Question: Lewis, have you been to Korea before?
Lewis Hamilton: I have, yes.
Question: What were your memories of racing there?
Lewis Hamilton: I remember going there in Formula Three. I think it was a follow-on race from Macau. I cannot really remember the circuit too well but there was a very tight chicane there. I qualified pole. It was my first pole position in I think one of my first races in Formula Three and I remember being taken out by a certain driver but other than that it was a good weekend.
Question: Looking at this circuit, how do you see the challenges of this circuit?
Lewis Hamilton: Well, firstly I am very happy to be here. I love being here in Japan. It is great to be back out here. Last year was quite a good race for us and I think generally just coming here it has always been a track that I enjoyed watching whilst I was growing up. Watching Michael race, watching Ayrton (Senna) race down here and (Alain) Prost. It seemed, at least while watching growing up, one of the very tough circuits but very much a driver’s circuit. Coming here for the first time last year was a great experience and looking forward to getting back out there. We did not have enough laps last year. There are never enough laps. It is a very challenging circuit. The first sector is incredible. You just never seem to stop, corner after corner after corner, and it is such a beautiful flow through there and I think the whole track is like that, so I am looking forward to tomorrow.
Question: Martin Whitmarsh made a point that only one McLaren has finished the last four races. Obviously he is looking for more finishes than that and the drivers would like to finish as well. You have got to stay out of trouble, but to what extent what can a driver do about it?
Lewis Hamilton: As drivers we are always on the ragged edge. We are always trying to gain position whilst staying safe. Some of us are more aggressive than others in those positions. Some people do a lot less overtaking than others. You just try to keep out of trouble. It is not easy. Racing is racing and there are racing incidents every now and then, so that is to be expected. I think I have had a pretty good string of races in my Formula One career. I have scored a lot of points in only four years, so it is not all so bad.
Question: Lewis, immediately after the Singapore race, I think you suggested that your title challenge was in a little bit of trouble. Do you still feel, two weeks on, that that’s still the case, and if so, what do you plan to do to make sure it’s not run away from you?
Lewis Hamilton: I think at the time I clearly had quite a few tough races with the failure in Hungary, and then we had a win, and then we had two DNFs, so it was just after two tough races. I think it’s very easy to get your emotions mixed up with your thought process, but I think after coming away from it, there are still four races to go and looking back at the history of the sport and looking back particularly at this season and seeing how close it still is, after many people made mistakes and certain situations, it clearly shows that it isn’t impossible to win. I still feel very optimistic. I still know that clearly I have a tough job ahead of me and it’s going to be tough for all of us but I feel that I have as good an opportunity as anyone and so I’m going to work as hard as I can to make sure that I finish the races. Generally, when I finish races it’s not so bad, so fingers crossed that that will be the case.
Question: Just following up on that point, Lewis, three retirements in your last four races, do you see any need to – not play percentage – but to make sure you score points? As you say, when you finish you do score heavily but you’ve got to finish, haven’t you? Do you see any need to modify your approach?
Lewis Hamilton: I’m clearly looking at all of the races that I’ve done and looking at how my approach has been and trying to evaluate and try to take a step back and try to see it as something I can improve on, of course. It’s difficult to pinpoint one particular part. Of course, I could go and drive around and not overtake anyone and just stay in position, that’s easy enough but that’s not me, so that definitely won’t be happening.
Question: Lewis, you’ve already partially answered this question but can I have a clear answer from you: as you have not seen the chequered flag for the last two races, how crucial will this race be for you in the fight for the championship?
Lewis Hamilton: I don’t think this race will be particularly more crucial than the next three races. I think they’re all very important to score maximum points. Clearly, if I had finished the last three races or the three races that I’ve missed, I’d be in a much stronger position but that’s life and there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t go back and change it; all I can do is try to recover and try to apply myself in the most productive way towards my team and towards myself and towards the racing. My plan, of course, is not to arrive at weekends and see how hard my team works and let them down and let my family down, or let my friends down or let myself down. So I’m doing as much as I can. I hope that this weekend is a stronger weekend. I feel good about it, so we will see.
Question: I would like to hear some frank opinion as the number of grand prix races has been increasing over the last few races through to this year and next year. How is it for you and your teams?
Lewis Hamilton: From my point of view, I think as a driver I love racing, so I kind of welcome it. However, it is very tiring on the team, time away from the family, but then, I’m pretty much certain that if you go and speak to any of my team members, they would not change a thing. We’re all racers, we’re all here because we love doing what we do. I think one more race, two more races isn’t the let-up.
Question: What do you need to have a winning car in Suzuka, and do you think the Red Bull can be beaten this weekend?
Lewis Hamilton: Well, the Red Bulls are very quick at the moment, so it will be very difficult to beat them. They won here last year, they’ve got very good and efficient downforce but as Michael said, we are all pushing… at least our team is pushing very hard to always close that, so hopefully it will be strong here as we were in the last race and hopefully even closer.
Question: It is reported that the Korean International Circuit has started to lay the final pavement, the day before yesterday and going to finish it tomorrow. It means that only two weeks later Formula One cars will drive on it. What do you think of that, particularly from a safety point of view?
Lewis Hamilton: It doesn’t really worry me from a safety point of view. I think the FIA always do a great job and they and the team clearly won’t let us race if it was unsafe. I feel totally comfortable that everything will be done in order to keep us safe and therefore we can continue to race. We want to race.
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