Lewis Hamilton will win a maiden world championship this season if he stays cool in the cockpit, says Damon Hill, the last British driver to claim the Formula One title.

Hill, who won the championship in 1996, believes Hamilton can recover from his nightmare race in Japan on Sunday and make sure he hangs on to his lead in the drivers' table.

The 23-year-old McLaren driver was penalised for forcing Ferrari rival Kimi Raikkonen off the track at the first corner at Fuji after botching his start from pole position.

Hamilton eventually finished 12th. He now heads for this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, the penultimate round of the championship chase, with his lead over Raikkonen's team-mate, Felipe Massa, cut to five points.

Yet Hill said today: "Lewis will get the job done. The last race was a lesson and he does learn very quickly.

"There is no question about his speed and his ability. If he just keeps a cool head he'll be fine."

Hill admitted that Hamilton's desperate lunge down the inside of Raikkonen in Japan "smacked of impatience".

But he added: "Lewis is in a hurry. You have to have that impatience to get on with the business of winning world championships, but he has to realise you can't force it to happen.

"It is a mark of Lewis's career that he is very keen to get the job done and move on. But it can sometimes trip you up if you're not too wary."

Hill believes Hamilton should take a lead from Michael Schumacher, winner of a record seven world titles.

He said: "Michael had a very cool head. He had an ability to detach himself and not let impatience get the better of him."