Hamilton: Success vindicates my driving

Although brief references were made to issues raised by Hamilton's driving in the Japanese Grand Prix during the regular briefing, the matters were dealt with in a typical and straightforward way by FIA race director Charlie Whiting.

And Hamilton, who left the briefing stating everything had been 'fine', was unmoved by the wave of stories and comments surrounding his driving standards that had emerged in the wake of the Fuji event.

"I've not read the stuff, but I know people have made comments," said Hamilton, who could win the championship in China this weekend. "That's fine with me. They have the right to their own opinion.

"It's a shame they all think that way, but my driving is why I'm here and why I'm leading the championship, so I'm not disappointed with the way I drive. I do my talking on the track. If other people want to expend their energy thinking about it (the way I drive), that's for them.

He added: "The reason I'm here is because of the way I drive. And, as you can see, I don't clash with people, so they can't be that aggressive."

"If I was in a Force India at the back of the field then no-one would have anything to say about me. But everyone has something to say about the people who are at the front and are successful, and whether it's positive or negative it doesn't really matter. As long as I'm happy, the team is happy, then that's all that matters."

Suggestions from some quarters that the drivers' briefing would turn into a showdown between Hamilton and his rivals proved wide of the mark, as the matters that were due to be raised about aspects of his driving were swiftly dealt with.

It is understood Jarno Trulli did raise with Whiting the issue of Hamilton holding him up when he was lapping the McLaren in Japan, but the response was simply that it was the responsibility of teams to inform their drivers they were being lapped.

Sources have also revealed that Mark Webber chose to privately clarify the remarks he made yesterday about issues raised by Hamilton's first corner antics in Japan. Webber made it clear that he never suggested Hamilton was an on-track danger, as his comments had been interpreted in some publications.

David Coulthard said that the briefing had been totally normal, as the issues raised by what happened in Japan were reviewed as they usually are after each event.

"Obviously there were some conversations about understanding stewards' decisions," said Coulthard. "It was a normal drivers' briefing, and on we go with the race weekend."

The Red Bull Racing driver said there was no feeling of an anti-Hamilton feeling among the drivers about his driving.

"I did not sense anything," he said. "No one raised any point on that. I think it had all been built up in the press conference on Thursday."

Hamilton himself has also played down any suggestion of his rivals ganging up on him, which had been manifested with a host of recent comments from drivers criticising him.

Speaking about whether he felt everybody was against him, Hamilton said: "Not really. I look at previous world champions and previous seasons, and a lot of people that have been at the front have had these kind of situations.

"It's normal. I have to ride the wind and see how the result comes out in the end."