Hamilton 'overwhelmed' by rookie award

Hamilton was handed his trophy at the Autosport Awards on Sunday night, having beaten a host of Grand Prix, Champ Car and IRL drivers to the accolade. He follows in the footsteps of former winners that include Juan Pablo Montoya, Jenson Button and Mark Webber.

Speaking to autosport.com about the success, Hamilton said it provided a perfect end to his year - having won the GP2 championship and recently been confirmed as Fernando Alonso's teammate at McLaren.

"This award means a lot," said Hamilton. "This year was an amazing year for myself and the team.  To be in your first year in GP2, you don't expect to win it in your first year, so to come away with the championship we had is phenomenal.

"But it is overwhelming to have this award and absolutely unreal. To have the championship, the race drive for next year and this award is a great feeling."

Although Hamilton has known that he will be a McLaren driver for more than two months now, he still admits that being an F1 driver is proving to be a slightly 'unreal' experience.

"Since the announcement I have been very busy," he explained. "I've been training and then testing over in Spain. I still have six days coming up.

"It was overwhelming to go to that first test and realise that the car is mine for next year. But it means I can sit down, knuckle down and focus on the new part of my life.

"I said over dinner the other night that for many years I have been moving up to another category every one or two years. Now I am at the pinnacle of the sport and I am only 21 years old. But I have got a long way to go, and a lot of years hopefully in the sport."

When asked whether it felt slightly strange to walk into a paddock as a Grand Prix driver for the first time in his career, Hamilton said: "It didn't feel weird, it just felt great.

"It was just unreal. It is difficult to describe the feeling that I had. For 13 years I have been working for this and to finally have thing with McLaren and Mercedes is absolutely phenomenal.

"I am extremely excited about next year. It is an end to a chapter of my life and the beginning of a new one."