Hamilton vows to avoid complacency

Speaking at the launch of McLaren's 2009 car, Hamilton admitted he was full of confidence going into the new season, but insisted there was no danger of complacency now that he had a title under his belt.

"I feel more relaxed going into the season simply because I'm come off a great season," he said. "It is like when you go from race to race - when you win one race the next one you have gives you some extra confidence.

"I feel I have reset my goals, and reset my targets back to when I started in Formula One. I want to be world champion. I don't sit here saying I am world champion; I sit here saying I want to be world champion."

Hamilton said that while he wouldn't forget his 2008 achievements, he didn't plan to rest on his laurels.

"Obviously there are very proud moments," he said. "Sometimes I may sit on the my laptop and go through some of the pictures I have from last year - and you just remember coming across the line, seeing the chequered flag, the finish line, one of the wins, or it might be a bad race.

"You look at those and you do reminisce and remember the great moments.

"But then you just try to move on. I try not to live in the past. It is a fantastic season, I am world champion and it is a great feeling. I have got to embrace that and carry it with me."

He added that he had learnt from his errors last year, but felt that occasional mistakes were part of gaining experience.

"I analysed the mistakes I made last year and, for example Montreal last year, with the pit lane light - every time I go down the pit lane now I am always looking out for the light," said Hamilton.

"You just have to learn from the previous experiences. I am sure there will be some experiences this year that will take you by surprised, and you are always learning.

"I am sure the oldest man in the world is still learning today. You have just got to make sure we try to prepare ourselves in advance and try and avoid any mistakes."