Lewis Hamilton's battle with Nico Rosberg at Silverstone is the most important of his F1 career, says former British Grand Prix winner John Watson

• Mercedes pair will compete at the 50th grand prix to be held at Silverstone
• Rosberg's win in Austria last week put him 29 points ahead of Hamilton
• Former winner Watson says it is 'make or break time' for the Brit
• Sir Jackie Stewart thinks Hamilton might rely too much on his natural skill
  

By JONATHAN MCEVOY FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Published: 18:19 EST, 28 June 2014 | Updated: 14:25 EST, 30 June 2014

Two very different men in two very similar cars will contest the 50th grand prix to be staged at Silverstone – the race that could go a long way to defining the lives and careers of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton is largely a public figure, a result of his craving for fame and the modern media’s insatiable appetite for celebrity gossip.

This week he told his 2.17million Twitter followers that he spent a romantic break in Venice with his Pussycat Dolls girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger to celebrate six years (mostly) together and had a lunch on a yacht in Monaco with A-listers Samuel L Jackson and Magic Johnson.

Rivals: Nico Rosberg smiles as he sits next to Lewis Hamilton following his victory at the Austrian Grand Prix

Venice: Hamilton posted a series of pictures from his latest holiday on Twitter this week

Rosberg, more measured and more cerebral, is essentially a private man. Save for a tweet thanking fans for sending him birthday wishes – he turned 29 on Friday – there is no word about his personal life from the moment he finished the Austrian Grand Prix victorious a week ago.

That victory put the German 29 points ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Hamilton in what is a private battle for the 2014 World Championship.

Rosberg’s advantage is not quite as big as it seems – under the old scoring system, where a win was worth 10 points rather than 25, it would be a lead of about 12, or one victory and a little bit more – but clearly Hamilton needs to stop his rival’s momentum by winning for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix on May 11.

Victorious: Rosberg lifts the trophy after triumphing at the Red Bull Ring in Speilberg, Austria

Playful: Hamilton sprays Rosberg after finishing second behind the German at the Austrian Grand Prix

John Watson, one of only 12 home winners of the British Grand Prix, said: ‘He needs to win this race big time. It is make or break – as important a grand prix for Lewis as any in his career has ever been. He needs to respond to Nico Rosberg’s excellent performances by dominating him in every way, in qualifying and in the race.

‘He needs to reassert himself. It is not an issue of speed. In Austria it was a matter of not quite doing things accurately enough. He was not quite as exact in how he got into the pit box as he could have been, whereas Nico is maxing out on his potential, in his in-lap, his out-lap, pit stop. He is nailing everything.

‘Lewis has always relied on his natural skills. Nico is metronomic.’

Silverstone: Hamilton (pictured) was lucky enough to make the cut to fulfill his dream but it took sacrifices

Sir Jackie Stewart, a twice winner of the British Grand Prix and, like Watson, a survivor from the dangerous days of their sport, also sees Hamilton’s over-reliance on God-given skill as the significant difference between the two men.

‘Lewis is a natural,’ said Stewart. ‘But he needs to get away from using only his natural talent, which is in danger of being detrimental to him. All the great drivers have had more than that.’

Stewart himself developed his mind-management long before he got into Formula One. He reached international standard in clay pigeon shooting as a boy, learning that if he missed a target it was gone for ever. You could not recover your position on the next corner.

The calmness and calculation of Stewart is more evident in Rosberg, a driver Stewart observed at close quarters during the German’s years at Williams. ‘Nico was not fully developed then,’ he said.

‘He was not quite training as hard as he is now. He has full race distance ability now. He has a very good brain and is totally focused on his motor-racing. There are no distractions. He has been engaged for while and is close to getting married. He is very settled, and that can help performance.’

Helping: Niki Lauda says Hamilton is well-prepared for the British Grand Prix and is motivated to do well

The man trying to help Hamilton is another driving luminary of the Seventies, Niki Lauda, the Mercedes non-executive chairman. Lauda told me yesterday that his British driver is ‘very well balanced, not sad, but motivated’.

But Watson is less convinced. ‘Pictures of him having lunch with Samuel L Jackson is great for Hamilton’s management – Simon Fuller and XIX – because it gets their client profile, but at the end of the day it is all about winning the world championship.

‘It would be a brave person to say that his private life is impacting on his professional life, but I don’t know who in the team has the ability to put their arms around Lewis in the way Ross Brawn could and did.

‘Niki’s job is to see Mercedes win. Paddy Lowe (the executive technical director) is a superb engineer but he is not a team principal and Toto Wolff, well, he’s more of a businessman.’

Meeting: Hamilton (right), has lunch with Samuel L Jackson and Magic Johnson in the south of France

Mercedes seem likely to win at Silverstone despite the upturn in Williams’s fortunes at the Red Bull Ring last week because the aerodynamic demands of the Northamptonshire track are better suited to them.

That raises the prospect of Hamilton recreating one of the most epic performances ever seen on a British track – his win in the wet in 2008.

‘The British fans are the absolute best in the world and it’s really humbling to see thousands of people out there cheering you on, no matter what the weather or the result,’ he said.

Good memories: Hamilton celebrates on the podium at Silverstone after his stunning win in 2008

‘When I won in 2008 it was just the best feeling. The gap was about 60 second at the end and I had lapped everyone up to third place, which was just unreal.

'I could never have hoped or dreamed for a race like that, especially at my home grand prix. That has to be one of the best moments of my career.

‘I loved raising that gold trophy in front of the home crowd and I’m determined to get my hands on it again this year.’