There is a blanched grandeur, an old glory about Montreal that is redolent of Vienna. But there is a freshness and animation about the debates and they go on deep into the party-filled nights as the city celebrates Formula One weekend as no other place does.

This culturally diverse, highly energised and politicised city, this two-tongued home for Francophones and Anglophones, will claim, in both languages, that local legend Gilles Villeneuve was the best racer of them all. They will certainly not get an argument from Niki Lauda, the Mercedes non-executive chairman, who says: "Gilles was a perfect racing driver, with the best talent of all of us. He was the best –- and the fastest – driver in the world."

But right now, at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, on the eve of the Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda is doing his best to control another argument, between supporters of his two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, who have made this season a two-hander of a production, with the other 20 drivers little more than extras.

Paddock talk The breakdown in the relationship between the two at the last race, in Monaco two weekends ago, is still the biggest talking point in Formula One.

Half the people in the paddock here feel that Rosberg deliberately sabotaged Hamilton’s bid for pole on the eve of the Monaco race; in the podium celebrations that followed Hamilton did not speak to Rosberg and celebrated his second place well away from his German rival.

The more emotional Hamilton has been the aggressor, with Rosberg playing a more passive role. But yesterday there was more than a hint of mea culpa from the British driver, an admission that he could have behaved better in the strained circumstances.

“I think you always have experiences where you look back and think maybe I could have done this better . . . The majority of the things I said that weekend were in the heat of the moment.”

Hamilton also explained his many moans from the car during the race: “When you’re in the car there’s no filter. It just comes out. That’s something, I guess, I’ve got to work on . . . but at the end of the day I don’t like losing, Nico doesn’t . . . No one likes losing.”

Rosberg reserve

While Hamilton admitted to wearing his heart on his sleeve, Rosberg, in character, is presenting a more detached air. “I want to try to avoid giving things that unnecessarily heat the moment even more,” he said. “You’re trying to build it into a war, which I can understand . . . but it is sometimes difficult in this sport and in the heat of the moment.”

Though there was much sympathy for Hamilton in Monaco, where he lost the race and his lead in the world championship, there is also a feeling that he has been at fault.

Formula One analyst Gary Anderson said after the last race: "Hamilton was the one that started throwing stones. His statement about being hungrier for success than Rosberg was actually a little sad. He talked about living on his dad's settee while Nico was living it up in Monaco. Give me a break. His dad gave him everything he could and Lewis first got involved . . . with McLaren when he was 13. How many drivers of potential world championship calibre never got to show what they were capable of because they never had such an opportunity?" Guardian Service