Q. Lewis, what are your best memories of the Japanese Grand Prix?
Lewis Hamilton: It has to be the battles between [Ayrton] Senna and [Alain] Prost. Senna was my favourite driver and I think about him a lot when I’m at Suzuka because he had many great battles there. When I brake for the chicane I find myself thinking, ‘this is where he and Prost crashed in 1989’ and it’s the same at Turn 1, where they crashed again in ’90.
Q. What would it mean to you to win at Suzuka?
LH: So much history has been made at Suzuka and I’d love to be a part of that. I’ve won in Japan before, at Fuji in ’07, but it would mean a lot more to win at Suzuka. It’s a much more challenging track and many of the great drivers have won there.
Q. How challenging is Suzuka to drive?
LH: Suzuka is one of the great, old circuits. I love it. It’s like Monaco in that the driver can make a real difference. You have to be very precise, or you’ll go off, and you don’t want to go off at Suzuka because there’s very little run-off and you’ll damage the car.
Q. Do you remember your crash during practice last year?
LH: I remember it like it was yesterday. I was pushing hard and lost control on the bump. It’s a fantastic bump! It’s a really great bump and they should never smooth it out because that’s what makes the corner so challenging. The problem with many of the modern circuits is that they’re very smooth – too smooth.
Q. Do you have a lot of Japanese fans?
LH: One of my biggest fans is Japanese. She’s called Sashiko and she follows me everywhere, from Australia to Europe. I think she leaves her husband working at home to pay for her travel! I see her a lot and always try and have a chat. It’s wonderful to have such passionate support, but Japan is special.
Q. Do you think the MP4-26 will be competitive at Suzuka?
LH: Red Bull are very quick over one lap in qualifying, but our pace is closer to theirs in race conditions and I think we can be competitive. I expect us to be quicker than we were last year, when Jenson [Button] and I finished fourth and fifth.
