Heikki Kovalainen is tired of playing follow-my-leader behind McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton and wants to prove he has what it takes to win his own world championship.

The Finn heads into Sunday's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, the opening round of 2009, believing he has discovered why Hamilton has been faster in the same car - it is a case of familiarity breeding content.

Kovalainen made the breakthrough into F1 in 2007, at the same time as Hamilton who had been mentored by McLaren chief Ron Dennis since his early teens.

"Lewis is a very talented driver, who is very fast, works hard drives well and fights well," said the 27-year-old. "But it's a fact that he's been with McLaren a very long time, he's been in a fantastic school here, learning from great drivers and great engineers. He knows the place inside-out and I'm sure that gives him extra confidence.

"He knows exactly how everything operates and he can just get the last bit of energy into his driving rather than learning about things he doesn't really understand, like when you're new to the team. That makes a big difference.

"Those things combined make him the world champion that he is."

Kovalainen moved from Renault at the end of 2007 and he was expected to be able to match his British rival's pace almost straight away.

However, the McLaren car seemed to suit Hamilton's more aggressive driving and Kovalainen struggled to adapt with his own smoother style.

His efforts were also frustrated by bad luck with a broken wheel rim pitching him hard into the barriers in Spain and a rare Mercedes engine failure leaving him sidelined in Japan.

The one positive was a maiden Grand Prix victory in Hungary, and Kovalainen said: "That is something I would like to repeat this year, many times."

To achieve that, he has spent a lot more time at McLaren's Surrey headquarters trying to establish relationships like those Hamilton already enjoys.

Kovalainen said: "I went into 2008 in a very strong frame of mind and feeling very positive. But looking back now, maybe it took longer than I anticipated to learn about the team and how to use the people in the team to help me.

"Now I know the key people from every department better, so hopefully I can give better instructions and better directions to the engineers and to the designers and tell them what I feel I need from the car."

Kovalainen also hopes that his decision to chill out a little more pays off.

He said: "Last season I had too many expectations. Sometimes I was too hard on myself if I didn't get pole position or if I didn't win the Grand Prix.

"I will try to avoid stressing about everything as much as I did last year. I will still work flat-out but also I will enjoy the season more."

Team chief Dennis is impressed by the manner with which Kovalainen has regrouped after such a testing debut season with the team.

"Make no mistake, Heikki is a serious challenger to Lewis," he said. "Lewis will under no circumstances underestimate him."

Kovalainen cannot wait for Sunday's race. He said: "As a Formula One driver, you have to go into every season believing that you can be world champion, otherwise there's just no point being here.

"And I totally believe that I go into the new season with every chance of fighting for the world championship."