Hamilton can be leader of the Brit Pack
(Reuters)Updated: 2007-03-07 14:10
Lewis Hamilton will be the youngest and least experienced of four Britons on the Formula One starting grid this season but the most likely to win.
So says Damon Hill, Britain's last world champion with Williams in 1996 and now president of the British Racing Drivers' Club.
"Lewis is almost certainly going to win a grand prix this year," he told reporters at a Silverstone 'Back the Brits' briefing on Tuesday ahead of the Australian season-opener on March 18.
"There's a pattern that develops in grand prix racing and after a few years you recognise it and I think it has to be Lewis Hamilton at the moment who fits that template," he added when asked who was the most likely of the quartet to follow in his footsteps.
"But I know Jenson (Button) is not going to take that lying down."
Hamilton, 22, will be making his first grand prix appearance in Melbourne as team mate to double champion Fernando Alonso at McLaren.
Variously described as Formula One's first black or Anglo-Caribbean driver, his debut is probably the most eagerly-awaited of any in recent years.
Honda's Button, 27, took his first win last season in Hungary after 113 starts without success but his team have been off the pace in testing.
Red Bull's David Coulthard, now the oldest driver on the grid at the age of 35, won 13 races with Williams and McLaren but his chances of adding to that tally look increasingly remote.
Briton Anthony Davidson, 27, is embarking on his first full season with last year's tail-enders Super Aguri after failing to finish his three previous race starts with now-defunct Minardi and Honda in 2002 and 2005.
RIGHT PLACE
No other country has more drivers, although Germany also has four, and Britain has not had so many at a season's start since 2002 when Coulthard and Button were joined by Allan McNish and Eddie Irvine.
But it is Hamilton, impressive winner of the GP2 support series last year and a long-term McLaren protege who has been successful at every level so far, who is really getting the fans excited.
He has been on the pace from day one and is well-groomed by team boss Ron Dennis to handle the intense media pressure he faces in Australia.
"Jenson we know can win grands prix now and Honda are always knocking on the door," said Hill.
"But I think Lewis is in the right team at the right place at the right time. His only obstacle may be the two Ferraris and his team mate.
"I watched him in the GP2 race (at Silverstone) last year and you would certainly be daft to discount him as a grand prix winner."
McLaren, without a win last year for the first time in a decade, and Ferrari have been the big guns in the 'phoney war' before the first race and are expected to be the main contenders in the title battle.
Hamilton is unlikely to win any straight fight with his team mate but there
could well be occasions where the Spaniard is sidelined and the youngster can
take advantage.
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