"It's hard to soak all of this up. So much pressure," the 29-year-old Hamilton said. "I didn't sleep last night. I went for a run and had a massage, I thought I would be tired, but somehow I felt composed for the race. This has been an incredible year. It feels very surreal, like an out-of-body experience, like it's not really happening."
He kept his helmet on for several minutes, appearing to wipe away tears, as the emotion of his hard-fought championship win started to sink in.
Standing watching in the Mercedes garage, Britain's Prince Harry told him he was a "legend" and Hamilton was visibly emotional as the national anthem blared out.
"I'm lost for words. One thing I want to say is a big huge 'Thank You' to all the fans, to my family. I love you guys," Hamilton said. "This is the greatest day of my life — 2008 was a special day but this is way, way beyond that."
