Lewis Hamilton has been involved with stewards so often recently that one might almost imagine he was interested in pursuing an alternative career with Scotrail.

The Englishman, who surged to the world title in 2008 and has spent much of the subsequent period dividing opinion about whether he is Skid Solo made flesh or a timebomb of insanity, is currently being linked with a move to Red Bull next season, even while the likes of the former Formula One champion, Niki Lauda, have denigrated Hamilton’s capacity for pushing cars beyond their limit and sparking accidents and mayhem in the process.

So the questions are: should we laud the McLaren man as a fearless maverick, with an ultra-intense appetite for speed, or traduce him as an intemperate bampot, whose reckless disregard for F1 protocol jeopardises the careers – and lives – of those around him?

And would it really make sense for Hamilton to switch teams and become a colleague of Sebastian Vettel, whose relationship with Mark Webber has suffered so many rocky patches that the duo have frequently resembled the Gambinos on a bad day?

As far as the first matter is concerned, there is no doubt that Hamilton possesses a prodigious talent and, with the possible exception of Fernando Alonso, is the most instinctively gifted participant among the present generation of drivers. At the peak of his powers, he can lift himself into an exalted stratosphere, and the scale of his racing ability brooks no dissent.

Even if he believes he is the fastest man in the F1 ranks, though, it does not entitle him to ride roughshod over the regulations and his hissy fit at the stewards in Monaco testified to his febrile temperament.

His antics in Montreal, where he clambered all over Jenson Button and nearly eliminated both of them, exposed the reality that Hamilton is an all-or-nothing individual – which is fine if he happens to be in a vehicle with the speed to match his ambitions. When he isn’t – and McLaren have usually been off the pace this season – it leaves him visibly agitated, frustrated, and attempting manoeuvres which are the equivalent of picnicking on Vesuvius.

In these circumstances, Hamilton is far too ambitious not to wonder where his best prospects exist in the future, the more so because Vettel has achieved such consistently lofty standards during the current campaign, with five victories and two second places in seven events, that it is almost impossible to envisage him relinquishing his grip on the F1 crown in 2011.

So, despite Hamilton downplaying the significance of his recent discussion with the Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner – he insisted that there is no reason for him to quit McLaren as long as they remain a competitive force – he neither issued an outright denial, or sounded wholly convincing in arguing that he doesn’t feel under any extra pressure at this weekend’s European Grand Prix in Valencia.

The bigger issue may lie in whether Vettel is prepared to countenance such a partnership, considering the way he has dominated affairs at Red Bull for the last couple of seasons and has spoken of his desire to emulate and even surpass the achievements of his compatriot, Michael Schumacher.

Yet this organisation have regularly demonstrated their innovation, their ability to respond to fluctuating fortunes, and they would be foolish not to be excited at the thought of Vettel and Hamilton linking up from next season onwards.

After all, with Alonso under contract at struggling Ferrari until 2016 and Vettel tied to Red Bull for the next two campaigns, there aren’t that many options if Hamilton truly wishes to take on his younger German rival on an equal footing. And, whatever his critics might claim, nobody has ever doubted the sporting aggression of this feisty fellow.

Ultimately, what he needs more than anything at the moment is a reaffirmation of his skill behind the wheel, an afternoon where the media, fans and rivals alike, are salivating over his powers in an F1 car, rather than highlighting his tendency to transform any minor prang into a major diplomatic incident.

In the case of an alternative scenario – one in which Hamilton continues to flirt with notoriety – he will eventually discover one of the cardinal rules of any pursuit. Namely, that nobody is ever bigger than the sport itself.