LONDON, Jan 18, 2008 (AFP) - Lewis Hamilton illustrated his stature as one of Formula One´s foremost talents on Friday when he signed a new five-year contract with McLaren.

The deal ties the 23-year-old Briton to the team until 2012.

"It´s fantastic for me the team has extended my contract until 2012," said Hamilton who has been associated with McLaren since his childhood.

"Whilst last year was my first year with the team in Formula One, I have been connected to McLaren and Mercedes-Benz since 1998 and feel that I could easily drive for this team for the whole of my Formula One career.

"I am with the right team to compete for race wins and both the drivers´ and constructors´ world championships in the future. We will have a lot of challenges ahead, but I am 100 percent positive I am with the people to take them on."

Hamilton enjoyed a stunning first season in Formula One last year, leading the drivers´ championship for much of the season before ultimately finishing second to Ferrari´s Kimi Raikkonen.

He missed out on the title by just one point in a traumatic season for his team who were heavily fined for their involvement in the F1 ´spy row´ and were thrown out of the constructors championship as a result.

The campaign also saw Hamilton involved in a stormy relationship with teammate Fernando Alonso, the former double world champion, who has now returned to Renault for the 2008 season.

McLaren team boss Ron Dennis said Hamilton´s new deal was thoroughly deserved.

"Following our initial Formula One agreement with Lewis, which we announced in November 2006, he went on to exceed all expectations for a rookie, even those of us in the team who have known him for over a decade," said Dennis.

"Given Lewis´s performances over the course of the 2007 season, it is clear that improved financial terms were fully deserved and this formed part of the friendly negotiations with Lewis´s manager (and father) Anthony Hamilton.

"The announcement will take the length of our relationship with Lewis to a total of 15 years, which we believe is among the longest running associations between a sportsman and a team in the history of sport, particularly motorsport.

"Lewis is an exceptional human being, on both a personal and professional level, and will continue to be a credit to this team."