Hamilton Refuses to Tempt Fate Over His Title Chances

Lewis Hamilton may be riding on the crest of a wave with a four-point lead over his closest world championship challenger, Ferrari's Felipe Massa, but despite his consecutive wins at Silverstone and Hockenheim the 23-year-old McLaren driver is not about to tempt fate by claiming that he goes into Sunday's Hungarian grand prix as title favorite. Asked if he regarded himself as odds-on to win the drivers' championship he replied: "No, I don't.

"I've thought I've had that opportunity since day one," he explained. "I've had a couple of bad races but there has always been a long way to go so I've never believed I can't win. I feel confident in what I am doing and what I have to do, but just being at the top of the table doesn't mean you'll win. I was favourite for much of last year and didn't win."

What Hamilton does honestly believe is that this year's race at the tortuous Hungaroring circuit, about 10 miles outside Budapest, will have considerably less aggravation for the McLaren-Mercedes team than it was last year. The 2007 race saw the relationship between Hamilton and his then team-mate Fernando Alonso spiral out of control amid much rancour and personal bitterness after the Spanish driver deliberately blocked the Englishman in the pit lane in an effort to ruin his qualifying efforts.

Alonso's gambit temporarily earned him pole position but he was given a five-place grid penalty for his unsporting behavior, promoting Hamilton to pole, from where the rookie led the race from start to finish.

"It was tough last year, for sure," said Hamilton. "Very intense. When I walked in this year I thought, 'Jeez, remember how busy last year was with all the photographers crowding around'. This year it seems more relaxed and the paddock seems more spacious. It is better for us because we can focus on winning."

He said he was also pleased that his new team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, appointed after Alonso returned to Renault where he had won the 2005 and 2006 world championships, had been re-signed for 2009. It would contribute to a welcome sense of continuity which could only be positive for the McLaren team, he insisted.

"It is great," he said. "The atmosphere at the team is fantastic and a lot of that is due to Heikki being there and us being able to work together. So I welcome it and I really hope he stays for even longer."

Their joint efforts in improving the track performance of the McLaren MP4-23 car have paid off this season and Hamilton said: "Obviously at the first grand prix I loved the car. But then I didn't hit the sweet spot with McLaren at a couple of races. For sure, the last few races the car has been the best it has ever been. And it should be that way - we've been working very hard to develop it and we've seen the evolution of the car.

"I have spent a lot more time with my engineer, analyzing things and trying to work out where we have gone wrong on weekends. With the team, they always have the determination and the power to keep on pushing with some new parts and components for the car.

"What we've done when we came to tests, at Hockenheim, Silverstone and Jerez, we've really extracted the most from the tests. That is all due to reliability, making good parts. And with all that we've made some good steps forward."