Because if he wants to win his first F1 world championship, he better finish strong in the final six races of the year.

The 2008 F1 season is about to close with only six more races to go starting with Belgium. Lewis Hamilton, coming off a remarkable rookie season, is on the verge of winning the first F1 title of his career but since he still has six races to keep his championship lead in the standings, he knows letting up now would be a very very bad idea.

At this point of the season, Lewis Hamilton is still leading the drivers championship with 70 points.

Not far behind are the two drivers from Ferrari, Felipe Massa with 64 and defending world champion Kimi Raikkonen with 57. And if last season’s conclusion of the championship race was to tell us anything, it would have to be the fact that nothing is settled until the last race is completed.

In case you have no idea what I’m stressing here, Kimi Raikkonen literally stole last season’s world championship away from the two competing McLaren - Mercedes drivers, Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, both were then dubbed as the odds-on favorite to win it all.

It’s ironic that Lewis Hamilton finds himself in a similar situation, the only difference is, he IS the championship leader this time trying to fend off two competing drivers from Ferrari.

That’s why winning Sunday’s 2008 F1 Belgium Grand Prix is very important because that could be the first step towards his goal of becoming a bona fide F1 world champion.

‘’From a human and physical perspective, these two races are also pivotal to our title challenge,'’ the McLaren CEO said, referring to this Sunday’s race in Belgium and Italy the week after.

‘’It’s vital that every member of the team pulls together to make sure these races pass without undue incident and set us up nicely for the final flyaway races.'’

Who will win the 2008 F1 Drivers Championship? Bodog Sportsbook has the odds.

Kimi Raikkonen 2.75

Lewis Hamilton 3.00

Fernando Alonso 7.00

Felipe Massa 7.00

Want more odds? Visit Bodog for more F1 betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today’s biggest sporting events.

Lewis Hamilton 2008 F1 Belgium Grand Prix