As a result, many so called *experts* are predicting Hamilton will walk away with the 2008 championship. But, what if Hamilton just experienced "beginners luck", and what if next season, he is set to experience the "sophomore jinx"?

After all, Hamilton had everything go his way in 2007, including the fact that his main rivals found themselves in new, and difficult circumstances, especially when it came to the new tires.

For Hamilton, any tire would have been a new tire. But, for Kimi and Alonso, the new tire meant first having to forget old habits and then learning new ones. Easier said than done, and 2008 will be different.

"Next year should be easier not just for me but also for the team,” said Kimi at a press conference at the traditional Ferrari world finals celebration at Mugello.

“This year we had some difficulties to get the car right, as I wanted.

“We'll see what we do for the new car. But we have great expectations."

And then there is the banning of traction control.

Hamilton has no previous experience racing an F1 car without traction control. This means that nearly everything he learned in 2007 will be useless in 2008. The more experienced guys who remember F1 before traction control, should find that to be an advantage... at least early on.

"When I came to Formula One we didn't have traction control,"said Kimni.

"There are so many things coming up. I think it'll be good fun and more challenging, too. And taking the traction control away will give us more opportunities to overtake."

Add to that, the extra pressure Hamilton will face as McLaren's unofficial number one driver once Alonso leaves, and no one should be surprised if Hamilton not only loses the championship again in 2008, but that he even finds it hard to compete.