By Gerhard Kuntschik and Pablo Elizalde Tuesday, April 24th 2007, 09:24 GMT
Former world champion Mika Hakkinen claims he has not been surprised by Lewis Hamilton's stunning Formula One debut.
Hamilton has become the first driver in Formula One history to finish his first three races on the podium, and the British rookie has moved into the lead of the championship, tied on points with McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Hakkinen, a two-time champion with McLaren, says he expected Hamilton to be as quick as he is, but the Finn warned it is still early to know if the McLaren driver will be able to keep his cool all year long.
The Finn also admits he was delighted to see McLaren return to winning ways after a poor 2006 season.
"I was extremely happy for my former team. It had an excellent performance after some difficult years in the past," Hakkinen said. "I realized their efforts when I had the test last year. I am excited about the team's performance and that of the drivers.
"Alonso is doing a real great job. I am not surprised about Hamilton, I had expected him to do such a good job. It will be interesting to see if Lewis can keep cool in his head and keep his focus and concentration. His pure racing speed is no surprise to me."
Hakkinen, now racing in the DTM, reckons both Alonso and Hamilton have a good chance of taking the title this year, thanks to McLaren's improved form.
"They really have a good chance," Hakkinen said. "Their cars are very reliable, which is very important. The drivers are highly motivated, they push each other to top performances.
"Fernando is increasing his experience constantly, while Lewis is learning more and more. I think both have an excellent chance to win the title.
"I think Ferrari might be on the top, therefore they can only lose performance and go down a bit. But McLaren still have a lot of potential to increase their performance," the Finn added.
