Williams: Hamilton will be stronger in '08

McLaren driver Hamilton enjoyed a stunning debut season in 2007, going on to finish second in the championship, just one point behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Williams reckons Hamilton will only get stronger this season.

"I would say better," Williams said when asked how he expects Hamilton to do this season.

"Saying that, Ferrari look quicker for most of the time on long runs - unless McLaren are sandbagging - so he is going to have his work cut out. But he will be even better.

"But if the Ferrari is the better car this year, we should all, and that includes the fans, be saying to ourselves 'thank God he is not in a Ferrari, otherwise there would be no point going racing'."

He added: "I don't him that well at all, but what I see from a distance is that he is very well advised, I presume by his family, and for such a young person he has a wise head on his shoulders.

"He makes few mistakes in a race, and the racing now technically requires a lot of brain power, understanding your car's systems etc. He is very special."

Hamilton lost out on last year's title in the final race, where Raikkonen completed a strong end to the season to clinch the crown.

Despite his first title, Williams reckons Raikkonen is still not as strong as he could be.

"I don't know Kimi well. He is a brilliantly gifted driver, as good as anybody, but Kimi's weakness, which doesn't seem apparent at Ferrari, is that he doesn't seem that that interested," Williams told reporters in London.

"So if a man of equal skill, let's say, turns up in an identical car, with one working harder than the other, it is more likely that that man would have the upper hand. But it isn't going to happen is it? It's all hypothetical."