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Why is Hamilton such a divisive figure?

Few drivers have polarised opinion so much as Lewis Hamilton. But does the three-time world champion really deserve the hatred that's directed at him?

Once upon a time it was easy to categorise a British racing hero. Bow-tied Hawthorn; canny Jackie; dashing James with an eye for the ladies; marauding Mansell; Damon, the valiant underdog. We understood who they were. We knew what to think.

Through shifting eras they wrote their own chapters in the book of British sporting greats, crystallising our opinions through their deeds on and off-track. Be it silk-sheets Jim Clark - all classical elegance at the wheel of yet another brilliant Chapman Lotus - or boy-next-door-Button, they've formed a golden thread of winners whose presence at the sharp end of Formula 1 has helped cement Britain's wider involvement in the sport.

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