McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen ready for new Formula One
season which starts this weekend in Melbourne

WILLIAMSTOWN BEACH, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (MARCH 12, 2008) - Even paddling a kayak through the Melbourne surf, Lewis Hamilton had
to be the winner on Wednesday (March 12).
    The 23-year-old McLaren driver limbered up for Sunday's season-opening
Australian Grand Prix by beating local sporting celebrities and new Finnish
team mate Heikki Kovalainen in a light-hearted race.
    The beach event, organised by the team's sponsor, may have just been
fun in the sun, but the Briton left no doubt that his competitive spirit was
raging as fiercely as ever a year on from his astonishing debut.
    Last year he came third, after leading for four laps and overtaking
double world champion Fernando Alonso at the first corner, in his first grand
prix. This year, he said the aim was to win.
    "I am definitely in a better position this year, as I've said,
just because of the experiences I've had. The car is better and really a lot
of the decisive moments and all the life-changing experiences I had last year
I think really helped prepare me for what is coming up this year. So I feel
definitely more confident, more relaxed, but even more determined."
    Alonso's move back to Renault gave Kovalainen a dream chance to replace
him at McLaren and the Finn vowed on Wednesday that he would not waste it.
    "Of course the whole team wants to have a competitive season. Of
course I must take every opportunity that may arrive with my both hands. I
must be ready for that. I still need to build my fitness and need to build my
knowledge of the car, of the team. But at the moment the priority is just to
start the season better than last year," said the the 26-year-old
Kovalainen.
    Double world champion Alonso, who won both his titles with Renault,
has, indirectly, been a key figure in Kovalainen's career.
    It was Alonso's decision to quit Renault for McLaren at the end of 2006
that opened the door for Kovalainen to replace him there and the Spaniard's
return after just one bad-tempered season away then created the vacancy at
McLaren.
    The Finn felt he had got the best of the bargain, trading a team that
failed to win a race last season for one that would have taken the
constructors' championship had they not been fined $100 million and stripped
of all their points.
    "Eventually I arrived here and now I'm here with the McLaren
Mercedes and I'm certainly not complaining," said Kovalainen.
    Just as team mate Hamilton will never forget his extraordinary debut in
Australia last year, when he took third place, Kovalainen's debut will remain
etched on his brain for very different reasons.
    He struggled in qualifying with a poorly-handling Renault, suffered
numerous setbacks in an error-strewn race and finished 10th. 
    Team boss Flavio Briatore later panned the rookie's performance as
'rubbish', suggesting that the driver had been mysteriously replaced by an
unknown twin.
    A more fragile ego would have been torn to shreds by the criticism but
Kovalainen, who fought back to take a fine second place in Japan towards the
end of the season, said he had emerged stronger for it.
    Kovalainen said he was looking forward to Sunday's race at Albert Park
as a chance to put the record straight, even if he was more intent on
producing a solid performance than gunning for immediate glory.
    Hamilton and Kovalainen, who have been friends for many years, are both
aiming to have a better relationship than Hamilton and Alonso did last
season.
    "The relationship with Lewis is great, I think we get along really
well. We've known each other and I've known his family since many, many years
ago already - from go-karts and I think we can push the team forward, that's
the most important thing. We've got to work together to improve the team,
improve the package, and then on the track we try to fight each other. But I
think we can still stay friends and we can push the team forwards
together," said Kovalainen.
     Hamilton was full of praise for his new team mate.
     "He's been very, very easy, gets on with all the team, very easy
to approach and is working very hard, as I am, to push the team. I feel we
push the team, sort of, on a level playing field so it's more of a balanced
force to push them forward."
    Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn who beat Hamilton to the title by a
single point to take the title in the final race of last year, won in
Melbourne in 2007 and will again be the favourite.