FORMULA ONE DRIVERS' CHAMPION:IT WAS business as usual for Lewis Hamilton as he prepared to fly back to Europe from Brazil. The new world champion was unsure whether he would head direct to the UK or to his luxury flat in Switzerland, but his mind was already on the next round of McLaren testing, some time next month.
The notion of his sitting on a sun-soaked beach for the four months prior to next year's Australian grand prix is an unlikely one for those who know him.
Despite his unyielding competitiveness and relentless speed behind the wheel, Hamilton is remarkable in his normality and uncomplicated demeanour.
"Next year we want to have more consistency," he said, after finishing fifth in Sunday's Brazilian grand prix to clinch the drivers' championship by one point.
His next few days will be crowded. Due at the McLaren headquarters in Woking for a function today, he will will carry out sponsorship appearances for Vodafone on Friday and go to Stuttgart at the weekend for the annual celebrations of the Mercedes-Benz workforce, suppliers of McLaren engines.
Hamilton puts great store by family values and his father, Anthony, is at every race. It is only 12 years since Hamilton Sr was working three jobs to fund his son's kart racing programme.
The two are close and Hamilton acknowledged he would never have made any progress in motor racing had it not been for his father's determination.
"He's done all the work to get me where I am," he said. "I would not have won the world championship without him."
Yesterday, Hamilton Sr was in a reflective mood as he mulled over how far his son had come. "When we started out, I was earning £14,000 and spending £1,600 on the mortgage.
"We fell into go-karting as it was something to bring the family together. We had no idea where it would lead. We weren't following anyone and there were no aspirations. It was just a great thing to do.
"Even for the first two, three years, we didn't think anything would come of it, even though Lewis was competitive from the start. At the time, we were just enjoying it because we didn't have any money.
"We struggled as a family. I just thought the best we could do was to make Lewis as decent a young man as we could, so that when he was at school he would work harder. . . The idea was never that he was going to be a racing driver. We have no sporting people in our family at all. But one thing led to another, and from then on I never had any doubts he would make it."
Hamilton was already looking towards next season and the ways in which he might improve his performance. He added: "Every year you have episodes that help you build on your experience and I want to do everything better next year. I don't anticipate changing too much. When I'm back in Europe I will have a little vacation but basically it's all now preparing for next year. I love racing, love getting in the car and all the satisfaction. Just to get one championship has been incredibly hard, so hopefully the second will be easier."
Hamilton, the sport's youngest champion at 23, was keen not to draw comparisons with other drivers and dismissed talk of matching Michael Schumacher's seven world titles. "I don't plan to try to reach any of his records," he said. "They are not something that appeals to me. I just love racing, getting in the car and winning championships. That's the most fulfilling achiev-ement - records are not so important."
Ron Dennis, the McLaren principal, believes Hamilton's maiden world title will help propel him on to further triumphs. "The chance of the momentum fading is very slim," said Dennis.
"But he has to have the car and it is our intention to give it to him, so I can see no reason why the momentum of his career is going to falter. He has become even more mature in and out of the car and the experience gained from this [ title win] is another stepping stone in his career."
Dennis said that the pressure of the final race had taken its toll on the Briton at Interlagos. Brazilian comedians made a fool of Hamilton at a sponsor's function and he was roundly jeered and booed by the pro-Felipe Massa crowd.
"It has been great to see him with such a big smile on his face," added Dennis. "The most difficult thing in the world is to drive having to avoid every single mistake. In the end, the outcome was storybook. A fantastic outcome to a difficult season."