A good few years back Pitpass was notified, by a very reliable source, about an incident in a London nightclub involving a Formula One driver.

Somewhat amused by the story, we ran it but ensured that no details regarding the identity of the driver were given.

A few days later the (thankfully defunct) News of the World ran the Story, however, in this case it named the driver.

We ran it because it was amusing. Later in the year we ran a follow-up when another incident resulted in the driver getting a serious warning from his employer.

We feel that F1 drivers, like all others involved in the sport, like you and I, dear readers, are entitled to their private lives and whilst we might analyse their on-track performances to the very bone what they do in their own time is nothing to do with us, not unless it impacts the day job.

The mainstream media however, has no such qualms. The mainstream media isn’t interested in what happens on track it’s what happens in private that really matters.

In the wake of the death of Princess Diana, the Daily Mail led the way in calling for curbs on press intrusion, particularly by the paparazzi. Now, its website, one of the most popular in the world, is totally dominated by salacious gossip and speculation about all and sundry. To view its side bar is to see much of what is wrong with the world today.

Over the course of the German Grand Prix weekend, Lewis Hamilton gave a remarkably frank interview to Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle, the Mercedes driver opening up on all aspects of his life.

“I wear my heart on my shoulder (sic),” admitted the youngster.

No he doesn’t. He wears it, as do so many of us, on his sleeve. He also wears it on his face, his demeanour and in his cockpit when on track. Lewis, is an emotional guy, much like his all-time F1 hero.

Two of his fiercest on-track rivals have gone through marriage break-ups, yet neither appeared to allow their private lives to reflect on their track performances. Lewis, on the other hand, tends to allow outside influence completely overtake him, a result, as we have seen all too often, he goes into meltdown.

Lewis is not like you or I. Shortly after he began to walk (I exaggerate) he was put in a kart and from then on lived in an alternative universe totally alien to our own. His only friends were fellow karters and his Dad. As his career progressed his universe expanded but it was still filled with like-minded people, racers. While the rest of us went through the usual growing-up experience, learning from the school of hard knock, Lewis remained enclosed in his own little bubble.