Lewis wants Kimi's F1 title in 2008

Last Modified: 17 Nov 2007
Source: ITN

Lewis Hamilton is looking to wrest the World Drivers' Championship title away from Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen next season after McLaren's appeal into the 'cool fuel' row was deemed inadmissible.

Raikkonen pipped Hamilton to the title by just one point after winning the season-ending race at Interlagos in which the 22-year-old from Stevange could only finish seventh.

And Hamilton is determined to look to the future, telling reporters: "As I have said all along, Kimi deserved to win the championship.

"Neither I nor anyone at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, had any desire to take it off him in court. That was not the purpose of the team's appeal.

"I am now looking forward to the 2008 season and racing Kimi, and all my other rivals, on track.

"Hopefully I'll be able to go one better than the second place I achieved in this year's championship."

McLaren had been hoping that the FIA hearing would see Williams and Sauber punished for apparently using 'cool fuel' in Brazil.

In such a case, Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfield would have been disqualified, meaning that Hamilton could have been promoted to fifth place - which would be enough to see him become Formula One's first rookie champion.

But the judges ultimately decided that McLaren did not have grounds to appeal in the first place, without even looking into the 'cool fuel' argument that had caused the initial controversy.

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