I am kicking off the resumption of my Formula One column by featuring Roger Federer.

Yes, yes I know, he’s a tennis player, not a grand prix driver. So what’s the excuse in my singling him out in a brrrmmm-brrrmmm atmosphere?

It is because, in my opinion, he is the finest of fine example of humility, grace and gratitude in defeat. He is regarded unquestionably fairly in world tennis circles as The Gentleman.

That was movingly exemplified yet again in the aftermath of his Wimbledon final defeat by world number one Novak Djokovic in a hard-fought near-four-hour 3-2 finish.

The Swiss ace’s humble stance and modest delivery and praise of his opponent to a world of admirers, both live at the venue and on radio and TV, was an admirable demonstration of a true sporting figure without a trace of falseness.

And that is how he always reacts, regular wins or rare defeats, with no rancour and only impressive reserve against abject disappointment and no self-hailing boastfulness in crushing triumph over an opponent.

It is second nature to him, a magnificent and successful sportsman of style and dignity.

The object lesson is that there is as much honour and admiration to be gained in defeat as there is in victory. Whatever your sport.

And I do wish Formula One drivers would follow Federer’s admirable example, instead of taking verbal pot shots and hurtful sulky remarks at one another, teammates even, as a consequence of their efforts on the race track.

Levels of camaraderie and mutual respect like that, which existed when I first ventured onto the grand prix scene when it was at its most dangerous and challenging, are now long-forgotten emotions.

The pointless, and very public, spats between Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg following on from the disregard shown to each other by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, along with the issues between Hamilton and Fernando Alonso when they were McLaren partners, have all been forerunners of the petty bad feelings continuing now in the sport.

And it will be fascinating to interpret the sidelong sneers or barely disguised displeasure if Hamilton overtakes Rosberg, or is fended off, in the title chase in Germany on Sunday.

There is, however, some light at the end of the tunnel if I am reading the signs correctly. A distinct difference lies in the praiseworthy personality of the cheerful Daniel Ricciardo.

The ever-smiling Australian is a solitary gleam of brightness, good manners and selflessness in the gloom that too often pervades F1’s 1-2-3 finishes.

Perhaps, otherwise, Federer could be persuaded to take up grand prix racing and bring a gentlemanly atmosphere to the trophy-brandishing ceremony.

— The writer is a motorsport expert based in the UK