How The Heart Approaches What It Yearns is the title of an old Paul Simon song, about how we sometimes unconsciously act in a way that directs us to where we really want to go, even if we don't consciously know where that is.

Last year in Hungary, as he ignored team instructions during qualifying, Lewis Hamilton's heart approached what it yearned - to be 'number one' at McLaren. Twelve months on, and Heikki Kovalainen was confirmed as Lewis's team-mate for another year. It's hard not to think that Hamilton's yearning has been satisfied. Here he was, leader of the world championship, clearly the main focus of the team, with a team-mate he likes but can usually beat, being confirmed and thereby keeping Lewis well within his comfort zone.

Last year's line-up of Hamilton and Fernando Alonso was just too much. Too much competitive intensity in too small a space. Too closely matched a driver pairing. Too much of the paranoia that arises when those circumstances are combined with a potentially title-winning car. See also Senna/Prost McLaren 1988-89, except that last year it all conspired with an extra outside force that was tearing the team apart - that of Stepneygate. Something had to give. Lewis, whether he was aware of it or not, effectively gave the team the 'it's him or me' ultimatum. And that moment came in Budapest.

Hamilton hiding in the stewards room

Last year McLaren's meticulous method of equalising opportunities for their drivers in qualifying meant a highly intricate choreography between them in the old fuel burn part of the session. By ignoring the pre-planned sequence, Hamilton stole himself a weight advantage that unfairly increased his chances of taking pole from Alonso.

Because a) he was fighting Alonso for the world championship and judged that team instructions were less important to him than that and b) maybe he wanted at some level to create a problem that required the team to make a choice.

The furious Fernando retaliated to the stunt by blocking Hamilton's pit, preventing him doing a final flying lap. As a result Alonso took pole. The FIA stewards later got involved and penalised Alonso's blocking tactics with a grid penalty, putting Hamilton on pole.

As Hamilton got out of the car post-qualifying, out of the pressure cooker of the cockpit where his heart had automatically approached what it yearned, he felt embarrassed, filled with dread about facing Ron Dennis. In fact, for a time he even hid! Tony Scott-Andrews, then the FIA's chief steward, was surprised to find a chastened Hamilton hiding out in the stewards' room, delaying his return to the motorhome after the qualifying press conference.

Back in the real world there was protocol to be observed, social mores, a layer of civilisation required to hide such naked ambition. In the car he'd just not been able to help himself; there was an advantage there to be gained, there was a situation that needed resolving. He did both in one move and team instructions be damned.

McLaren could quite understand Alonso's angry response. He wasn't the guy in the doghouse. Lewis was. So maybe Alonso's heart then approached what it yearned. That's a possible explanation for what he reportedly did next - used the contents of his laptop to try to take advantage of McLaren's ongoing trouble with Stepneygate to secure the position of team leader.

It was a move that backfired massively, of course. No longer was Hamilton's qualifying insurrection such a big deal; Alonso had just committed a heinous crime in McLaren's eyes. There were factions in the team that wanted him hauled out of the car there and then and only Dennis's calmer counsel prevailed in keeping him in until the end of the season. Hamilton's actions had inadvertently triggered exactly what he wanted.

Heikki drives the perfect team race

Alonso is still scarred by the whole thing - at least if his pre-weekend comments are any guide. "If I was racing for McLaren now," he said, with the re-signed Kovalainen sitting next to him, "maybe I would be in the same position as now without the possibility to win. So at least I am happy to be at Renault with the full support of the team."

With the possible exception of Brazil last year - where Alonso was curiously slow all weekend - there was nothing to suggest the two drivers had significantly different equipment. Yet both, at different points during the season, felt they were being disadvantaged by the team - almost certainly without justification. But that's the paranoia that goes hand-in-glove with something so intense.

Kovalainen is uncannily even-keeled for a top class racing driver and fits right in. He drove the perfect team race on Sunday in that he was there to pick up the pieces when it went wrong for Hamilton, scoring his first victory in the process. But make no mistake, this is Hamilton's team now, moulded around him like a glove.

But Kovalainen, for all his equanimity, is an ambitious, determined character. As he said: "I hope to be here for many years to come." With the first win now under his belt, he's going to be looking soon for more. Not in the same way as Alonso, but in his own smiley, Heikki way. At some level, his heart will be approaching what it yearns.