With a Formula One race win finally under his belt McLaren's rookie driver Lewis Hamilton's confidence received a much needed boost. After just six races in his budding Formula One career, the young British driver took his maiden victory at the Canadian Grand Prix. He now leads the driver's championship with 48 points - eight points clear of his two-time defending champion teammate Fernando Alonso.

With his win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada, Hamilton strengthened his grip on the lead for the driver's championship. Going into the Canadian Grand Prix, he shared the lead in the standings with his teammate. After the race though, he leads Alonso after the latter only finished in seventh place securing only a couple of points.

His stellar performance at this year's Formula One season has lead experts to speculate that Hamilton is on track to pose a challenge to Alonso's bid for three consecutive championships. For himself, Hamilton is apparently eyeing the greatest prize in his profession. "Obviously now the dream is to win the world championship," says Hamilton after winning the race.

"But at the moment we have to be realistic and I think it's always good to bear in mind that I am still a rookie, this is my first season and there are going to be some hard times," he tells. "I hope there won't but it is bound to happen, that's just the way it goes."

"There'll be good days and there'll be bad days but at the moment I'm pretty consistent and that's down to the team and the fact I've got a very well grounded family and that's perfect," he furthermore says.

Hamilton's driving skills have been proven at the Monaco Grand Prix which is one of the hardest races of the season with its tight turns and narrow track. At the Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton showcased his composure. There have been a number of restarts during the race due to accidents on the tracks including the horrific crash that BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica suffered. Through these restarts, Hamilton's lead was reduced to nothing, but the young driver showed his composure by performing well in all the restarts en route to his first win of the season and his young Formula One career.

Meanwhile, his teammate, Alonso, says that their team favors the young driver. "From the first moment, I wasn't completely comfortable. I am in an English team, with an English team-mate, who is doing brilliantly," says the Spaniard. "We knew all the support and help would go his way. It is something I understand and I'm not complaining," Alonso added.

While the win of Hamilton acts as a turn signal signifying where McLaren will be in the future, Alonso is confident that he has what it takes to defend his crown which he won when he was still with Renault. "I've won two races out of six and I've finished on the podium four times and I have those 40 points that will allow me to fight for the title in the end," Alonso said.

"But I'm second in the championship, I'm eight points behind. It would be worse if I were at Renault, or Honda or any other team. At the moment I am where I expected to be and with a clear chance of winning the title in Brazil (the last race of the season), and not now, in the sixth race."