These words from the youngest ever winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature ring true, not only for Lewis Hamilton’s maiden Formula 1 victory in Canada, but also for the impact he is likely to have on the sport and the outside world.

Mark my words: those that saw him in action on Sunday witnessed the dawn of the Lewis Hamilton era.

On a day when a double world champion in the same car was strategically weak and made four driving errors under pressure, two other title contenders dropped the ball and at least 11 other drivers with more experience than him couldn’t stay on the black stuff, this F1 rookie didn’t put a wheel wrong.

Shortly after the start, McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso went wide in an effort to pass Hamilton and he repeated that error in turn one another three times in efforts to pass others. In addition, he was caught out by the first safety car because he left his pitstop to the last second. That is why he was forced to pit when the pitlane was closed, otherwise he would have run out of fuel. He could have avoided the subsequent 10-second stop-go penalty had he built in a margin of a few laps for just such an eventuality.

Kimi Raikkonen nudged the rear of Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa’s car in turn two after a bad start, which damaged his front wing and affected his performance for the remainder of the race.

Massa, on the other hand, made a basic mistake by ignoring the red light at the pit exit and was black-flagged. Exactly the same thing that happened with Juan Pablo Montoya in 2005, so despite his protestations afterwards he couldn’t even blame the new safety car rules.

The list of drivers who either finished lower in the order than could be expected or didn’t complete the race, is impressive.

Raikkonen was fifth, Alonso seventh, Webber ninth and Barrichello 12th; Trulli, Albers, Kubica and Speed had accidents; Massa and Fisichella were black-flagged; while Schumacher, Rosberg en Davidson all made mistakes. Sutil also crashed, but then he’s a rookie like Hamilton. Button and Coulthard retired due to mechanical problems.

While all of this was happening, Lewis stayed cool — in only his sixth F1 race ever — despite pressure from Nick Heidfeld (who also drove faultlessly) in his 121st race. Alexander Wurz made the podium thanks to an inspired one-stop strategy, while fellow rookie Heikki Kovalainen also remained calm in the chaos for an excellent fourth place. Takuma Sato, despite an error, was outstanding in sixth for Super Aguri.

If ever a debut winner was under pressure, it was Hamilton on Sunday. Four times he had to overcome interference from the safety car and rebuild a lead, fending off an attack from a strong competitor while staying on the road on cold and soft tyres. Tactically and strategically he had to be spot on.

In the process he proved he had the temperament of a champion.

Hamilton’s competitors should be very concerned. If ever he was going to crack under pressure, it would have been on Sunday. Now the flood gates could open and he will take more victories this year.

With an eight-point lead he has virtually one retirement in his pocket, something that is unlikely to happen. By building on this lead, taking points where he can and winning where he can, he could take the title in his debut season — as predicted in this column not so long ago.

As Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton will rise above the sport and — like Tiger Woods — become a sports icon. He will have proven to millions it is possible, through hard work and dedication and despite a simple background, to rise to the very top.

Then he will truly have the world at his feet and — which is more — he’ll be a Man among Men.