No blame game: Hamilton displays new found maturity after Monaco defeat

He brought his Mercedes to a halt on the slowing down lap, carbon brakes squeaking, at the Portier corner. Engine still running, he gazed out over the sun-dappled waters of the Mediterranean, contemplating the series of events that had converged to rob him of victory at the Monaco Grand Prix.

He had led away from the pole position he had seized on Saturday with a blinding lap. He had pulled away steadily, stamped his authority on his rivals. Just under 20 seconds in the lead with only 15 laps to run, he had been on course to score the most commanding win on the streets of the Principality since Michael Schumacher claimed victory by a margin of 30 seconds over Eddie Irvine in 1999.

Yet it had all gone awry, his fortunes had turned. A split-second, the equivalent of a distance of 50 meters, a misplaced bet, a misjudged pitstop was all it had taken for a certain second Monaco win to slip from his grasp.

In no mood to face the intense media scrutiny he would undoubtedly be subject to, perhaps he was considering parking up, getting out and walking back to his apartment as his idol Ayrton Senna, furious at crashing out of a commanding lead at the same corner, had done all those years ago.

But he composed himself, shouldered his crushing disappointment, revved the engine and plunged into the tunnel making his way back around to the grid.

He pulled into parc ferme. His Mercedes team-mate and race winner Nico Rosberg and second-placed Sebastian Vettel were already there, out of their cars, helmets off, wearing their Pirelli hats and obligatory sponsor watches, ready for the podium.

He sat there a while longer then undid his head restraint and heaved himself out. Devastated but dignified, Lewis Hamilton made his way to the royal box.

He knew the team’s baffling strategy call had cost him the win, even if – as he admitted – he had played a small part in their decision to bring him in.

But there were none of the expected tantrums, no outbursts of raw emotion in the heat of the moment, which, under the circumstances of how he had been robbed of certain victory, would have been justified.

Instead there was just disappointment, disappointment that nonetheless was paired with a new found maturity as he gracefully went up to Rosberg – his former childhood friend and now championship rival – and sportingly shook his hand, congratulating the German for a third straight win at Monaco that should rightfully have been his.

There was no apportioning of blame, no finger pointing, no criticism of a team that had dropped the ball on the day but had won him countless more races in the past and the world championship. Instead, there was hitherto uncharacteristic acceptance that he had lost.

“Yeah, it was not the easiest of races,” Hamilton said on the podium. “But, you know, the team has done amazing all year long and we win and we lose together.”

In the press conference later on, he clung to the positives: “This is a race that has been very special… close to my heart for many years and so it was very important, it was a great feeling leading the race.

“I had so much pace as I have for many many years, including last year. I could have easily had that gap last year as well.

“Today, I didn’t really have to push too much, I could have doubled the lead if I needed it so on the one hand it’s a good thing that I had that pace and I’m grateful for that. You live to fight another day.”

Hamilton’s bearing in the immediate aftermath of his Monaco defeat showed just how much he has matured, not just since he made his debut in 2007 as a fresh-faced 22-year-old but even from last year.

Winning the world championship has elevated him to a whole new level. Where he seemed psychologically vulnerable at times last year, this season absolutely nothing seems to faze him.

He still wears his emotions openly outside the car which makes him such an engaging character – taciturn at times, positively bursting with enthusiasm at others – but in the cockpit nothing seems to knock him out of his stride.

This maturity has come about as a result of years of “soul-searching” as Hamilton told this writer in Singapore last year.

“I’m almost 30 years old so hopefully there’s a lot to learn moving forwards,” the Briton had said then.

“But hopefully today you will see that hopefully I’m a much wiser man, hopefully someone who makes better decisions, says hopefully better things, reacts differently.”

His reaction after the race in Monaco showed he is. Which is why unlike last season, when his campaign unravelled following the controversial events of Monaco, he heads to the next race in Canada still the man to beat.

As he said on the podium on Sunday, his mind is on only one thing: “Come back to win the next one.”