SAO PAULO (Reuters)

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton said yesterday he wanted to win the Formula One title on the racetrack, not weeks later on appeal.

"It would be wrong," said the 22-year-old Briton, still suffering the effects of a heavy night out after letting the title slip from his grasp by one point in Sunday's season-ending race in Brazil.

"For me, I want to win it on the track," he told reporters in his hotel room. "You want to do it in style, you want to win the race, you want to win battling it out for the lead or something in the race.

"Being promoted after some people have been thrown out is not the way I want to do it."

First black driver

The rookie, Formula One's first black driver and the title favourite before Sunday's race, lost out to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen after finishing seventh on a nightmare afternoon at Interlagos.

Raikkonen won the race but the Finn's first title was overshadowed by a stewards' enquiry into the three cars that finished ahead of Hamilton.

McLaren have said they intend to appeal against the stewards' subsequent decision not to penalise Williams' Nico Rosberg and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica for fuel temperature irregularities.

The aim would be to lift Hamilton above them in the classification, securing the points he needs to become champion instead.