Hamilton: I value DC's opinions.

Lewis Hamilton insists he isn't fazed by comments from David Coulthard that McLaren has brought the British youngster into an F1 race seat 'too early'.

Speaking to the News of the World over the course of the weekend, DC said his former boss Ron Dennis would have been better off giving the 21-year-old a year in a testing role to get used to F1, especially as a tough season alongside world champion Fernando Alonso could 'destroy his confidence'.

However, the GP2 champion refused to be drawn into a war of words on his first day of testing at Barcelona, indeed going so far as to agree in parts with the experience Scot.

"I value David's opinion," he told the BBC. "He is extremely experienced and I have always looked up to him. I think in some ways he could be right.

"But at the end of the day I have done all I needed to do coming up to F1. I have got plenty of time to do the testing in pre-season and so we will have to wait and see."

Despite causing an early red flag due to a mechanical issue, Hamilton posted the sixth quickest time on the first day of the test and admitted it was nice to be out on track knowing what his future hold.

"It was a really positive day and I enjoyed every moment of it," he said. "I have done four test days with McLaren but there was a lot of weight on my shoulders before. Now it is out in the open, we can get on with developing the car.

"To come here knowing that I am the driver for next year meant I could really knuckle down on bonding with the team and my engineer and get on top of the car and up to pace."