Lewis Hamilton says the ability to produce consistent results over the second half of the season will be crucial if he wants to win his first Forumla One world driver's title this season.

The 23-year-old McLaren Mercedes driver remains five points clear of Kimi Raikkonen with seven races remaining, and ahead of European Grand Prix in Valencia on Sunday, the 23-year-old Briton says he is determined to finish in the points.

"Looking back at the season so far, it feels like a different championship compared to last year: 2007 was very intense and consistency was incredibly important," Hamilton said.

"This year, everybody's results have been more varied and every driver who has won a race has also failed to score on at least two other occasions.

"That's made getting strong results even more important, but I think we'll see consistency becoming crucial as we head towards the end of the season."

Looking ahead to the race in Spain on Valencia's new street circuit, Hamilton added: "I'm wary of making predictions. The race in Hungary showed just how unpredictable Formula 1 can be and that's one of the reasons why it's such a fascinating sport.”

"Clearly, though, I am still in a good position to challenge for the world championship and that remains my aim. We still feel confident about our chances - we know our rivals will be strong but we've worked hard to improve the car and we are confident we'll be competitive.”