One eye is part-closed, and his friends seem to be encouraging Lewis Hamilton to stay on his feet.
Of the mental focus and strategic brilliance which make the Formula 1 ace so formidable on the track, there is not a trace.
Instead, his face is lit up with an inane grin. Perhaps he is contemplating his reassuringly expensive Pierre Hardy trainers or his fashionably askew baseball cap with tasteful skull motif, or his bead necklace or his Givenchy leather bomber jacket — an extraordinary outfit more worthy of a ‘gangsta rapper’ than a once clean-cut British sporting icon.
He certainly looks like a man who has spent the past eight hours in pursuit of a good time.
Recent pictures of Hamilton having a late night in town with a crowd of ten female hangers-on may yet end his four-year relationship with former Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger.
“She can’t believe he would be so disrespectful to her in this way. She is seething. Lewis is in serious trouble,” a source said.
A DISASTER
And she’s not the only one. F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone thinks that Hamilton’s current direction — wild parties, wannabe WAGs and rapper friends — is “a disaster.”
On Sunday night, after a disappointing performance at the British Grand Prix where he came eighth, Hamilton emerged ready to party in London.
After dinner, he visited nightclubs Boujis and Jalouse, where he met up with the singer Rihanna, who is, of course, almost as notorious for her taste for vodka and marijuana as she is for her music career.
Despite leaving Jalouse at 4.10am, Hamilton was carrying the Olympic Torch through Stevenage at 6.30am — burning the candle at both ends, as it were.
On Tuesday, he dined with the rapper J Cole — introduced to him by Rihanna — in Central London’s restaurant Hakkasan. An agreement was struck that they would make music together. “J invited him into his studio,” said a source.
This was followed by a stint at the Funky Buddha nightclub, where Hamilton, who usually drinks only modest amounts of champagne, invited a group of girls, including a couple of long-time friends, back to his Mayfair hotel at 3.30am with his male friends.
Hamilton was pictured making his way unsteadily to the hotel, and then warmly embracing a female friend, Phreeda Sharp, in the lobby. He says it was nothing more than an innocent goodbye.
He then went up to the penthouse suite for a couple of hours’ more partying. One of the girls, Emily Tudor, 21, says that at one point he sprayed champagne around the room the way he might on a racing podium.
OFF THE RAILS?
Is this late-night carousing really a good idea for a professional sportsman - particularly one who is struggling to fulfil his immense early promise?
Hamilton’s spokesman Simon Olivera is defensive to the point of shrillness about his 27-year- old charge.
Olivera, a likeable and hard-working PR who also polishes David Beckham’s halo, told me: “Honestly, he has had three nights out in the last year. This does not mean that he is going off the rails.
“He did have a bit of a blow-out on Tuesday, but he is a man in his 20s and he had two days off. He probably regrets it slightly now.”
Olivera insists that there are no plans for Hamilton to pursue a musical career. But, significantly, he is not able to deny that Hamilton has a serious - and dismaying - interest in showbusiness.
It turns out that he spent time in a studio towards the end of last year, and has recorded some rap offerings, but they will not to be released.
Olivera concedes that Hamilton “sometimes plays a guitar” and may, once his F1 career is over, choose music as his future path, “but at present there is no musical career.”
It is clear that in recent years, as Hamilton has moved away from the management of his father Anthony and into the orbit of Simon Fuller, a direction is taking shape of which not everyone approves.
Fuller is, of course, the man who masterminded the Spice Girls’ global domination and David Beckham’s lucrative move to the U.S.
Under the guidance of Fuller, who also has tennis star Andy Murray on his books, Beckham has made money as never before, but some argue he has sacrificed his playing career to do so.
In embracing Fuller, with whom he signed in spring 2011, Hamilton seems to have taken an enormous step into the celebrity culture he clearly finds so enthralling.
As well as J Cole, Hamilton has hung out with rappers such as Ice-T - who has boasted about his criminal past - Pharrell Williams, Sean Combs and Ne-Yo. Some say that, as a result, Hamilton’s already healthy sense of self-importance has become unbearable.
Last December, Bernie Ecclestone said Hamilton signing for Fuller was “a disaster”, adding: “It depends an awful lot on the people you surround yourself with, and who are in a position to influence you. I think he just fell into a lot of people that I think weren’t good for him.
“When his dad was looking after him . . . obviously it didn’t suit Lewis. I think he didn’t appreciate how much help his dad was.”
PAINFUL SPLIT
Lewis cut management ties with his father in 2010. Anthony Hamilton put his son in a go-kart at the age of six and managed his career all the way to the 2008 world championship aged just 23.
The split was certainly painful all round. Hamilton has declined to go into it in interviews, but has talked about ‘personal issues’ last year — tensions with his father, and also a brief split from Scherzinger.
It is indicated that he and his father are now mending their relationship. You can only hope that this is true, as Hamilton is hailed as a once-in-a-generation talent.
But last year was not a good one. There were criticisms of his petulant behaviour after he collided with other drivers, including his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button.
Three-time world champion Niki Lauda said this aggression was beyond the pale: “He is completely mad. You cannot drive like this. It will result in someone getting killed.”
COULDN’T GIVE A TOSS
Hamilton’s response was telling, sneering that he “really couldn’t give a toss” about what Lauda had said.
Now, a certain amount of swagger is expected in a man so talented. But the worry is that Hamilton might damage his career if he can’t keep the attitude to himself.
His contract with McLaren runs out at the end of this season and it is widely thought that Hamilton may choose to move on — if he can — as McLaren are lagging behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Lotus.
Certainly, he needs to choose the right team if he is to make the most of his early promise. It will be up to Simon Fuller to get him there.
Hamilton himself acknowledges that his career so far has not been quite as everyone expected. In an interview this year he said: “I would like to have achieved more, but the journey I have been on was mapped out for me, I think, and the learning curve has been quite steep.
“I am only 27 so I have some time if I am racing as long as Michael [Schumacher, who still competes at 43]. I’d love to be sitting here with three world championships under my belt.
“But I definitely don’t regret what’s happened and the experiences I’ve had. I think I’m better for it.”
As for his relatively poor performance at the British Grand Prix, the car is blamed (Jenson Button finished tenth).
Hamilton is training now - the German Grand Prix is next. His supporters say he is ferociously dedicated, travels for 11 months of the year, and never misses a day of work.
But perhaps Fuller should suggest he might find something a little less conspicuous to do in his down time. Andy Murray likes to walk his dog and make sushi. Surely Nicole Sherzinger would prefer it if Hamilton’s hobbies were equally discreet. -Daily Mail