Ahead of the new Formula One season, World Champion Lewis Hamilton has said he is "more committed than ever".
McLaren star doesn't think of himself as the World Champion yet
Ahead of the new Formula One season, World Champion Lewis Hamilton has said he is "more committed than ever".
The McLaren Mercedes star won last year's drivers' title at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton taking the fifth place he needed to beat Felipe Massa at the very last corner.
The 24-year-old revealed that he does not expect the magnitude of his achievement to fully hit home until the season-opening Australian Grand Prix at the end of March.
And Hamilton also warned his rivals that he will not be resting on his laurels during 2009.
"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."
Unknowns
Hamilton also expressed confidence that McLaren have handed him a car, the MP4-24, that can help him retain the title.
But he nevertheless conceded that this year's regulation changes throw up a lot of unknowns, making 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 added.
"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."
