Prost tips Hamilton for 2008 title

"I think Lewis will be the top guy," Prost told the BBC in an interview.

"If he has a good car, I don't think it should be a problem. He has more experience now," the Frenchman added.

Hamilton finished in second place in last year's championship, just one point behind Kimi Raikkonen, after an extraordinary debut season which included four victories and a run of nine consecutive podiums.

The Briton lost the title in the last race of the year after having looked like the favourite in the final few races.

Prost believes Hamilton has plenty of time to make up for losing out of last year's crown.

"I lost the championship in '81, '82, '83, '84 by a few points and at one time, I said to myself it must be that I cannot win the championship - and then I won it four times later on," Prost added.

"If you have everything together, you have plenty of time."

Prost also reckons Raikkonen's title charge will depend on his motivation following his first championship win.

"The Ferrari will always be there, so we don't know about Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa - it depends on whether Kimi has the same motivation or not," he said. "Fernando Alonso will be just a little bit behind, but quite close.

"We are going to see how he (Lewis Hamilton) is going to handle this extra pressure."