Hamilton proud of his debut F1 season

The 22-year-old had an unprecedented season for a rookie, leading the points standing for most of the year and winning four Grands Prix.

The Briton admitted he was disappointed to lose the championship in the final round, after a gearbox failure saw him drop out of contention, but said it did not diminish from what has been a 'fantastic' season.

"It wasn't a great feeling when the gearbox went in the last race, but I still thought I could win," he told Britain's the Sun newspaper. "Overall it was a fantastic season.

"I had so much to learn in such a short period of time, it was a great experience for me. I got to the first race and I was as physically and mentally focused as anyone - if not a little bit more.

"I had to use split-second decisions to make perfect judgements when the time came and did a pretty good job of it. But I didn't have the experience the other drivers had, I just had to take it as it came.

"I'm ranked No. 2 in the world and that's pretty good; it exceeded my expectations."

Hamilton said he has no intentions to linger on his loss and vowed to come back stronger when the 2008 season begins in Australia in March.

"I'm not thinking about what-ifs," he told the newspaper. "Next year I will be even better. This sport is all about winning. It's 22 weeks until the first race of the new season and I can't wait."

When asked about his relationship with teammate Fernando Alonso and whether he believes he has treated the Spaniard with the respect a two-time world champion deserves, Hamilton responded: "You think I should have let him win?

"I always showed respect, but I'm not going to sit back. I want to be the best."