MOTOR SPORT:LEWIS HAMILTON goes into Sunday's Formula One world championship decider here a more rounded competitor than 12 months ago when he missed out on the title by a single point in his debut season, according to Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren's chief executive.
Whitmarsh was one of the key people in shaping the emergent career of Hamilton as the Hertfordshire lad climbed the ladder from karting to his domination in 2006 of the GP2 championship.
"I think it is fair to say that Lewis came into Formula One at a pretty high standard in the first place," he said. "People talk in terms of 'What has he done to declutter his mind?' after losing the championship right at the end of last year, but while there is always scope for improvement, no matter how experienced you are, I think you would have to say that Lewis has been pretty much on target right from the start of his career with McLaren."
Nevertheless, Whitmarsh, who is poised to take over as McLaren team principal when Ron Dennis chooses to stand aside, believes most of Hamilton's improvement as a driver this year comes from his capacity to concentrate on and interpret every facet and behavioural quirk in his car's performance.
"I think Lewis has a great capacity to focus on what is most important in terms of the detailed set-up and operation of a Formula One car," he said. "He has gained hugely from his experience in 2007 and is very forthright and specific about what he wants from his car."
Whitmarsh cites Hamilton's victory in the season's penultimate race, in Shanghai, which followed the disappointment of an incident-filled and controversial 12th place in Japan, as proof of his driver's extra maturity.
"Looking back to the Chinese grand prix, I think Lewis produced a truly great drive, successfully pushing the disappointment of the previous weekend's race out of his mind. It was a performance which demonstrated that he had successfully come back from not only the Fuji race but also the after-effects of the penalty which deprived him of victory in Belgium, which was obviously one of the biggest disappointments of the year, not just for Lewis but for the entire team."
Whitmarsh also feels that Hamilton is more than capable of striking the right balance of competitive intensity and tactical restraint which will be needed at the Interlagos circuit, where he needs only to finish in the top five to take the championship, even if Felipe Massa wins the race for Ferrari in front of his home crowd.
Hamilton, meanwhile, says he is going into the race more confident and assured than he was before the same race last year, and has no intention of letting the world championship slip away as he did in the closing round of the 2007 title chase.
"I think it's quite a bit different to last year," he said yesterday, "simply because last year we came here and I'd had one bad race, so it was all a bit hectic and the pressure of being at the last race and so on was upon me and perhaps it got to me.
"But this year I feel it's just another race. We've come from a great race in China and we will be just as strong if not a little bit stronger. It looks positive and my approach is the same. Last year if my car hadn't stopped we would have won. This year I don't think I need to change anything."
