The Canadian Grand Prix at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal tomorrow marks the first anniversary of Lewis Hamilton's inaugural win in Formula One and the end of an extraordinary year during which he has taken the sport by storm. In the past 12 months he has won six races, come within a whisker of becoming the first man to win the world title in his rookie year and leads the drivers' championship in his second season after an impressive victory in the rain on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Like many successful drivers in Formula One, the 23-year-old multimillionaire is a controversial figure admired by millions, but he has attracted criticism and even contempt. For those who are learning to love him, the qualities they see and admire are those of an exceptionally talented driver, with genuine speed and the gut instincts of a classic racer. Hamilton does not only want to win, he needs to with every fibre of his being.

Out of the car, Hamilton is praised for his warm and open personality, his good humour and polite manner. People seem to love the fairytale story of the boy who met Ron Dennis at the age of 10 and told the McLaren team principal that he would drive for him one day, only to see that prediction come true and in some style. Many of his supporters believe, as Hamilton does, that there is an element of destiny at play and that this young man from humble origins was born to be world champion and one of the all-time greats.

But notions of that kind are where Hamilton's detractors beg to differ. Where Hamilton's fans see a young driver blessed with prodigious self-belief tempered by a down-to-earth modesty, his critics see an arrogance in him and, as one correspondent on Times Online's Formula One Blog put it, “a sense of entitlement” about his place in the sport that is unattractive and unjustified by his achievements.

Hamilton is unique among drivers in the way that he is happy to be led into comparing himself to his heroes, especially Ayrton Senna. In Monaco two weeks ago, he infuriated many by talking about Senna and the Brazilian's outstanding record in the principality, making it clear that he sees himself as in the same class. Even though Hamilton was careful not to overdo it, to those who are less enamoured of him, this came across as ridiculous in one so new to motor racing's most prestigious championship.

You never hear Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari's world champion who took the title from Hamilton last year, talking in this way, nor do you hear Hamilton's biggest rival on the grid, Fernando Alonso, of Renault, do this. One interpretation is that Hamilton does it deliberately, as a way of intimidating his opponents. It is as if he is saying: “I am the special one. I already know my place in history.”

For this reason, among others, Hamilton is disliked by a number of his Formula One rivals, who make it their business not to do him any favours in the heat of battle. There is an element of old-fashioned jealousy at work, too, among a group of highly talented sportsmen who resent the way that Hamilton has walked straight into one of the two top teams and acquired hero status in so short a time.

If Hamilton is seen by some as considering himself a world champion in waiting, McLaren and the commercial world are happy to do the same. In his second year in Formula One he is on a hugely lucrative contract with the Woking-based team, worth £75 million over five years, he has just signed a £20 million deal to represent Reebok and a number of other big-money endorsements are in the offing.

Around the world, people will make their own judgments about a man who is under immense pressure to live up to the hype that he has helped to create. Just like Senna, however, if he does deliver the multiple world championships that he believes are his destiny, there will always be those who will never forgive him for it.