MCLAREN Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton admitted he had no clue of his fan-following in India before he touched down at the international Airport yesterday.

"I had absolutely no idea of the kind of support I have here. There are guys actually wearing my T-shirt here," said the ace driver, who was in the city for a promotional event for McLaren Mercedes' sponsors Vodafone.

Coming back

If first impressions are anything to go by, Hamilton believes he will return to India very soon but in his own way.

"I do plan to come back here soon, but very discreetly. Maybe, I'll just come down here with my haversack and take a look around the country," he said.

He may not know much about our nation but he knew about the possibility of a F1 race in the country.

"It's somewhere in 2009, isn't it and why not? Given the huge following the sport has here, I think India would make for a great F1 venue," he said.

In a free-wheeling chat with the media and fans gathered at the Hakone racing circuit in Powai, Hamilton braved rain and bad light even as he raced and braced up to a host of queries.


Excerpts:

On his ambitions as a youngster...

I always wanted to race and be a world champion. I started at the age of six when my father bought me a go-kart. From then on, I got so hooked on that when I won the British Championship, (aged 10) I went up to McLaren team boss Ron Dennis and told him that I want to race for you one day. 

On his nearest rivals...

Ferrari is a great competitor but I think we have the fastest car and should be able to do it this time. But there are still four, five drivers in contention and with eight races to go it's all very open

On being compared to F1 legends Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher...

It's an honour for me to be even mentioned in the same sentence as the great Senna. As for Schumacher, I still remember saying to myself during a practice session, 'This is Michael Schumacher, it's unbelievable.' I think I have a long way to get even close to them.

On India's Karun Chandok...

GP2 is the place to be for any aspiring driver because the races are held during the Formula one race weekend so it's a good place to be to be seen by the world's topmost teams. I raced in GP2, did well there and the next step for me for Formula One. So, I think he (Karun) is on the right track

On how he prepares himself for the races...

It's very important to look fresh so I hit the gym as much as I can. Even today, before boarding my flight, I hit the gym just to ensure that I feel good about myself before I hit the race track

On his ambition for this season...

With such a fantastic car and knowing that about 1000 people are behind my vehicle I would not want to settle for anything less than the World Championship now.


Force India has the power: Lewis

Lewis Hamilton believes Force India has the potential to go places. He speaks from experience, having been a teammate of Force India driver Adrian Sutil. "I know Adrian very well. In fact I was with him only yesterday.

We have been teammates and he has pushed me really hard. I think Force India is a team which is at the beginning stage.

They do have a lot of potential, but I only hope they remain in F1 and don't simply sell off in a season or two," he said.