Lewis Hamilton looking ahead to 'new chapter'

Determined: Lewis Hamilton
13 April 2012

Lewis Hamilton believes he will head into 2012 stronger as a driver and a man following his experiences this year.

Hamilton goes into Sunday's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix in a positive state of mind, clearly the most upbeat he has been for some considerable time.

The victory in Abu Dhabi 12 days ago, combined with a meeting since then with former girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger in Los Angeles, have contributed to the feel-good factor.

After all the negativity that surrounded Hamilton after a spate of on-track incidents and given his break-up with Scherzinger, the 26 -year-old is ending the season on a high and looking forward with renewed vigour to next year.

"I feel that coming into this weekend this is the beginning of the future, a new chapter for me," said Hamilton.

"This is almost like the first race of the season, or at least this is the beginning of what's to come.

"I was talking to a friend just recently, who is very wise, and I said it's been a very difficult year.

"He said 'It's not been a difficult year, it's been a year of growth', which I thought was one of the most positive things I have learned this year.

"It really has been a year where I've just grown, I've learned a lot from it and I can take it to next year.

"So I feel positive about it and in the future I'll look back on this season and smile and say 'I needed that'.

"I feel I'm now absolutely prepared for the championship challenge next season, and for me the preparation for it starts from here. Next year is going to be an interesting one I think."

Instead of focusing on the negative aspects that had been weighing heavy on him, such as all the penalties, accidents and collisions with Felipe Massa, Hamilton is again seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

"I like to think of the good things that I've done, so I've had three grand prix wins this year," said Hamilton.

"It's not as many as I would have hoped for, but I'm still grateful for them, the ones in China, Germany and Abu Dhabi, positive races where I was able to excel to where I should be.

"To be honest, I've not really thought about the last victory since the Wednesday after the race. I've had a few good really positive days since then which have meant more to me than the race win, so I've got a lot of positive energy at the moment."

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