Hamilton believes Force India will score points in 2009. Mobile ESPN's Chetan Narula reports.

Lewis Hamilton was in Delhi on Saturday at a promotional event organized by F1 team McLaren-Mercedes' title sponsor Vodafone. And he had some good news for the average Indian Formula One fan.

"I think Force India has a fantastic chance of scoring some points this season. They have been running pretty close in a couple of races but have been unlucky. They have made great progress and I believe they will be bringing in a large aerodynamic upgrade at the next race. Adrian Sutil is a very good friend of mine and a very good driver as well. I have no doubt they will be amongst the points soon," said Lewis.

The 2008 F1 World Champion has been off the pace so far this year but won the recently concluded Hungarian Grand Prix. "It was a tough beginning to the year when we went to Australia in March and realized that we didn't have a race winning package. It has been so through until now, so in that sense I wouldn't say that I have been the defending champion."

"But we were able to put one together and win in Hungary so that is good. We look at other races now and get some more wins", remarked a hopeful first race winner this year.

Motivation matters

Isn't motivation a part of the whole thing especially when the car is bad and not upto the pace of the rest of the teams? "Yes, motivation is as big a factor as any. And it's not just us drivers who have to stay motivated it's the teams at the factory as well. I just keep telling them that all you need to is give me a fast enough car and I will give you the wins. I am just thankful to them for giving me the car in Hungary to win the race there."

When one pointed out that McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh had stated that beyond Hungary, they will be focusing on the 2010 challenger, Lewis was at his diplomatic best. "See, we will have to balance the rest of the 2009 season and concentrate on next year at the same time. We have made quite an advancement from where we were in March. It was said we were six months behind all other teams and now we won in Hungary, so we did well in the last six months, I believe. Having said that, the rules don't change much from this year to the next, and the aerodynamic packages will be much the same design but will need to be improved. So, the progression will be easier than say last year and therefore we may also keep doing well this year."

Damon Hill was the last British F1 champion in 1996 before Lewis won in 2008. And now for the second consecutive year, a British driver is leading the championship with half the season gone. Can one Brit upstage the other? "I think Jenson (Button) is too far ahead at this stage to catch up with. Even if I win all the seven races, I will need him to lose three points a race from here to regain the title. No one has won the title from the position that I am in at the moment so the best we hope is to win as many races as possible from here on and get third or fourth position at best."

Has the team missed Ron Dennis then this year, for he has been greatly influential especially in shaping Lewis' career, one asked? "Well he still is a big influence on me. Even though he is not actively involved with the racing team, I have kept in touch with him. Obviously he has been a huge influence on me ever since I joined McLaren but what many people don't know that (current team boss) Martin (Whitmarsh) has also been hands on with me all this while. He has been always there since 2002 when I actively came on the McLaren radar, preparing me as a top race driver. With Ron, he has always been in the limelight and Martin has always been in the shadows, that's the only difference."

Hopeful of a better future

Talking about the crisis that engulfed the sport in the past few months, Lewis was hopeful that things will be sorted out soon. "I am just a racer. My job is to go out there and drive. Obviously Formula One has changed over the past few years. But when it comes to FOTA and FIA, they are all great people. They are capable of taking good care of things and I think they will take the sport in the right direction." But didn't BMW strike a blow with their shock departure just when things seemed settled. "Yes it was quite a shock to me but that is the nature of this sport. It's a great family environment off the track so we will surely miss that team."

And talking of shocks, how disturbing was Felipe Massa's accident? "We all feel sorry for what happened to Felipe and it was a freak accident and could have happened to any one. He was just unlucky and we wish him a speedy recovery and wish to see him back driving soon." But doesn't the thought of such a crash make the drivers feel on edge at times? "See, that is part of the job. We have all driven thousands of races and so we prepare ourselves in different ways, concentrate on the road ahead and not think about such things. I don't let such thoughts come to my mind."

Return of the legend

Last but not the least, what about the return of Michael Schumacher? "We are all very excited. He will liven up things for sure. Personally, it will be a great honor for me driving in the same race as a legend. Win or lose, it doesn't really matter, for that is a memory I will cherish for many years. After Valencia, I will always be able to say ‘I have raced with Michael Schumacher'!"