Hamilton thirsting for rain in Japan

Published on Friday 10 October 2008 23:24

LEWIS Hamilton admits he is tempted to perform a rain dance ahead of today's qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix as he looks to gain any edge he can over Felipe Massa in the battle for the World Championship.

The McLaren driver enjoyed a solid workout on the Fuji Speedway circuit yesterday, topping the timesheet for the first practice session while finishing third fastest in the afternoon. On both occasions he had the edge over Massa as the Ferrari driver was second and fourth in the respective sessions. The circuit was dry throughout with the mostly clear skies becoming a little more overcast by the afternoon before a few spots of rain fell briefly late in the day.

Hamilton thrived in the wet weather here last year to secure victory and when asked how he will gain an edge over Massa he joked: "I will probably do a rain dance. If there is rain we may have a bigger gap but otherwise it is going to be very close. In practice you don't really know what is going on but in qualifying it will be another story so we will be possibly battling a lot closer.

"I think today showed that we are both very competitive and that our cars and teams are doing a great job. It is now down to us to do a good job on the circuit."

Both practice sessions were largely without incident yesterday with only a couple of occasions where drivers went off circuit before recovering. Massa and Hamilton were overshadowed in the afternoon as Toyota's Timo Glock finished top of the pile with a time of one minute 18.383 seconds while Singapore Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso was second fastest.

However, Hamilton was pleased with his performance in the two sessions and is confident about his chances tomorrow.

"Fuji is a place I really enjoy," added the 23-year-old. "It is not the easiest of tracks because it requires a good set-up to get the best out of the car. We were immediately on the pace and found a very good balance straight away. In the afternoon, I did a promising longer run with no major problems and I feel confident about our pace for the rest of the weekend."

Massa, meanwhile, was also happy with his performance as he looks to overturn the seven-point deficit between himself and Hamilton this weekend. "The balance of the car is very good, both on the first timed lap and over a distance," said the Brazilian. "The times are very close and maybe I could have been a bit further up the order in the afternoon session if I had not encountered traffic on my last run on the soft tyres. I really want to do well this weekend and we will try and win and bring home the best result possible for the two championships."

Meanwhile, Honda team manager Nick Fry believes it is crucial for all Formula 1 teams to stick together in a bid to come through the financial crisis that threatens the existence of the sport.

FIA president Max Mosley warned earlier this week Formula 1 may only survive for one more year if spiralling costs are not brought under control. The Super Aguri team fell victim to a lack of funds earlier this year when they dropped out of this season's championship after the Spanish Grand Prix and Mosley issued a stark warning more teams may suffer a similar fate.

"We need to work together as ten teams to make sure we stick together, work together and survive," Fry said. "What we have got to do is make sure that other teams which aren't making money and do have sponsorships that are hugely affected by the latest financial crisis do come through it."