There is no spring in his step, no sparkle in his eyes and no depth or quality to his conversation. Lewis Hamilton is competing in the Spanish Grand Prix here this weekend but not the Lewis Hamilton who brought such a breath of fresh air to Formula One last season.

Then he was the new boy in the pit lane, not yet bound by the corporate conventions of his sport or the pressure to perform. He was the rookie of whom little was expected, so when he delivered spectacularly Hamilton was lauded as a rare driving talent who would win world championships.

Yet three races into his second year as a member of the motor-racing elite, Hamilton is struggling. The hope and expectation borne out of his victory in the opening Australian Grand Prix has not disappeared but the 23-year-old desperately needs a boost in Sunday's race.

Maybe that realisation is what has dulled Hamilton's usual shine. He is now an extremely well-paid sportsman expected to lead his team all the way to the chequered flag. But after Australia that hasn't happened.

Hamilton was out-qualified and outraced by McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen in Malaysia. Then, three weeks ago in Bahrain, an error in practice led to a wrecked car, a mistake on the grid led to a botched start, and a charge back through the field effectively ended when he rammed into Fernando Alonso's Renault.

Already he is five points behind defending champion Kimi Raikkonen, who drives a Ferrari that seems to fly faster by the lap. Only five points? Remember, a single point separated Hamilton from the title in 2007.

Sitting hunched on a stool in McLaren's huge paddock palace, Hamilton appeared somewhat confused when asked to consider the question of pressure. "I put a lot of pressure on myself in wanting to do well for the team," he said. "It is the same as it was last year, although I guess it is slightly different.

"Last year, no one expected anything from me and I guess this year people do. But that doesn't bother me or make it harder for me to do my job. I want to win more than ever. That's just through passion and determination."

If Hamilton is feeling passionate about the task that confronts him over 66 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya just north of Barcelona, he has not shown it yet. It is to be hoped that come Sunday, he will bring that passion back.

At least Hamilton is guaranteed a start here. Fellow Briton Anthony Davidson arrived at the track this morning still not knowing if his Super Aguri team would be able to compete.

From the start of the year Super Aguri have been struggling with reported debts of £50million. A deal involving the London-based Magma automotive group and Dubai International Capital, who are also involved in a possible takeover at Liverpool, appeared last night to have fallen through.

It is understood that if new money was not in place by the start of practice today, the Super Aguri cars would not be allowed to take to the track.

Meanwhile, F1's anti-race campaign has been called into question because two leading Spanish drivers claim they knew nothing about it.

'EveryRace' was launched this week in response to the abuse hurled at Hamilton, the first black driver in F1, during a test session here in February.

But Alonso said he was unaware of the campaign and McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa added: "The trouble will not happen again."