The rains, which had played truant for a couple of weeks, came down in sheets on Thursday. But it did not dampen the enthusiasm of Formula One wonderkid Lewis Hamilton, who won over his goggle-eyed fans in Mumbai by proclaiming he loved the rain.On his maiden visit to India, Hamilton — the current leader in the 2008 world championship — lost no time in interacting with enthusiasts who had gathered to watch him do a few laps in a go-kart. “These guys don’t look too keen on racing,” he joked as three local drivers prepared to race in the promotional event. After watching the race, Hamilton stepped up a gear on the quote-metre and quipped: “Zane (the winner) lapped the others like we do to the Ferraris. I wonder if he’ll be able to replace me.”Big comparisonsWith Hamilton’s recent back-to-back wins, former champion Niki Lauda has compared him with Brazilian Ayrton Senna and predicted the young Briton will soon be unbeatable. The joy on Hamilton’s face was spontaneous when he mentioned how thrilled he is when he sees his photo on the same page as Senna’s in magazines.Hungrier than everThough he was pipped by Kimi Raikkonen to the drivers’ championship in his debut season last year, Hamilton focuses on the positives. “I had a fantastic debut season. I never expected to have eight wins and 18 podium finishes. When I look back, I keep asking myself, ‘how the hell did I do it’.”But doesn’t he rue the fact that he missed the crown in the season’s last race? No, he says, it has just made him hungrier to prove himself. “When I wake up in the morning, I tell myself that I need to win. It takes a lot of discipline — choosing whether you want to go to the bar or have an early night.”Hamilton adeptly manoeuvred himself out of a tricky corner when asked whether F1 simply boiled down to having a better car and crew. “That’s a difficult question to answer, but that’s the way it’s always been. However, the difference between the teams is now very small,” he said.Praising Karun Chandhok's second career win last Sunday at Hockenheim, Hamilton gave a big thumbs up to the GP2 circuit, saying it was a great stage to perform. “The F1 guys get a chance to see you as they finish on the same weekend.” Motoring down to that inevitable question on the new Force India outfit, Hamilton said the team had a lot of potential. “I hope they stay and don’t sell out,” he said.
