Whitmarsh: Hamilton is a future champion.

McLaren Mercedes Formula One CEO Martin Whitmarsh has backed Lewis Hamilton as an F1 champion of the future as the young Brit prepares to make the step up to the GP2 series for 2006.

Although not officially confirmed, Hamilton is expected to lead the ART team after an impressive display in testing at Paul Ricard with continued backing from McLaren - who have guided the 20-year-olds career for the past eight years.

During 2005, Hamilton dominated the F3 Euroseries championship, and Whitmarsh told the Sunday Mirror that that display was an indication of why Hamilton was a champion of the future.

"We wouldn't have paid his entire budget for the last eight years and put a lot of time and effort into Lewis unless we thought he will one day win a world championship in a McLaren," he said. "The European Formula Three championship is the toughest outside Formula One and he dominated that to an unprecedented extent this year."

Hamilton took the Euroseries title with 15 wins in just 20 starts.