Lewis Hamilton insists he is approaching the 2009 season with the same ambition and determination he had at the start of his Formula 1 career.

Hamilton became the youngest world champion in the history of the sport in 2008, achieving a lifetime’s goal in just his second season in motorsport's elite series.

But speaking at the launch of McLaren’s 2009 challenger, the MP4-24, Hamilton made clear he was not resting on his laurels and was still entirely focused on winning another title.

"I feel more relaxed going into this season, simply because I’ve come off a great season," said Hamilton.

"It’s like when you go from race to race, when you win one it builds extra confidence for the next one.
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"I feel like I’ve reset my goals and reset my targets back to what they were when I started in Formula 1.

"I don’t sit there and say I’m world champion, I say I want to be world champion.

"I think once you’ve got the first win out of the way, in every championship you compete in, it does take a bit of pressure off. But every year is just as hard if not harder than the one before."

Hamilton said he learned from the mistakes he made last season, citing his pit lane shunt into the back of Kimi Raikkonen in Canada as an example.

"I analysed the mistakes that I made last year – after what happened in Montreal, every time I come down the pit lane I will always be looking out for the light," he said

"You just have to learn from these experiences. I’m sure there will be some experiences this year which will take me by surprise.

"You’re always learning; I’m sure the oldest man in the world is still learning today.

"We’ve just got to make sure that we try to prepare ourselves in advance and try to avoid any mistakes."

Hamilton refused to make any predictions about what affect the 2009 regulation changes would have on racing but did say he is hoping to resume his battle with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa at the front of the field.

"Felipe and I had a great battle last year and I’m looking forward to competing with him again this year," said Hamilton.

"I’m sure he’s even more motivated, as am I.

"It’s going to be a close battle, but I don’t know whether it will be me and him, or him and Kimi…

"We don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see."

source[www.itv-f1.com]

 

I actually like his statements here

 

I'm really looking forward to the new season! Massa will be giving 110% every step of the way so Hamilton had better make sure he brings his A game. As if Massa wasn't enough, I'm sure Kimi and Alonso will be fighting viciously for the title as well. Actually, I'm most curious to see how Sebastien Vettel will do this season. He had some amazing performances last year and I'd love to see him move up in the pack a little bit. He gave Lewis quite the run for his money in Brazil!

 

All the ambition he ever needed was meeting us . . .



This was just after he won Monaco and rammed Kimi in Canada. D'oh!

And yes - he is shorter than my 12-year old son.