Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Hamilton: I'm more committed than ever

Tuesday 17th February 2009

Reigning Champ Lewis Hamilton says he's more committed than ever to winning this year's F1 World title.

Hamilton won last year's Drivers' crown at the season-ending Brazilian GP where a fifth-placed finish ensured that the Brit took the title by one point ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

But even though he already has a World title to his name, Hamilton has warned his rivals that he's more determined then ever to claim another this season.

"Winning the World Championship in Brazil seems such a long time ago now - things move so fast in Formula One, even when you're not at the racetrack!" he told the official F1 website.

"To be honest, I don't really think of myself as World Champion yet - I think that will finally sink in when I get to Melbourne for the first race - so I don't put any extra pressure on myself to live up to that.

"Obviously, becoming the Champion does take some weight off your shoulders but I don't really look too closely at it: I'm just spending every moment focusing on 2009, improving my fitness, working with the team and testing the car.

"I'm more committed than ever."

The McLaren driver is confident that his team has handed him a car capable of winning the title in the MP4-24.

But he does concede that this year's regulations throw up a lot of unknowns for the teams, which make it difficult to predict who will come out on top.

"I think every team wants to know the strength of its rivals - but that's the same every winter," he said.

"Of course, there are lots of unknowns facing us this year - new aero rules, slick tyres, KERS - and that makes it even harder to predict the order, once the season starts.

"We are working on a normal development programme with the MP4-24 and, like every team, will be working hard to ensure that the car runs smoothly on the slick tyres, and that KERS is reliable and fully operational, ahead of the new season."

Source : Planet F1

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