SAO PAULO, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - Lewis Hamilton was calmness personified here late Thursday evening when he handled the acclaim of a sponsors´ reception with all the aplomb of a seasoned public speaker.

He showed no signs of nerves at the task ahead - and said he felt he had "been born for this" as he contemplated the job of winning the drivers´ world title on Sunday.

The 22-year-old British rookie has led the Formula One drivers world championship since the third race of the season and coped with a potentially-damaging, intra-team row with defending champion Fernando Alonso.

Yet on the eve of first practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix, in which he could clinch the world title, he was all smiles for a Brazilian audience that clearly relished him a similar sense of pride to that once reserved for Ayrton Senna.

"It´s quite surreal being here," said Hamilton, seen by many as the natural heir to Paulista Senna because he drives for McLaren, wears a canary yellow racing helmet, wins with panache, talks with clarity and purpose and represents the same kind of people.

"For many years I´ve wanted to come to Brazil and race at Interlagos," he went on. "My first real opportunity is now here, and I´m buzzing. I can´t wait. I´m really excited about this.

"I´ve had a phenomenal season for my first year in Formula One. I´m 22 years old and very, very fortunate to be driving for McLaren. I´ve been leading the world championship since the third race, and for me that´s just mind-blowing.

"Coming into the season I was just hoping to do a good job, maybe get some points and podium positions, so I never imagined I would have four race wins and six pole positions.

"But as I said, I´m still very young, and now I have the chance to win the world championship this weekend. If I do, then fantastic: it will be a big step in my career and my life. If not, then I will live to fight another day and I will move on to next year and try to win it then."

His modesty and clarity of purpose only added to the local enthusiasm for a boy from a mixed-race background, a broken home on a council estate in Stevenage, England, who has risen from humble origins to reach the peak of global fame in his sport.

He conceded that for him, at such a young age, it was not easy to handle the mounting pressures of such a critical weekend.

"It´s tough, really tough," he told the audience, all standing in a hall in a tower building close to the Hilton Hotel in the city, sipping from glasses of iced whisky.

"For me I am so competitive. I always want to over-achieve, I want to achieve more and more and more. I want to win. I want it so bad, and the last race really showed me just how much I want it.

"But you have to be realistic and remember this is my first season and anything can happen, and that I´m very, very privileged to be in the position I am now. I am obviously very excited."

Asked if he had ever imagined the moment when he would be preparing for a three-way title battle in the final race of a long and controversial Formula One season, he said: "No, definitely not. I was in my room just now and I was looking out of the window, and I was thinking ´wow!´

"Last year I was GP2 champion, and I was hoping I´d be in Formula One this year. I remember discussing with McLaren about the possibility of me doing this race last year. Now I am here, I´m experienced, I´ve been in the season all year and leading the championship, it´s just crazy. I can´t believe it and I´m just stunned.

"So I hope it´s a good weekend. I´ll do the best job I can, but the most important thing is to enjoy the whole experience."