After a strong opening season in F1, which nonetheless saw him being dropped in favour of Juan Pablo Montoya, Jenson Button suffered something of a media backlash.

Throughout 2000 he was seen as the (mainly British) media's new darling, it's blue eyed boy. Then, during his second season, having moved to Benetton, sections of the media resented the fact that the English driver had moved to Monaco and was now enjoying what it perceived as the playboy lifestyle, he was no longer seen as 'the boy next door'.

Although most of the media stuck by him, there is no doubting the damage that some of the early publicity did him.

As the media finds a new 'golden boy', following a sensational F1 debut in Melbourne, Lewis Hamilton's father is entirely confident that the young man we see today is the young man we shall see in a couple of years, and that the English youngster will not take his eye off the ball.

Surrounded by reporters and photographers following his son's debut Grand Prix, which his son finished third, having led the race, Anthony Hamilton said: "He's still a feet-on-the-ground kid and he will remain that way, as long as I've got something to do with it.

"I don't want him to lose focus on the job," he continued. "The job is motor racing, it's taken us 13 years to get here and that's all he'll ever think about, nothing else. The thing is, that's what makes him superb and I'll do everything to defend that."

Asked what Lewis had said to him after the race, Hamilton Sr replied: "He just laughed".

Hamilton also paid tribute to Ron Dennis, who was clearly choked with emotion following his protege's dramatic debut.

"Ron's a really, really happy man," said Hamilton. "I think this is probably one of the happiest and proudest days of his life for a long, long time. All credit to him, how the hell do you pick up a 13-year-old kid, all those years ago, and say 'I can see something in you'.

"I can see it because I'm his dad," he continued, "but how did Ron see it? The man's got a super eye, hasn't he?"