Thrilled Hamilton says longest race ever

Hamilton took a convincing victory in the wet to take a huge step towards becoming the first rookie to win the Formula One championship.

The McLaren driver celebrated his fourth win of the season while teammate and championship rival Fernando Alonso retired after crashing out of the action-packed race.

The result has left Hamilton with a 12-point advantage over Alonso with only two races to go, and the Briton could clinch the crown next weekend in China.

Hamilton survived the chaotic race, including two safety car periods and a spin after contact with BMW's Robert Kubica, to finish comfortably ahead of his rivals.

Despite that, the McLaren rookie admitted it had been the longest race of his career.

"It was the longest race of my life," said Hamilton. "It seemed to go on and on and on.

"We had the safety car and I was constantly on to my engineers to say tell the Red bull team to tell Mark (Webber) to make a little bit more of a gap, as with the pace car in front I couldn't go any faster.

"When we were behind the safety car, I was nervous with Kovalainen, but he did a good job. I was a second faster than anyone and they told me to slow down but I was going as slow as I felt comfortable doing.

"I am thrilled to take it and it's great for the team."

It was Hamilton's first win in the wet, and the Briton said his triumph made him think he can achieve great things.

"Obviously driving in the wet and leading and doing the last lap and thinking of races Senna and Prost were in, makes we feel I am on my way to achieving something similar to them," he said.

"I am thankful to the team, they really kept pushing hard with everything going on. It is beautiful."