Hamilton wary of Kovalainen's threat

Lewis Hamilton always knew that to win the world championship this year he would have to finish above at least one Finn.

Heading into Sunday's third race of the season in Bahrain, that number has risen to two.

Team-mate Heikki Kovalainen outqualified and outscored Hamilton in Malaysia. Were it not for the third appearance of the safety car in the opening race in Australia, Kovalainen would have finished second on debut and would now be joint leader in the title race alongside Hamilton.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team principal Ron Dennis spoke about the need to psychologically rebuild Kovalainen over the winter after his difficult first year in the sport. And Kovalainen put everybody off the scent by saying he wasn't ready to beat Hamilton just yet.

Poppycock. And Hamilton is buying none of it. He knows that the biggest danger to his title aspirations after Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen is sharing the same machinery.

"What Heikki did in Australia and Malaysia did not particularly surprise me. I knew he was good. I have seen him in the past. People judged him on last year. Put him in a top car and it is completely different. I guess that's just the way it works," Hamilton said.

Hamilton is hoping that fate smiles on him in Bahrain following the misfortune of Malaysia, where a wheel-nut locking mechanism failed during his pitstop adding to his troubles after being hit with a five-place grid penalty during qualifying.

Bahrain breakthrough

Four years ago Hamilton pitched up in Bahrain temporarily out of contract with McLaren and Mercedes-Benz and at a decisive moment in his career. He had just crashed out of an F3 race in Macau and needed to win big to get his career back on track.

The weekend started disastrously. A mistake in qualifying in the first race pushed Hamilton down to 22nd on the grid. Hamilton was distraught. His father Anthony thought it might even be the end of his son's dreams of becoming an F1 driver.

The pair had decided to contest the races in Macau and Bahrain off their own back to attract potential new sponsors. McLaren withdrew from their relationship over a disagreement about what direction to take in 2005.

McLaren wanted Hamilton to spend another year in Euro F3 Series with the same Manor Motorsport team. Hamilton wanted a change of scene, so went his own way. After the disappointment of Macau everything rested on Bahrain.

"My dad told me it was going to be the end of my career. At that point I didn't have McLaren and Mercedes-Benz. I didn't have a sponsor.

"We didn't know what was going to happen. We needed some good performances," Hamilton said.

"People rate you on your last performance. I hadn't done so well at Macau. I needed to pull something out.

"After qualifying 22nd dad said I'd just have to go out and salvage what I could. He flew home and I went out the next day and finished 11th in the first race and won the second. He could not believe it. Neither could I."

McLaren, watching from a discreet distance, were also impressed. Then managing director Martin Whitmarsh called to congratulate and an agreement was reached to proceed together to the next stage.

"That was typical of McLaren, they were always there in the background keeping an eye on me. They really cared," Hamilton said.

Not surprisingly Bahrain has a special place in Hamilton's heart.

"Bahrain is a little bit different. It has a different type of soul I guess, a different vibe. People are very friendly. It is a real pleasure going there. I have some great memories," Hamilton said.

"Last year I finished ahead of Fernando (Alonso), a two-time world champion, for the first time. I was obviously hoping to do that at some stage but to outqualify and outperform him over a race weekend was a great achievement for me."

Hamilton's second place at Bahrain in 2007 to Felipe Massa sent him to the top of the championship standings alongside Alonso.

This year he starts the race as outright leader, three points clear of Raikkonen and four ahead of his team-mate.

Hamilton knows the title will not be won in the desert. What happened in Malaysia was a timely reminder that not every weekend goes how you would like it to.

Hamilton aims to win in Sakhir. But more important than that he aims to have more points than the next man come the season's end.

"It makes a huge difference going to Bahrain having the experience of leading the championship. Last year people were asking how was I going to handle it. This year I'm more accustomed so the leadership is less of an issue. I don't focus on that," Hamilton concluded.

This interview was supplied by Vodafone, the title sponsor and official mobile partner of the Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes F1 team.