Lewis Hamilton returns to Montreal streets of glory ahead of Canadian GP

Just 12 months ago he arrived here as a kid with extravagant expectations. He had registered four podiums in his dazzling entry into Formula One, but the big breakthrough awaited.

He¿s my hero: Lewis Hamilton¿s proud mother Carmen with her son in Canada yesterday

He started from pole in a manic race, which saw his friend Robert Kubica survive a somersaulting crash, and kept his composure during four safety car periods to win the Canadian Grand Prix.

Ahead of tomorrow's race at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, Hamilton reflected on the victory which helped him penetrate the North American consciousness.

"When I got pole I was happy with that but I wanted to convert it into a win," he said. "I had this big gap and then a safety car would come out. I'd get a gap and then the safety car would be out again, so I was thinking, 'Am I really supposed to be winning this race or not?' But I still managed to pull it off. It was a spectacular win and obviously I was thrilled to have my first grand prix win in my first season and after such consistent races beforehand.

"Even now when I look back I wonder how I did it all as it is so hard to be consistent."

Hamilton's triumph had the champagne corks flying in the McLaren hospitality area with such abandon that his teammate, Fernando Alonso, registered disappointment at the partisanship of it all.

For the Spaniard, there was no way back. For Hamilton, who sometimes appears to view success as a near-birthright, the moment was still seismic. It proved there was substance beneath the hype. "I don't think it made a huge difference to my confidence," he recalled. "Beforehand, you know you can do it, but believing you can, then actually doing it and making it happen is a different thing.

It showed people I was here to do business and proved to myself it was possible. It opened that doorway and I was able to win from then on. I was confident already and I was building my confidence with every race. Maybe my competitors started to realise I was a real threat. I'd already had a couple of good races. With the win they thought, 'Shoot, he's for real and maybe he is a real competitor."'

That reputation has since been confirmed, with six wins from 23 races, the last in Monaco a fortnight ago, the highlight of his career.

It took him three points ahead of his nearest rival, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, with a third of the campaign completed.

But can McLaren pip their Italian foes this season? Will the McLaren be as competitive on Montreal's high-speed straights and hard-braking corners as on Monaco's streets?

"I don't know," said Hamilton, who was sixth fastest in yesterday morning's practice in cool, damp conditions. "Ferrari are bloody quick down the straights and we've got a massive straight here, which is going to be important. But last year we had a great package. In Monaco and Montreal last year they weren't that strong, but they've obviously got a better car now.

"It is going to be hard to beat them but we'll see what we can do. They are on the back foot and we need to hit them hard.

"Not making mistakes is going to be the key. I'm not having problems with mistakes. In the last race I don't really call that a mistake. In the wet my car was hard to drive. I was pushing quite hard to keep up with Felipe Massa but if I hadn't hit the wall I'd have been able to overtake him. It was literally a touch."

Hamilton, who spent some time with his mother Carmen Lockhart yesterday when she made a rare visit to support her son over a grand prix weekend, has holidayed in Los Angeles with his friend Adrian Sutil, of Force India, and Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger since winning at Monaco.

"I don't know if I'd want to live there, but I do like the place," he said of his first Hollywood experience.

"Some people noticed me when I was at traffic lights or something or at a shopping mall. But when I went to the MTV awards I came through the back entrance and went straight to my seat, sat down and nobody really knew I was there. It was nice and chilled."