Bahrain was another example of a lack of clear thinking, when after being demoted on the grid the 2006 GP2 Series Champion clattered into the back of sworn rival and former team-mate Fernando Alonso on only lap two, going on to take the chequered flag an unlucky but perhaps appropriate 13th.

There were also snipes from a number of other drivers in the wake of his robust driving style in fighting his way up through the order in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and some believe Robert Kubica un-lapping himself from Hamilton in the closing stages of the final race of the season in Brazil – in so doing very nearly costing the Briton the trophy – was a way of teaching him a lesson that such behaviour will not be tolerated in the future, and that his rivals are every bit as willing to play hard and aggressive in return.

Indeed, Hamilton's drive at Interlagos appeared at times to be not so much cautious as indifferent, as he wrapped up the laurels in somewhat ignominious fashion, only moving into the fifth place he so desperately needed two corners from home at the expense of Timo Glock's ailing Toyota. One lap fewer and the nine-time grand prix winner would not have been world champion, but then equally, had he not been controversially stripped of a sensational victory in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps two months earlier, he would not have needed to worry in São Paulo at all.

The right man did ultimately win, then – just – but if Lewis Hamilton is to successfully defend his crown in 2009, he can ill afford to be as inconsistent again.


Tomorrow: Who did you vote third in the Driver of the Year poll?