Um.

He had a go at his nephew for wanting to wear a dress, then did a massively over-the-top apology stunt. Thus many regard him as two-faced.

He publicly, on live television, referred to his home town as a 'slum'. People don't forget things like that. Ken Dodd was (and is) loved as much for the fact that he lived all his life in Knotty Ash, where he was born, as for his talent and achievements. Hamilton lives in Switzerland -'nuff said!

But in the final analysis, there are about ten people in the UK who actually like F1 racing. Everyone else thinks it's a dead bore. Nor do most regard F1 drivers as sportsmen - or even particularly good drivers. "All they do is go round and round - I bet they couldn't handle the M25 in rush hour!"

Fact: if you want to be a sports idol in the UK, then you have to play soccer, end of.