Hamilton will be hard to stop now, says Hill

Damon Hill hailed McLaren's Lewis Hamilton as Britain's newest Formula One champion on Sunday and said the 23-year-old McLaren driver would be hard to stop now.

"I think it's a tremendous result," the 1996 champion told Reuters Television after watching Sunday's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix with race fans at Britain's Silverstone circuit.

"He's come out on top after nearly winning it in his first season. Youngest ever world champion, Britain's new world champion and first one for 12 years.

"He's put Britain back at the top and we are very proud of him," added Hill.

"Lewis is a tremendous talent, a great ambassador for British motor sport and possibly one of the greatest drivers we have had in this country.

"He has got a world championship in the bank and I think he is going to be difficult to stop from now on."

Fans cheered and whooped as Hamilton finished fifth at Interlagos to beat Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa to the title by a single point.

Hill was joined by five-times race winner John Watson, South Africa's 1979 world champion Jody Scheckter and Hamilton's aunt Vanessa and family.

"Massa had the pace, he couldn't do anything about it but you know Lewis deserved the championship. That's what it comes down to, if you look at the whole year, he definitely deserved the championship," said Scheckter.

"Lewis went by and quite simply went from being runner up to being 2008 world champion," said Watson of the last lap move on Toyota's Timo Glock that secured the title.

"You couldn't write a script, you couldn't write the movie. I have never known a finish to any world championship, Formula One, that has been as exciting as that. I am almost speechless, almost speechless."