With abundant records already in his kitty, rookie McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton demonstrated once again why he is already the delight of the season, and why he is emerging as a favourite to win the title.

It was nearly nine years back when Team McLaren promised a race seat for Hamilton, after watching his tremendous racing potential at the age of 13. Many at the time considered it to be a gag. But Hamilton stood up to the expectations and, following his success at the GP2 category, was all set to take on the glamorous world of Formula One.

Following the controversial team orders favouring his champion teammate Fernando Alonso at the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks back, he was quoted as saying that he was indeed incensed at the team’s decision, but accepted it, saying philosophically "I'm 22. My wins will come". With his first podium finish of the season in his very first race at the Australian Grand Prix, many speculated it would not be long before he won a race. Monaco was his nearest step to a race win.

'With 11 races to go, Hamilton has already stamped his authority on the circuit and has issued a warning to his rivals'

At this week's Canadian Grand Prix, it was Ferrari who were expected to press the pedal on the others with the tremendous practice pace they showed here few weeks back. But as it happened in the earlier stages, McLaren again proved them wrong. Both its drivers shared the front row. Alonso was again shadowed by his teammate in qualifying where Hamilton got the first pole position in his debut season. Ferrari again struggled for qualifying pace that saw the best of Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen, in fourth spot behind BMW’s Nick Heidfled. Ferrari's second driver, Felipe Massa, finished the third row, fifth overall. An embarrassment for them, indeed.

As the race started, Alonso made a rare and uncharacteristic mistake, as he was caught on the back foot with an ambitious manoeuvre at the very first turn. That saw him lose few places. But it was a series of slip-ups from Alonso that clearly showed how difficult it is to drive the lead car for a championship team where there is an equally competent race driver.

A horrific accident saw Kubica’s race end abruptly and  triggered many casualties. For the first time in many races, the safety car had a very busy afternoon. Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella exited the pit under red light and were later disqualified. Alonso also got a ten-second stop-go penalty for entering the pit under red light. It was a race that saw the Super Aguri of Takumo Sato overtake the McLaren of Alonso. Alonso was clearly struggling under pressure. A difficult race for Kimi also, as the frequent safety car excursions saw him losing ground at the top. But it was Hamilton who was unfazed by all these happenings and steadily progressed on his way to a remarkable win.