Lewis Hamilton sails Sydney

Behind the huge wheel of America's Cup yacht Spirit

Put Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel and he'll instantly find his comfort zone.

In today's case, Lewis found himself behind the huge wheel of America's Cup yacht Spirit as he skippered the vessel around Sydney's harbour -- home of the world famous opera house and harbour bridge, two of the most picturesque man-made landmarks in the world.

Lewis was aided by world champion yachtsman Iain Murray, and steered the Vodafone-branded boat and several lucky competition winners through the harbour's choppy waters ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix, round two of the 2010 Formula 1 world championship.

"Today was my first time in Sydney," said Lewis. "And there's been no better way to mark my stay than by getting to see the famous sights from the waters. I had a great time skippering Spirit today -- it's huge fun, but it's nothing like a Formula 1 car. Nothing is like that!"

Looking ahead to this weekend's event in Melbourne, Lewis said: "The Albert Park circuit should work to the strengths of our car. We feel stronger coming into this race than we did going into Bahrain. Hopefully, both Jenson and myself and can score some more points. We think we'll have a chance of winning this weekend -- we've learned a lot from the first race and we can bring that here to Melbourne. It would be great to get that edge.

"The racing in Melbourne is always great. And it should be better there than it was in the opening round. It's an extremely special circuit: unique. I love street circuits, it's a great place to race on, and the fans are fantastic."

-source: mclaren