The scene is a dimly lit indoor karting track round the back of Heathrow airport in warehouse land on the fringes of West London. Two of the most famous racing drivers in the world, who between them have won the past two world titles, are ready to show how it is done.

Yes, it is the all-English McLaren “dream team” resplendent in their gleaming silver race suits and carrying their Formula One helmets — yellow for Lewis Hamilton; red, white and blue for Jenson Button — coming to race go-karts against the British press.

These sort of get-togethers have become staple fair at McLaren, where a bit of pre-season fun is seen as helping to build relationships between drivers, and between them and those whose job it is to report on their activities.

Pre-season testing has been difficult to read, but Hamilton finished on top at the last session in Barcelona and is widely favoured to rip Button apart. Button believes that, with a World Championship trophy on his mantelpiece in Monaco, he is free to express himself like never before.

Hamilton has changed, too. Older, wiser and battle-hardened after three tumultuous years in the sport’s pinnacle series, he is ready to take the next step towards what he believes is his destiny.

Professing himself more excited about this season than any other in his ten-year career in Formula One, he dismissed notions that Hamilton could humiliate him or that being beaten by him would affect his confidence.

“I am not going into the first race thinking, ‘If he beats me, that’s it, game over. Or, if I beat him, then yeah, that’s it, I’ve won the World Championship.’” he said. “It is a 19-race series, a long, long championship and we will see what happens.”