Debate: Can Britain learn to love Lewis Hamilton?

Guess what Lewis Hamilton did when he returned to England for the first time as Formula One world champion? Ignoring the advice of those who said that he would cause a riot if he was seen on the streets of his home town, Britain's new sporting superstar and Nicole Scherzinger, the American pop singer, popped down to the flicks in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, to watch the new James Bond film.

Hamilton, who clinched the world title on Sunday at the Brazilian Grand Prix in São Paulo, is a big Bond fan and he loved the latest blockbuster, Quantum of Solace. He and Scherzinger enjoyed a roast chicken supper on Tuesday night with Hamilton's father, Anthony, and his stepmother, Linda, at their home outside Stevenage before heading off to the cinema, where they watched the film while munching through a tub of popcorn, just like any other young couple.

“People say things are going to be even more crazy now that I am champion, but I still intend to enjoy my life,” said Hamilton, who returned in triumph yesterday to the futuristic McLaren Mercedes team headquarters near Woking, Surrey, where 1,800 fellow employees were waiting to greet him. “So we did it all in the best way we could because it is not always that you are able to go unrecognised. I think we just happened to be there at the right time and no one noticed.”

Revelations of romantic nights in the delights of downtown Stevenage apart, Hamilton was keen to emphasise that he and Scherzinger, who met late last year at a music awards ceremony in Munich, are not engaged and the expensive-looking diamond ring worn by the singer on her engagement finger during the McLaren visit had not been bought by him.

There can be little doubt, though, that the Hawaiian-born lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, who, at 30, is seven years Hamilton's senior, is becoming a big part of his life. She is known to spend time with him at his adopted home in Geneva and was a prominent figure in the McLaren hospitality area at Interlagos, where she urged her man to victory, whispering to herself: “Come on baby, come on baby.”

After dinner and before the film, Britain's ninth Formula One world champion, whose career earnings could top £500million, drove Scherzinger slowly around his old Stevenage stamping ground, the streets of the Shephall council estate where he was brought up and where he first raced go-karts. They stopped by the church where he was baptised, the local shopping mall, his primary school and the small end-of-terrace council house at No 57, Peartree Way, where Hamilton spent his childhood. “To go back there and visit it was like, ‘This is where we started and this is where we are now,'” said Hamilton, looking more relaxed than ever in the glass and steel-encased “Lauda dining room” at the McLaren headquarters.

And he paid this tribute to Scherzinger. “She's been incredible,” he said. “She's just been so supportive and I'm crazy about her. I feel she adds to me and brings out the good in me. She's only ever given me positive vibes and good advice. Our worlds are completely different, yet there are similarities and things you have to deal with and vice versa.”

Hamilton arrived at the McLaren Technology Centre like a prince returning to his people after a long military campaign abroad. Instead of climbing off his horse, he drove his Formula One car up the long causeway that skirts the “eco-lake” in front of the Norman Foster-designed building and brought it to rest outside the front door, where he revved the engine to the delight of the cleaners, kitchen staff, engineering technicians, aerodynamicists, PR people and everyone else who has contributed to his success.

Having been with the team since he was 13, Hamilton is more aware than most drivers about how much he owes those people - all dressed up in shocking orange McLaren “victory shirts” - and he thrilled them by saying that he hopes to serve out his career in Formula One with McLaren.

“We have proved to everyone that we are the best team and we have the best car,” he told them, standing on the reception desk surrounded by his trophies of the past two seasons. “We have been under so much pressure and we have lost together and won together and this weekend we have won the World Championship. These trophies are a result of all your hard work and you should pat yourselves on the back. I love this team. I'm not going anywhere.”

Hamilton's visit came as he received a congratulatory message from the Queen, something that clearly stunned him when it was read out without his prior knowledge.

Among the rank and file there to greet him was Phil McLaughlin, the 70-year-old known as “Phil the light” at the company because his sole job is to change the bulbs in the 14,500 light fittings in the building.

McLaughlin spoke for many of his colleagues when he said: “It was brilliant and very exciting to see him; he's done McLaren proud and he's done Britain proud. People here love him - love him to bits.”