Prost delays judgment on Hamilton

Multiple world champion Alain Prost believes the jury is still out on Lewis Hamilton’s ability to mount a title challenge in his debut Formula One season.

McLaren star Hamilton has finished on the podium at each of his first three races for the British marque since making the step-up from GP2 over the winter.

He has proved more than a match for team-mate and double world champion Fernando Alonso, and jointly heads the drivers’ championship alongside the Spaniard and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

His performances have led to a chorus of praise from a host of seasoned observers – including three-time champion Niki Lauda – who insist the 22-year-old can challenge for the title in his rookie season.

However, Prost, who won three of his four world championships with McLaren, is preferring to delay judgment until after the next two rounds of the season, starting this weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Prost told Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I think we will know more about that (Hamilton’s title chances) after Barcelona and Monte Carlo, but it is not impossible.”

The 52-year-old Frenchman, who won 51 Grands Prix in a 13-year career, believes that Hamilton is revelling in a pressure-free environment at McLaren, with the Briton having exceeded all expectations with his performances in Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain.

He added: “I see him in a psychologically favourable situation.

“He has driven well and without errors, but so many young drivers come in with a bang and then disappear.

“Lewis, however, has done it at three different circuits so far.”