Lewis Hamilton started his weekend in Brazil well, recording the fastest time in practice before the last Formula 1 race of the season at Interlagos on Friday.
He also escaped a penalty that could have jeopardized his title chances.
The McLaren star was one of three drivers who used an extra set of wet tires in the opening practice, along with Honda's Jenson Button and Super Aguri's Takuma Sato.
However, FIA decided on a 15,000 euro (US$21,400) fine to the teams, and spared the drivers from any penalty.
The 22-year-old Hamilton is trying to become the first rookie to win the title and the youngest F1 champion ever, overcoming Alonso's feat in 2005. A title would make Hamilton the first British F1 champion since Damon Hill in 1996.
Hamilton impressed everyone by putting together a record-breaking streak of nine consecutive podiums to start his rookie season, finishing in the top-two spots in six of his first seven races.
Things changed quickly for the young Briton, though, and the task doesn't seem that simple anymore.
Hamilton has a four-point lead over teammate Fernando Alonso, winner of the last two world championships, and seven over Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, the only other driver in contention.
To secure the title without depending on the fate of others, Hamilton must finish first or second in Brazil. But after the impressive run in the first seven months of the season, Hamilton has only finished in the top-two three times in his last nine races.
He won the Hungarian GP, was second in Italy and first in Japan. In the other races since the impressive start, Hamilton finished ninth, in the European GP, and picked up his first DNF of the season by running off the track into a gravel trap at the Chinese GP two weeks ago -- a mistake that cost him a chance to clinch the title in advance.
"All the pressure was building up and everything was going on," Hamilton said. "It wasn't a great weekend."
The rookie said he is much calmer entering the Brazilian GP, however.
"I feel a bit more relaxed this weekend, quite a bit more relaxed than I did at the last race," Hamilton said.
Hamilton shouldn't panic just yet.
His point-advantage is still significant, and he can win the title even by failing to finish among the leaders today. A sixth-place finish will be enough, for example, if Alonso is third or worse and Raikkonen doesn't win the race.
"I'm very anxious, like everyone else is too, probably," Hamilton said. "I feel it's going to be a good weekend and I'm very, very confident."
It has been a rocky season for Hamilton despite his success.
His McLaren team was fined a record US$100 million by the World Motor Sport Council on Sept. 13 after Formula One's governing body FIA found the team guilty of using leaked data from Ferrari. The British team was kicked out of the manufacturers' championship by FIA, but Hamilton and Alonso were not docked points.
Hamilton also had a difficult relationship with Alonso after the Spaniard complained McLaren was not giving him enough respect.
Hamilton downplayed the rift, however, saying their relationship was "as good as ever."
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but