Formula One legend Alain Prost says Lewis Hamilton can use the experience of last year's near-miss to win the drivers' championship this season.
The 23-year-old lost to Kimi Raikonnen by just one point in his debut season, but Prost expects the McLaren driver to come back stronger.
"I think Lewis will be the top guy," Prost told BBC One's Inside Sport.
"If he has a good car, I don't think it should be a problem. He has more experience now."
Prost eventually won the title four times in an illustrious career after coming agonisingly close on several occasions.
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And the Frenchman, who won three of his titles with McLaren, said Hamilton should take heart from his example.
"I lost the championship in '81, '82, '83, '84 by a few points and at one time, I said to myself it must be that I cannot win the championship - and then I won it four times later on," he added.
"If you have everything together, you have plenty of time."
Prost said Hamilton would still have a fight on his hands to land his first F1 title, with Ferrari and Renault the most likely challengers.
"The Ferrari will always be there, so we don't know about Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa - it depends on whether Kimi has the same motivation or not," he said.
"Fernando Alonso will be just a little bit behind, but quite close.
"We are going to see how he (Lewis Hamilton) is going to handle this extra pressure."
The F1 season starts on 16 March in Melbourne.
Watch the full interview with Alain Prost on Inside Sport on BBC One, Monday, 2320 GMT.
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