Having previously shamed Lewis Hamilton, Martin Brundle has since swallowed his words and praised the Formula One driver for his changed attitude at this year's French Grand Prix.

In October 2016, Hamilton received fierce criticism from the media after appearing to not take the Japanese GP pre-race conference seriously.

His decision to joke on the social media platform Snapchat led to him being labelled as "childish and stupid" by Brundle, while the Telegraph said the racer was enduring a "meltdown".

However, fast forward to the current day and Brundle has praised Hamilton's changed persona.

The former F1 driver and current Sky Sports presenter revealed his surprise at a changed vibe from the former world champion, but suggested that being grateful for his position is a positive decision to have made.

"It was a happy Lewis who had bought his 'A game' and wasn't going to be beaten, using all of his nous and hard-won experience." Brundle said in his opinion piece for Sky Sports.

"I was intrigued to observe him photographing his car pre-race like he'd rarely seen it before.

"He explained that having walked the pit lane from the driver parade he'd been reminded how beautiful his car was and how lucky he was to drive it.

"That's refreshing after all these years."

Hamilton fans will now be hopeful that the driver's changed persona will lead to greater fortune in a tight battle with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to be atop the standings.

Having won the French GP, Hamilton will be keen to maintain momentum into the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix this weekend - with the Brit hopeful of carrying on his form to extend his current lead of 14 points over Vettel.

The German racer finished fifth in France, with Hamilton taking advantage of Vettel's misfortune by converting his pole position start into a P1 finish.