For the first time this season, Lewis Hamilton is in the lead of the drivers’ standings and deservedly so with his fourth victory in five grand prixs.

Nigel Mansell this week described the 2008 world champion as being “close to perfection”, although some of Hamilton’s driver peers have pointed out that it’s easy to look perfect when you have the best car, as Sebastian Vettel has for the past four seasons.

The F1 W05 Hybrid is clearly the stand-out vehicle this season but how exactly has Hamilton shone against team-mate Nico Rosberg, who is no slouch himself, made Michael Schumacher look like an amateur at times and has far more experience at understanding the machinations of Mercedes?

No1 for Hamilton is the fact that he is the most naturally gifted driver in Formula 1. His raw talent is pure and simply greater than the rest of his rivals on the grid. 

None of his peers would argue against the fact that he is the quickest driver in F1 over the space of a solitary lap. Qualifying is the ultimate case in point. At times, he can look all weekend like he’s up against it and will finish second fiddle to his team-mate.

On Saturday, Rosberg thought – and with good reason – that pole was his but once again Hamilton, with an innate sense of timing, pulled it out of the bag with barely five seconds left before the end of the session.

That is down to Hamilton’s ability to being able to do everything right at exactly the right moment: understanding the feel and grip anywhere on the circuit, proving supreme at getting the power down when others are struggling and instantly adapting to any changes on the track or within the cockpit.

But it is too simplistic to think of Hamilton simply as a fast driver. There is also Hamilton’s brain. He

may not be academically intelligent – school was never his forte – but he has a razor-sharp mind. This week Mercedes technical director Bob Bell paid tribute to the driver’s grey matter and painted the picture of much more of a team player than perhaps was suggested when Hamilton was at McLaren.

Bell said: “There is so much added complexity to the cars this year but Lewis has grasped all of that almost instantly and mastered everything that we’ve thrown at him. He couldn’t have delivered what he has this season without a quick brain.”

In some ways, the new regulations have helped Hamilton. The cars are twitchier than in previous seasons, needing drivers to wrestle them somewhat more and that is a strength of Hamilton’s, much in the mould of his idol Ayrton Senna.

Had Hamilton driven in the Senna era or perhaps prior to that, there is every chance he may have fared infinitely better and enjoyed more grand prix victories and world titles. Where Hamilton has struggled – and he is by no means the perfect driver – has been in the limitations put on him by the regulations of the sport.

Fuel conservation and awareness over tyre degradation have meant that Hamilton feels he has not been able to express his talent fully, and that has been when his frustration has spilled out.

Vettel and Fernando Alonso – certainly previously – are arguably more complete drivers in terms of adapting to the rules and regulations, which might explain why Hamilton has translated his 57 podiums to just 26 race victories.

And if there is another weakness in Hamilton’s armoury, it is his volatile character, another factor that has proved his downfall in the past.

But back to his strengths, of which there are many. Hamilton has been immensely impressive all season since the moment his car let him down in Australia.

Sure, he is still the hugely quick talent that first delighted the sport in his 2007 rookie season, but there is also a maturity and coolness to him, as shown in Spain.

It was by no means plain sailing at the Circuit de Catalunya as was typified by his litany of radio broadcasts, such nuggets as “my rear end is everywhere” and “I’ve got too much oversteer”.

Throughout that and with the fact he lost at least second to Rosberg in the final pitstop, which could have proved so costly, he just wasn’t riled. As Mansell said, close to perfection. There’s a long way to go but a second title beckons.