Q & A with Lewis Hamilton

That decision has caused huge controversy, but Hamilton remains fully focused on his job of winning the world championship. Autosport.com heard from the Briton when he met the media during a packed press session in the McLaren Brand Centre.

Q. Could you give us your thoughts and feelings as to how you felt when you left the track on Sunday night after the decision had been made?

Lewis Hamilton: I felt pretty good, to be honest. I felt it was always a driver's dream to win in Spa, and when you win in such amazing conditions and in such an exhilarating way - I was so excited. My heart was racing for those last few laps. I felt really satisfied with the job that I did. I came away from the circuit, for sure in a bit of disbelief - but this is motor racing and it is to be expected sometimes.

Q. You may not want to go into what was said between you and the stewards, but can you tell who spoke to you and led the discussion you were involved in?

LH: I am not really allowed to discuss it. I only spoke to one person and none of the others had any questions for me.

Q. Do you think this decision could prove significant in the world championship battle?

LH: I hope not, and I damn sure plan to make sure that it has no effect on it. I still have a two-point lead and we are going to make sure that we continue to attack and perform like we did in the last two races. And knowing that we have that package makes us more and more confident, and if anything - we can use this as our fuel to keep on pushing. I feel great. For the next few races our car will suit the circuits just as well as it did at Spa, so we are going to make sure we do the best job we can.

Q. You have had two penalties from gaining an advantage this year - one in Magny-Cours and one in Spa. You cannot speak about Spa (due to judicial process), but was the French penalty too hard?

LH: I got a drive-through penalty there. I haven't really thought it much, to be honest. It wasn't a great weekend, but I got the penalty and I dealt with it. That is an opinion they took from it - and we didn't really make the best decision. The team didn't tell me I was in that position and that I needed to let him past. So, it was a kind of different situation.

Q. The decision by the stewards has caused total uproar among thousands or millions of your fans. But it is notable that not just your fans but Ferrari fans and Alonso fans have come onto websites and said they also believe it was wrong. How heartening is it to see such a groundswell of support?

LH: I have kind of switched off since the last race. I always go back, do my own thing and don't really pay too much attention to it. But I have heard a lot of positive stuff and I think it is incredible to see just how much support I have had. I probably don't notice the full amount of support I do have, but I know there is a lot of support going on. So thank you to all of you - I know there has been a lot of support there as well.

But I am a racer. I do the best job I can on the track. I race my heart off. There is no one that puts more heart into it than me. I felt in the last race, that is what I did - and I have just got to make sure that I keep on doing that - and showing people what I can do. No one can take that away from me.

Q. We saw when you returned to the motorhome after seeing the stewards that you were in a fantastic frame of mind and looked quite confident that it was going to go okay. Can you explain how you coped with the shock of discovering that it wasn't a win?

LH: The first thing when you get out of the car is that you look forward to seeing your team, and celebrating with them. Coming back in here (the McLaren Brand Centre), there is always an amazing atmosphere, everyone is waiting for you and everyone is wearing the orangy-red tops. You are back here with your family and it feels great. We did have that feeling, and it was kind of sidetracked a little bit because I did have to do other things.

I came back here, sat in my room and I knew what the situation may be so I was totally prepared mentally for it, and I just chilled like I always do in my room. I think I was probably the most composed person in the paddock. That is the way it always needs to be.

Q. So you weren't kicking things or swearing?

LH: No.

Q. After being punished by the stewards after such a fantastic fight, is it not dangerous for F1 to do that after such a race?

LH: I think what I can say is that as you know F1 has got really exciting over the last couple of years because it has been so close. It is so difficult to overtake in F1 as it is, and when it does happen people get very excited. The fact is that I can overtake in F1. I have shown it can be done, and I don't think I am in a position to say if it is going to ruin F1. (But) surely if we drive around and don't overtake it won't be as exciting and people won't watch. I think motorsport and racing in general - it is what we are here to do. If we can't overtake then there is no point in racing - it won't be a race. It will be a train.

Q. Does it have any effect on your approach to racing?

LH: For me? No, it is not going to change my approach. I am a racer and this is how I grew up. I grew up learning to overtake, fighting my way from the back of the grid and I overtake in the best way possible. I feel I am one of the best at doing it. I don't feel I need to change that and I will continue to do so.

Q. In Magny-Cours you were penalised for not giving a position back. In Spa you were penalised after giving a position back. In terms of giving a position back, how obvious do you think you have to make it back that you have given it back?

LH: I don't know! We could joke about it and say a lap maybe! I don't know. I honestly don't know. I guess maybe they should tell us.

Q. You say you are confident for the coming races, but how much is the shadow of Massa a concern for you?

LH: Not really. I think Massa he is on the back foot and he is the one that has to work damn hard to keep up with me. We do have a close race, a close battle, but I feel I am in a very strong position. I feel I have got a great car and we are going to continue going down the same route we have been going down, and continue to knock at them and take points from them, and improve our reliability in all areas.

I feel like I am coming away from a win, and moving on to the next race. Normally I would be sitting here and you would be saying, 'how does it feel, it must feel great with the momentum from the last win.' And that is how I feel. I don't feel any different from when we normally win. I don't feel at all disheartened about what happened and I think I have been very, very fortunate. I have got a lot of support behind me and I feel great, and I know this weekend we can win. That is what we are here to do.

Q. Was part of Spa that mentally you thought you had done enough to let him past you, but because the Ferrari had no grip it could not get past you?

LH: I don't think he had no grip. We had the same amount of grip.

Q. But he was braking much earlier than you?

LH: Well, that's his driving, that's all. That is how he drives. If you don't have the balls to brake late then that is your problem! At the end of the day, in those situations it is the driver who can feel the grip more and put the car more on the edge. And I know I am great in those conditions. I felt the grip more than him, I knew where to place my car and I did place it in different positions to him and I found the grip.

Q. So you felt you had done enough to let him through?

LH: Yes, I did.

Q. To what extend are you motivated by a degree of revenge here?

LH: I don't feel ever that there is a need for revenge. The fact is we are having a great season battling the Ferraris, which is a real pleasure. They are a fantastic team and so are we. We fight so closely, and it really does come down to who does the better job as a whole.

So it means the team doing a more solid job with reliability, pit stops, and strategy - and the driver keeping the thing on the track and pulling out those tenths of a second. Coming here, it would be great to win like last year and beat them on their home turf. It is a hard knock, and fortunately we covered our home grands prix this year so hopefully we can do it here as well.

Q. A lot of supporters have complained about the penalty, but most drivers say this matter is discussed in the briefings and they agree with the penalty. How do you receive that?

LH: Normally in the drivers' briefing we don't talk about that sort of thing. And do we all agree on things? It never happens. We always have our own opinions, but they have their own right to have their own opinion about what happened. It is always easy having a certain opinion when you are not involved, or you are the one who is not winning.

Q. Would you have made the same move if there was a wall there at the chicane?

LH: At the end of the day, as drivers and me - I never leave the circuit unless it is absolutely necessary. In that case I left the circuit to avoid a collision. I think if it was somewhere like Valencia, where there was a wall, it could have been pretty dangerous. I would have hoped that Kimi would have been more fair and realised that I would need a bit more space. But this is racing - I would go for the move, hope it worked and if it didn't, it didn't.

Q. At the end of last season you said you didn't want to win a title in the courtroom. Do you see this case as totally different?

LH: We as a team have the opinion that we want to win races on the track, and that is what we come here to do. That is why there are 900 people working their arses off every day to make sure we come to the track and win. That is what motorsport is about, and it is not something we want to do or plan to do by winning it in court.

This is a slightly different situation to last year, but everyone in the team feels we won the race on moral grounds. And we have just got to try our best and stay squeky clean out of trouble for the rest of the season - and not let them have any opportunity to put us in that position.