A bubbling Lewis Hamilton was keen to keep his composure after claiming pole for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, knowing that he is close to becoming Formula One’s youngest champion.
The Briton — seven points ahead of nearest rival Felipe Massa with three races remaining — beamed with delight after grabbing his sixth pole position of the year and his second in succession at the Fuji Speedway.
And with Brazil’s Massa only able to qualify fifth, the 23-year-old who drives for McLaren Mercedes knew that he had taken a significant step towards his ultimate goal.
“I will try to take each race as it goes,” said Hamilton, who won here in torrential rain last year.
“We as a team have to put a really strong effort in to continue with the momentum we have.
“I am approaching the races exactly the same as I have this season. I don’t need to change anything, just keep the car on the road and score some good points.
“I had a good qualifying session, quite a bit different to Singapore. We didn’t have any problems through Q2, it was pretty straightforward. The first lap didn’t seem to be very good.
“Kimi (Raikkonen) was just ahead of me and the last lap I put all the sectors together and bought it home.
“Going to Q3 we had already decided what our strategy would be and we believed it would be competitive and put us in a good position for the race, but qualifying is down to not making mistakes and putting the lap together, it can be very tough.
“We had very good pace here and starting in front of the Ferraris is great. If on Sunday we can push forward with the strategy we have we should be okay.
“The team have done a phenomenal job, without them we wouldn’t be here so it is all down to them.”
Hamilton knows that he does not have to win another race to take the title, so long as he retains his advantage over Massa, but he said he is not planning to make any changes to his approach.
“I am going out there to win the race, if I can, but I am not going to throw away points. We will do what we have done all year and try our best,” he said.
“I just try to take every race as it comes, but compared to last year, I’m definitely thinking about the championship and what I need to do to win it.
“It’s obviously within my grasp, but we as a team have to put a really strong effort in to continue with the momentum that we have.”
from: afp.google.com
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