Q: Lewis, the final qualifying of the season, you were on top in Q1 and Q2 - but then Rosberg pushed you to P2 on the grid for his sixth pole in a row. What was the issue for you?
Lewis Hamilton: There was a bit of an issue with the suspension. I have used that for the last six races and today I thought that I would be able to get back to where I’ve been before but obviously it didn’t work out for me.
Q: Since Singapore there has been changes made to the car, somehow not really to your benefit…
LH: I don’t know why, but I can’t get a comfortable balance. If you look before Singapore the gap between me and Nico was in the region of between three to six tenths in qualifying but since then a lot of time has been lost. It might look right now that the other side is going a lot better but I see it differently: our side has gone a lot worse.
Q: Is it correct that the suspension was modified because of the overall problems in Singapore?
LH: No, the set-up has been modified because of the issues in Singapore.
Q: Are you worried that what you have now will go forward into next year?
LH: It will go into next year! So of course this is something that I am thinking about and I am sitting down with my engineers to find out how we can rectify that. In the race the car is still quite good so we have to figure out about qualifying.
Q: Have you run back to back with the old and new set-up - and have you seen on the data that the new one is probably quicker but you don’t have the feeling for it?
LH: Well, first of all I don’t believe they’ve made these changes to make the car slower. That is for sure!
Q: How are you feeling going into the last race of the season? You have already bagged the title, but lately have suffered a bit of a dip…
LH: I approach the race with the plan to work around that issue. First I don't think that it makes a huge difference even though I felt that the car has been trickier since Suzuka. I have been pushing and pushing since then, but I think I’ve already lost the advantage - even if I don't really want to believe that is true.
Q: Do you still work a lot in the simulator? And how is the percentage of real track laps versus simulator laps?
LH: I would say it is 70 percent track laps and 30 percent simulator. To be honest I don’t get a lot out of simulators. They are not really the greatest thing. (laughs) Actually I could do a whole season without a simulator and it wouldn't make any difference.
Q: Ron was talking today about the time you were with McLaren and that in some ways he has been your surrogate father…
LH: Wait a minute: a man cannot be a surrogate father, how can that be? A woman is a surrogate mother…
Q. Ok, aside from this minor technicality Ron said that if you were still with McLaren he wouldn’t approve of your life-style. Do you have a response?
LH: No, not really! I don’t know why he is touching on that subject. Maybe he has nothing else positive to talk about! (laughs) Who I am today, regardless of whom I was working for, is my own creation. I do a lot of things outside the sport - and I think it has a positive impact on my career.
