Whatever rage is surely seething within Lewis Hamilton — and he is doing well to disguise it — is fully justified.

His formerly all-conquering Mercedes team’s inability to sit him in a potential winner of a car is embarrassing.

He has had to stretch himself to limits only a driver of his unique ability may muster to thrust his way to final results of respectability from the rear end depths of the grid with a barricade of backmarkers to outwit and overcome to climb the podium steps.

Conspiracy theories abound that Mercedes are favouring Nico Rosberg over three-time champion Hamilton and failing disastrously to ensure he has the Formula One transport to match his currently buried latent genius through no fault of his own.

That is perhaps down to the cynicism that frequently finds roots along the pitwall and it has been fiercely refuted by team leader Toto Wolff — not that his protestations will put a complete damper over the suspicions of out-and-out Hamilton admirers.

The puzzle remains: How can identically fitted out cars differ so dramatically in their stamina and their capability to do their job?

Title pacemaker Rosberg’s fellow German Wolff, in the aftermath of Hamilton’s championship costly engine failures in the last two Grands Prix, fumes with vehement denials: “Of course we don’t do it deliberately.

“The team has been abused and there are some conspiracy theories by lunatics.

“I am being vocal because the engineers are being hit by comments that are unfair and outright abusive without reason.

“You wonder what goes through their minds.”

Truth is, though, Mercedes for whatever reason have messed up Hamilton’s chances of a fourth title just as surely as they have underpinned Rosberg’s anticipation of a debut championship in runaway style.

We are not privy to what goes on behind the F1 team scenes and in the secrecy of the closely guarded motorhomes where, no doubt, Hamilton will have made his feelings of rightful disappointment clear to the spanner-men and their influential bosses in the face of their faded expertise.

But I would wager his discontentment is an ongoing issue initially triggered in China when his car broke down — and again last week in the Russia debacle when he was poleaxed by engine failure, again, and failed to make it into the final qualifying shoot-out.

Spain, round five, looms, and Mercedes can ill-afford a third lapse without enraging the already maddened Hamilton, thanks to his grit and determination still second in the championship, but with a precipice to climb to draw level and then ahead of Rosberg, who is 43 points in the lead.

In a bid to ease the tension the beleaguered Wolff is quick to hail the praises of his £30-million-a-year (Dh159.6 million) driver with: “Lewis has every right to feel disheartened by his start to the season.

“But he is calm and confident and handling the adversity like the true champion he is.”

Oh yeah? For how much longer?

And with fast-improving Ferrari likely to offload Kimi Raikkonen, and sniffing around for a replacement, the dangers overshadowing Hamilton’s continuance with Mercedes, even with a three-year deal which, I would imagine has a get-out clause, the German legends are an ever present threat.

Hamilton admits: “I am very anxious about what is going on. So I have asked them to give me as much detail as possible.

“Initially, with 800km in preseason testing and no problems, the car was faultless and then suddenly we have the same setback twice.

“More work is needed — but from my standpoint I’ll do the best I can.”

He will need to do exactly that if he is to make up the impressive points deficit between him and Rosberg, currently a winner seven times in succession in record-breaking style.

Hamilton, sharpened to protect his reputation and enlarge its challenge to his rivals, strives to add to his self-confidence by saying: “Experience has taught me to stay calm and keep pushing forward when I get knocked back.

“Adversity brings us all closer together. I know I can overtake. And I now want to build my races back to being winners.”

I sense Hamilton is rarin’ to go and up for it — so what about the backroom boys and their responsibilities?

(The author is an expert on motorsport)