Time for Lewis to fulfil his destiny

On Sunday, Hamilton's driven ambition to be crowned king of the track can be realised by the simple expedient of steering his McLaren Mercedes to just fifth place in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

With that mission accomplished, Hamilton will become the ninth Briton to claim the drivers' title whatever rival Felipe Massa manages on home tarmac in Sao Paulo. And it would be no surprise if the Ferrari ace is willed to a race win by the Paulistas, some of the most passionate fans on the planet.

"All Hamilton has to do is point his car towards the chequered flag and drive," said Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 czar. It really is that easy, he insisted. What could possibly go wrong?

In truth, everything under the sun or beneath heavy storm clouds, for thunder and torrential rain are forecast to hit the Interlagos circuit over the weekend.

Never mind the dangers posed by a soaking wet track, let us start the list of potential perils with a history lesson. It was in Brazil 12 months ago that Hamilton contrived to climax a traumatic season, spiced by a bitter feud with then team-mate Fernando Alonso and a spy scandal that enveloped McLaren, by grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory.

At the start of the race he held a four-point lead over Alonso and was seven ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen. Seventy-one laps later, having gone off the track and suffered a time-consuming gearbox malfunction, Hamilton had missed winning the championship in his maiden F1 season by one point.

"It was a very emotional time," he recalled. So what if emotions get the better of him again?

That is a concern of former McLaren winner John Watson, who was critical of Hamilton's overt aggression in a rain-hit Italian Grand Prix and again at the start in Japan where he forced Raikkonen off the track and incurred a drive-through penalty as punishment.

Watson observed: "Lewis drives only one way, with total commitment. That's what makes him such an exciting young race driver who, I believe, is going to go on to win many world championships. But if you make a mistake with that style of driving, you'll be penalised severely."

Hamilton has already served notice that he intends to tackle the title decider as he did the Chinese Grand Prix a fortnight ago when he claimed pole position, set fastest lap in the race, and took a totally dominant victory to give himself a crucial seven-point lead over Massa.

The 23-year-old, who is already the first black driver in F1 and could now become the youngest world champion, said: "I don't need to win, but that won't stop me from going into the weekend looking to be as strong as possible.

"Shanghai was a good example of that. We hit the ground running on Friday morning and never looked back. Our aim wasn't to push too hard, but we found ourselves in a position at the front and took it comfortably from there. That's what I'm hoping to achieve in Brazil."

But that will mean driving on the ragged edge it is worth remembering that less than seven tenths of a second covered the first five cars on the grid in China.

Sir Jackie Stewart, winner of three championships, preaches caution by citing the first law of motor racing: "To finish first, first you must finish."

The veteran Scot went on: "Lewis mustn't put himself in a position where somebody can react negatively towards him by their error of judgement.

"And he's got to be gentle with his car, he mustn't abuse it, he mustn't run over kerbs or go off the track where he can pick up debris. He must discipline himself and he must nurse the car home."

That sentiment highlights another worry. Hamilton's team-mate, Heikki Kovalainen, suffered mechanical failures in his last two races. And while Massa will have a fresh engine powering his Ferrari, a quirk of complex F1 rules means Hamilton must rely on the same engine that has already done a race distance in China.

Stewart has experienced the feeling of utter devastation brought on by a car breaking down around him. "I've lost a world championship in the last race," he recalled. "It is not a good feeling."

Another reason for Hamilton not reaching the end of Sunday's Grand Prix is involvement in a contretemps, and the plunging left-right Senna 'S' complex immediately after the start at Interlagos is notorious for collisions.

Massa has insisted he will not be party to any dirty tricks. But there are others Alonso and Raikkonen spring to mind who would not shed tears at the sight of Hamilton climbing from a wrecked McLaren.

Stewart warned: "The Interlagos circuit invites complications in that very first corner on the very first lap. If Lewis stays out of trouble there, and just nurses the car home, I think he's going to win the world championship and he will thoroughly deserve it if he does."

The implications for Hamilton, should he emerge triumphant, will be enormous. He already earns over £10 million a year and his financial stock will rise exponentially as world champion.

Hamilton's status as an A-list celebrity he already boasts a glamorous girlfriend in Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger (left) would also be cemented.

But somehow, you feel Hamilton will derive rather more personal satisfaction from winning on Sunday. For a start, the family he dotes on will be present father Anthony, his mother Carmen and stepmother Linda, and younger brother Nicholas, a cerebral palsy sufferer from whom he derives such inspiration.

And Sao Paulo is also where Hamilton's hero, the late Ayrton Senna, is laid to rest. Hamilton said: "He's the best driver there ever was and still, to this day, I don't believe anyone would beat him. If I could achieve just a small part of what he achieved, it would be a dream for me."

A little luck permitting, that dream will be realised on Sunday.