IF, AS an American poet suggested, art is the means we have of undoing the damage of haste, Lewis Hamilton is going to have to produce a masterpiece at Magny-Cours this afternoon.

The 10-place grid penalty imposed on the young Briton for driving into the back of Kimi Raikkonen in Canada two weeks ago could not have come at a worse time. Third fastest in qualifying yesterday, he must therefore start 13th on a circuit that offers little opportunity to overtake. It is going to take an extraordinary effort for Hamilton to finish anywhere near the podium, and with his McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen starting in 10th after a five-place penalty of his own for blocking Mark Webber yesterday, and Ferrari’s Raikkonen and Felipe Massa starting first and second, today’s race looks as though it will be a Scuderia benefit from the moment the lights turn green. Even the weather forecast, which had been for thunderstorms, has improved sufficiently to suggest rain will not be the disruptive factor Hamilton might have hoped for.

Miracles can be achieved – Raikkonen started 13th for McLaren in 2005 and finished second – but Hamilton will have to make a mental readjustment after admitting he was not at his best yesterday. “It was quite a disappointing qualifying for me. I have to apologise to the team,” he said. “I made the same mistake on my first and second lap [in Q3], going wide on the exit of turn seven, losing at least three-tenths [of a second]. I was pushing, trying to get the best out of the car.”

It will be instructive to see how effectively Hamilton, who has always raced to win, tempers his competitive instincts as he attempts to fight his way through the midfield. The obvious danger is that he pushes too hard again this afternoon and finishes pointless, when fourth or fifth would be no disaster.

The signs are not particularly promising. Hamilton’s demeanour since arriving in France has been, if not prickly, markedly more reserved than usual. While he professes not to have read a word written about himself for the past 18 months, he has clearly been made aware that the comment on his Montreal misdemeanour was generally less than complimentary.

He is also conscious of the unfair attempts to link him with the sort of playboy lifestyle that, when mistakes are made on the track, can lead to accusations of being insufficiently focused on his job. Spending hundreds of thousands on a number plate, stepping out with supermodels, buying ostentatiously flash cars – all have been denied but not in the sort of relaxed manner that might have reassured anyone who fears it might all be starting to get under his skin.

“The name plate – that’s just a load of balls but there’s not really a lot I can do about it,” he complained. “I’m just not into that sort of thing. I really want to enjoy it but then I don’t have to be walking down a red carpet. I’ve never wanted that sort of treatment.

“I have experienced it in some places but I’m not looking for events to go to so I can be seen. I just enjoy being sat in the back like any other member of the audience. I like to meet people but then people start making stories out of it.”

The question of whether the carping is beginning to affect his driving should be academic, and hopefully will be proved to have been so by his performance today, but it is legitimate nonetheless, if only because it is the first time he has really experienced any sort of adverse press.

“We’re here to compete for wins but when you know you don’t particularly have a chance of doing that, it puts you on the back foot,” Hamilton said yesterday. The key to winning championships, however, is getting the maximum return whatever the circumstances. He needs to show he can do that today.