Graphic: Formula One's leap in the dark

He talks like a champion, he is paid like a champion, he is already a sporting icon, but yet he is not a champion. That is the unequal equation that Lewis Hamilton needs to solve in the next four races as he treads the fine line between expectation and reality.

Hamilton, who was preparing yesterday for Formula One's first night race in Singapore, lost out by one point on what might have been an historic world title as a rookie. That was a painful setback that the McLaren Mercedes driver could put down to inexperience. But since then the expectations have only built and the scars he will carry next season if he fails for a second time could be crippling, even for a man with huge reserves of self-belief.

If Hamilton becomes champion this year, the overwhelming sensation for many of his supporters, one suspects, will not be of joy so much as relief that something so widely predicted and expected has come to pass. Hamilton will have caught up with himself and caught up with the ludicrously high standards that he has been judged by. We should not forget that if he makes it this year, he will be the youngest world champion in the history of Formula One and only the second to achieve that landmark by the end of his second season.

In the meantime, Hamilton continues to walk the tightrope, thrilling his fans with his driving, playing the wounded but unbowed victim of the FIA and talking the talk. And it is this last trait that annoys his detractors, who have put this “champion-in-waiting” down as “mouthy” and arrogant. In Paris on Monday, during McLaren's unsuccessful hearing before the FIA Court of Appeal, Hamilton had no qualms about telling the assembled company that he believes he is the best driver in Formula One or lecturing the Ferrari barrister on the latter's ignorance of life in the cockpit.

“Are you a racing driver?” he mocked.

“No,” came the reply.

“So you would have absolutely no comprehension of what I would have done,” Hamilton said.

But is it arrogance, and even if it is, is it excusable? On both counts, it is not hard to give Hamilton the benefit of the doubt. For a man of 23, he has handled the journey from unknown to superstar with extraordinary graciousness. He can overstep the mark but his feet are firmly on the ground and he seems far more aware this year of the importance of staying focused on what is making him famous - his ability in a car. And in any case, a healthy dose of arrogance or machismo has always been a mark of great champions in this sport.

In Singapore yesterday, we saw the very best of Hamilton: he had an audience lapping up his every word at a promotional event that he attended, having got out of bed at lunchtime. Like everyone else in the Formula One “family”, Hamilton is sticking to European time this week. Towards the end of a question-and-answer session hosted by Steve Rider, of ITV, Hamilton was addressed by Kate Burton, an Englishwoman who works in Asia as a TV golf correspondent. Her question and his answer provide all we need to know about how he is perceived by millions around the world and how he views himself. “Hi, Lewis,” Burton said. “You are this incredible, precocious talent - you are so young - you nearly had a chance to win it last year and you've got a fantastic chance this year. What makes you so good?”

At this point, a clearly taken-aback Hamilton and everyone else were laughing, as Burton added: “All the girls want to know.”

“Thank you for that,” Hamilton said uncertainly. “I don't think I've been asked that question before. I don't know. I've had a talent since I was very young and it was a case of taking that talent, trying to nurture it and doing the best job I can with it. Every experience I've had since I was 8, I've really taken every little bit, with the help of my dad, who has always been teaching me.

“From a young age I've learnt the skill to take away the positives from a bad weekend and I have grown and grown. I have perhaps learnt a lot faster than other people around me, but I just drive my heart out and I've got my family behind me all the way. I'm just a normal guy in this huge business and I honestly don't know how I do it. [Even] I get in the car and surprise myself.” Arrogant? Hardly.