Hamilton edged closer to the title with victory in Japan

The McLaren driver leads the world drivers championship by 12 points from team-mate Fernando Alonso with just 20 points still up for grabs.

And the 22-year-old said: "There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of days about the championship but I just push that to the back of my mind.

"Anything is still possible but I am confident and determined."

606: DEBATE Should Hamilton play it safe and look to stay behind Alonso by a place or so? GD

Following this weekend's race in Shanghai, Formula One decamps to Interlagos for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, 21 October.

Hamilton continued: "We are going into these races with a really tight drivers' battle and I am only focused on doing the best I can in China and Brazil.

"They are tracks that I have not ever been to before, but I don't see that as a problem. This has also been the case on four occasions already this season, at Melbourne, Montreal, Indianapolis and Fuji and I was on the podium at all those races.

All I think about is winning at Shanghai and Interlagos Fernando Alonso

"From what I understand, Shanghai is very fast in comparison with Interlagos, so we will have two quite different races.

"But everything is too tight for me to predict what will happen."

Meanwhile, reigning champion Alonso, who won in Shanghai in 2005, is determined not to give up his title without a fight.

"My retirement in Japan has not made it easy for me, but there are still 20 points to be won and I am going to fight hard for each one," the Spaniard said.

"All I think about is winning at Shanghai and Interlagos.

"I like to race in Shanghai, it is a new wide circuit and has been designed to allow overtaking.

"Slipstreaming along the main back straight and then passing into the first corner is one of the main chances.

"But you have to make sure you have as much momentum as possible when you exit turn 13, so mechanical grip is as important as making sure we have a competitive top speed."

SPORTS EDITORS' BLOG If Lewis Hamilton wins, as he may well do, we'll have a lot on F1 Amanda Farnsworth Editor, Inside Sport

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has said Hamilton should thank the Italian team if he wins the title after McLaren were found guilty of possessing confidential Ferrari technical information.

McLaren were excluded from this year's constructors' championship and fined �49.2m, but the drivers escaped punishment.

"I still think that in the spying affair it was a big mistake not to disqualify the McLaren drivers as well," Di Montezemolo told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

"It means that if Hamilton wins the championship, he will also win it thanks to Ferrari because there is a lot of Ferrari in his car."

F1's governing body, the FIA, said "some degree of sporting advantage was obtained [by McLaren], though it may forever be impossible to quantify that advantage in concrete terms".