Lewis Hamilton says he is determined to get back to winning ways after a mixed start to the Formula One season.

The McLaren star missed out on the title by a point in 2007, but has had one win in four races ahead of this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix.

"The longer you go without a win, the anxiety grows. As a racer you want to win," he said in Istanbul.

"I've tasted victory quite a few times, and that's what we're here to do. We're here to win."

Hamilton won this year's season opener in Australia, but in subsequent races he has finished fifth, 13th and third, and currently lies second in the standings, nine points behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

"As a driver when you join a team you need to be innovative, have lots of ideas, to have the initiative to keep on pushing the team and asking questions," he said.

"But I've got so much belief. I really do believe in my team and my abilities, and I've no doubts we can do it.

"Although it's easier said than done, I think this weekend we've a good shot."

He insisted being behind Raikkonen at this stage of the season was no bad thing.

"It's better to be chasing. It's more fun," he said.

"It's hard, a bit harder than leading, which just involves keeping your momentum, but chasing means you are constantly trying to go one better. It's more of a challenge.

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"I stand up to all challenges I get. I'm always looking to do my best, and to do it to perfection, not merely a good job."

And he denied that the Ferrari was simply too good for him to compete with Raikkonen this season.

"It's a good gap but so early on in the championship it's not as crucial as it would be later," Hamilton added.

"We want to close it as quickly as we can and then keep it close as we seek to reverse it.

Hamilton believes he can catch the dominant Ferraris

"There are only a couple of tenths (of a second) between the leading cars, so it's incredibly tight, and with 14 races to go, a huge number, you can't tell what's going to happen.

"We've just got to concentrate on finishing as many races as we can and scoring as many points as we can collectively."

Hamilton said he had seen signs of improvement in his third-place finish last time out in Barcelona, behind the Ferraris of Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.

"Over the course of that weekend we became faster and faster, and then in the race we were again quicker," he said.

"The great thing is we were able to push (Ferrari) at the end, which I wouldn't say was a relief, but it was a confidence boost for the whole team, including myself."

Follow live coverage of the Turkish Grand Prix on this website and Five Live. Practice starts at 0800 BST on Friday, with qualifying at 1200 BST on Saturday and the race at 1300 BST on Sunday.