Hamilton feels defeat made him stronger

The McLaren driver finished the 2007 campaign just one point behind title winner Kimi Raikkonen, having been 12 points ahead of the opposition with just two races to go.

And although disappointed to have missed out on what would have been a rookie championship, Hamilton has conceded that perhaps the loss has made him better prepared for the challenges that face him in the future.

Speaking on stage at the Autosport Awards on Sunday, where he became the first man to win three trophies in one night, Hamilton said he had taken on board plenty of lessons from the way his season ended.

"(I've learned) to always keep your head up," he said. "I went into those last races and what was important was that I still had support from the team.

"And with all the problems we had to deal with, the atmosphere within the team to support me remained the same. It really showed that if you work, keep your head down and stay focused you can achieve it.

"You can't win all the time, but you have to lose to learn how to win. We didn't get the championship, but perhaps it was a good thing. So we will be working twice as hard next year."

Hamilton's success in his rookie season obviously proved hugely popular with Autosport's readers who voted for him to win the British Competition Driver of the Year, International Racing Driver of the Year and autosport.com's Rookie of the Year Awards.

Reflecting on his season, Hamilton reckoned he caught some of his rivals by surprise with the way he burst onto the scene in Australia.

"For sure probably the other guys didn't anticipate me being so quick - which is a good thing to catch them by surprise," he said.

"That was how I probably did so well at the first corner, but I think they caught on after that. I was given a lot of respect, but they quickly realised I wasn't here to mess around."