Hamilton: There are people who are very short-minded

Hamilton's rebuttal comes after Stewart, in a rare interview these days, told Bild: "First of all: Lewis is one of the best to ever drive in Formula 1. But the truth is that in the last decade, he competed with Mercedes for a team that had virtually no competition.

"During this time, Lewis only had one real rival: his teammate. Except for 2016, he always emerged victorious from the duel. But then he lost to Nico Rosberg. Who is, with respect: a good driver, but not the most talented in the world.

"Rosberg was hungry and had the absolute will to become world champion. Lewis isn't that hungry anymore. Because of that, and because the car is no longer quite as strong, he has serious problems," reckoned Stewart, a three-time F1 World Champion.

It is not the first time Stewart has questioned Hamilton's commitment to the sport, often the Scot is the Briton's greatest critic. In other words, there is history between the pair, and this is another chapter in the never-ending animosity that exists between the pair.

Reacting to the comments by Stewart, Hamilton said on BBC Breakfast: “There are people who are very short-minded. Making the comments that they do, not knowing the work that has been done in the background."

In what is a clear dig at his long-serving critic-in-chief, Hamilton added: "One thing I hope, and I never want to do is, in the future, when I one day stop and look back on the youth or the next generation of drivers, I want to be encouraging them and let them know it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s about being inspiring rather than shutting them down. That’s the kind of figure that I want to be."

Meanwhile, the day Hamilton stops F1 not even he knows. He might carry on deep into his forties, and he might not according to the seven-time F1 World Champion himself. What is sure is he will be with Mercedes until the end of 2025.

A year later the new F1 rules kick in and one imagines how good the car Mercedes produces for the new era will be decisive in Hamilton's driving career longevity, which appears to be open-ended until the 2026 cars get going.

Asked if he would compete in the F1 of today, Stewart replied: Yes, of course! It's more comfortable for drivers at every level. Across competitions, fewer races [F1 drivers in the 1960s and 1970s dovetailed between F1 and other disciplines] better travel, more pay and pure luxury at the Grands Prix. We used to sit in tents through which the wind whistled.

"Today a number of trucks drive up to unload the team houses. There's no wind whistling through them, they have real walls. The drivers have it much better today. However, they are also followed by the media at every turn. Every action of theirs is evaluated. It was different for us.

"We also went out for a drink with the journalists in the evening, and the content of the conversation wasn't in the newspaper afterwards," added Stewart of a bygone era of the sport.