Lewis Hamilton is beatable... but his rivals are still looking up to him ahead of Australian Grand Prix

Even at the age of 33 there is an occasional petulance to Lewis Hamilton, but while he had the demeanour of a downtrodden teenager forced to face the world’s media in Melbourne on Thursday, he also looked every bit the champion-in-waiting.

Mercedes will not say it directly — team principal Toto Wolff has likened the season start to climbing Mount Everest — but the four-time world champion is very much at the summit, to the extent his rivals have even said as much.

The 127 days since the 2017 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix have been filled with Formula One’s usual bluff and bluster, from threats of a Ferrari-led walk-out to criticism of the halo safety device for drivers, but the same over-riding question prevails for a sport in transition: can anyone topple Hamilton?

The F1 circus’s scriptwriters and salesmen would have you believe it is a three-team battle for the title; as many as six drivers vying for end-of-season glory. But as the 1996 world champion Damon Hill put it: “Lewis is absolutely the favourite but things do change and F1 has a history of twists and turns.”

On the evidence of winter testing, Hamilton (right) has handled those twists and turns better than anyone. The one-lap speed is still there, the apparent race pace seemingly undiminished, while reliability — with the reduced allowance of three engines per driver this season as part of cost-cutting measures — has been good.

Hamilton claimed, unconvincingly, that he had forgotten over the winter he is a four-time world champion and has downplayed the importance of a fifth crown that would see him pull alongside Juan Manuel Fangio and leave him second only to Michael Schumacher (seven) in the number of titles won.

He is, though, driven to be the driver of his generation.

In a recent interview, the Briton said: “I’m the most competitive person I know. I’ve not met anyone who’s more competitive than me and I want to win — and I truly believe I can if I put my mind to it and if I work hard for it.”

Hardly the words of a driver lacking in motivation or remotely jaded — bar the questioning — ahead of his 12th season in F1.

Hamilton and his chief rival and fellow four-time champion Sebastian Vettel both look relaxed and refreshed — and both effectively agreed the former remains the man to beat.

Occasionally last year, Hamilton struggled with his car, one that Wolff described as a “diva” but one engineering director Aldo Costa now calls “a princess”.

Ferrari clearly see their own shortfalls and, following the philosophy that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, have copied Mercedes’ longer wheelbase, theoretically closing the gap in terms of downforce disadvantage.

But Hamilton can be beaten. Vettel thinks so, as does Hamilton’s own team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, who struggled with consistency last year.

With the quickest car, there is, as the Finn put it, “no reason why I can’t fight Lewis to the title”. A season under his belt with Mercedes will help and, even if he plays second fiddle again, he could rob Vettel of vital championship points, while Ferrari will be hoping Vettel’s team-mate Kimi Raikkonen can do something similar in return.

The third part of the title triumvirate is Red Bull, with a driver pairing of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo (arguably the best pairing on the grid).

Verstappen has long been tagged as a once-in-a-generation driver, but Ricciardo is no slouch himself. Their issue is that their Renault engine is still down on power to the Mercedes, potentially as much as a second-per-lap at some circuits.

But the wizardry of designer Adrian Newey, coupled with the team’s affinity with in-season development, should lead to race wins at least, and possibly more.

How McLaren would love to have such thoughts. Last year was a horror show. Fernando Alonso was narrowly diverted from walking away and has already professed that Melbourne could well be prove the lowest of lows.

It is to former McLaren driver Hamilton, though, to whom all eyes are pointed. He is committed to F1 until 2019 and, for now, he looks difficult to shift.