Q & A with Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton: It can only be positive. I can't see any negatives in it. Most important is the race, but it's great to show that we're very competitive and show that we can do it.

To be on the front row for the last two races is a big bonus for the team, and it just shows what a great job they are doing, We'll see psychologically how if affects people, but on our side it's positive.

Q. What are your chances of winning the title here?

LH: I haven't thought about it. You have to approach it as the next two races. I'm not going into Sunday saying that's the day that we have to do everything. We're just going to take it easy and try to score as many points as we can.

Q. How much of a concern is it that the man beside you on the grid, Kimi Raikkonen, has nothing to lose?

LH: I don't think it's a concern. For sure, they'll be very competitive at the start and it will be hard to beat them off the start, but they will be in a better position to attack. If they are ahead of me, it doesn't matter.

As long as Felipe Massa is behind me that's positive. Our race pace is very good, but we don't know what's going to happen. Hopefully the weather will stay the same but maybe it will rain.

Q. But he can take more risks?

LH: Kimi is world champion and he's not a stupid guy. He wants to win as much as everyone else does, so I have every confidence he will be sensible.

Q. You described your qualifying lap as hardcore. What was the feeling inside the car?

LH: I meant it was hardcore in the sense that I had not done a good job previously. It always makes it easier when you do a good first lap and then do your second lap a little bit better.

It's hardcore when you are eight-tenths down or something on the first lap and you've got to catch all that time and a little bit more because you're a bit lighter for that second run.

The pressure is at its peak and that's why it's hardcore. Your heart is racing and you are on a really fine line throughout the lap. It's a fantastic feeling and even more satisfying after a race like Fuji to come back and the car is really fantastic.

Q. It is the same front row as Japan - will you be a bit more cautious than you were in Fuji?

LH: Obviously you have to take the last race into account and I'll put that into my memory bank and try not to make that mistake again. I have to approach turn one in the same way I've approached every race in Formula One and hopefully it will be a bit more straightforward than it was in Fuji.

Q. Lewis, your start in Fuji was not a perfect one. How confident are you that the car is technically okay here?

LH: It's a lot different to last weekend. We had problems, we overlooked the fact that we had a slipping clutch all weekend and it slipped again in the race. So we put a good one in for this race. It has been performing all weekend so I'm confident that tomorrow we will perform a lot better than in Fuji.

Q. What happened when you went straight on in the pit entry road in practice?

LH: All weekend I had approached that corner attacking and I just thought it was about time I found the limit. After last year we had to brush away the cobwebs and had some locking and went straight on. It was no biggie.

We didn't end up in the gravel but it was a good reference, a good experience to have, so I know where I need to be braking in the race.

Q. Both Brazil and England have been waiting for a world champion for a long time now. Do you have some impressions?

LH: You can't think of it because however amazing it could be it's never done until it's done. I can only dream of what it would be like to be world champion, so I work every day towards it. But I continue doing the best job I can. Hopefully one day I will be world champion and my country will be proud and my family as well.