Far from knocking the...

Far from knocking the wind out of his sails, the rookie bounced back to come within a whisker of snatching pole position less than 48 hours later. He then took his fourth consecutive second place in the race. “I made a tiny mistake,” he said. “The back of the car slipped a little, and that was it. There is no room for error in Monaco.”

Team boss Ron Dennis was equally unruffled by Hamilton’s first error in public. “This is completely normal,” shrugged Dennis. “Drivers who are pushing hard and finding the limits are going to make mistakes.

“I would rather not have a bent racing car, but in the circumstances, we’re pretty comfortable with his contribution this year. He’s got a few brownie points still in hand!”

He added: “Besides, it’s better that he finds the limits of the car in practice rather than qualifying, where he takes a penalty on the grid or hampers his race.” That’s a lesson Kimi Raikkonen should have heeded. He brushed the barriers in qualifying, and started the race in 16th position.