In Malaysia on Sunday Lewis Hamilton confirmed his speed advantage over teammate Jenson Button. This was no surprise. Button won six of the first seven races last year because his Brawn car was superior. Key was the 'double diffuser' aerodynamic trickery which other top teams had not employed (because they considered it against, at least, the spirit of the rules). Team-mate Rubens Barrichello was compromised in the early races by aerodynamic tuning necessary to cool the different brake system he preferred.

Once these advantages were erased, Button rarely saw the front of the field and was out-qualified by Barrichello for the last seven races. The then 29-year old limped to the title which should have meant Mercedes, having purchased Brawn, would start 2010 with the champion's No 1 on their car.

Unfortunately, Brawn's senior management underestimated Button's desire to receive a salary commensurate with his new status. Already committed to Williams for 2010, Barrichello told Jenson he had been approached by McLaren to drive alongside Hamilton. Jenson quickly visited McLaren's HQ and received a contract rumored to be worth 24 million pounds ($36.4 million) over three years. Brawn upped the ante but it was too late (though allowed Button conveniently to claim the McLaren move was not for money.)

Button repaid McLaren's respect by winning in Australia 10 days ago, his second race for the team. With performance faltering and little to lose, Button stopped very early for dry-weather tires and then played skillfully the cards he was dealt. Hamilton's two stops for tires (against Button's once) cost him victory. His late-race radio demand to know whose idea this was meant: I am the fastest driver on the planet how can someone else in the same car be winning?

Qualifying in Malaysia was - like Australia - a disaster for Hamilton. McLaren called the weather wrongly but the 2008 champion must take the blame for failing to perform when others did. The 25-year old made amends in the race with another display of bravado including, as at Melbourne, maneuvers around the outside of high-speed corners. It's not only further but, with the surface covered in slippery rubber debris, very tricky - especially at 200kmh. From 20th Hamilton finished sixth. Button circulated slower than the other McLaren for 35 of 52 comparable laps to finish eighth (from 17th).

What does perplex - in the context of Hamilton's faultless debut races in 2007 - is his vulnerability to errors of judgement. Weaving in front of Vitaly Petrov's Renault on Sunday to prevent the Russian repassing should have been punished. Then all his speed and daring would have scored nothing.