KEY POINTS:
FUJI - Championship leader Lewis Hamilton is ready to turn the heat back on McLaren team mate Fernando Alonso in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix after getting to grips with a recent loss of form.
Still smarting at being forced off the track by the double world champion at
the start of the previous Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton said that he wanted a word with the Spaniard before renewing hostilities at Fuji.
"I probably will speak to him later on this weekend about this and the situation. I have my feelings about what happened in the last race," said the 22-year-old British rookie.
"I'll be a lot more aware of him around me now, you wait and see," he told reporters.
"I'm driving to keep the car on the track and be fair to everyone, but if that's how aggressive he wants to be then I can be just as aggressive as anyone else," he added.
"But I'm not going to take silly risks and take myself off or anyone else off. I've just got to make sure I'm ahead of him.
"Both of us we have to be careful and not forget that we are team mates," continued Hamilton, who leads Alonso by two points in the standings with three races remaining.
"Here is another race, another day. But when we're out there we won't be giving any handouts, that's for sure."
Working hard
Hamilton, the most sensational rookie in the sport's history with three wins this year, has been beaten by double world champion Alonso for three races in a row and five of the last six.
He said, however, that he had worked out where he was going wrong and was ready to put the pressure on his more experienced rival.
"I've been working hard since the last race trying to understand where I can find time and where I've been losing time and I understand it now," he declared.
"I have a feeling that this weekend will be a lot better than the previous few. I am feeling very confident, very relaxed and confident that we've made some good steps forward in the car as well."
Hamilton needs to get back on form in Fuji, making its return to Formula One for the first time in 30 years, to prevent Alonso from possibly being in a position to win the championship in Shanghai the following weekend.
"I feel I have nothing to lose," declared the rookie, who visited the picturesque circuit below Mount Fuji for the first time on Thursday.
"He (Alonso) is the one that's defending the world championship so really he should have more pressure on him.
"But I think in the last two races he's done really well and I don't know if he's unloaded a load of baggage, not feeling any weight off the team or anything. I think he seems to be quite happy in the team all of a sudden or in himself."
- REUTERS