album in his native Sweden.

— Richie Richardson, the former West Indies captain, plays guitar in the band Big Bad Dread and the Baldhead, with Curtly Ambrose on bass. Mark Butcher, the former England batsman, hopes to carve out a career as a singer-songwriter after he retires.

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