Hamilton entering the lions' den in Sao Paulo

NO FORMULA One driver in his right mind would turn down the chance to go into the final race of the season with a seven-point lead. But nor would any driver want that final race to be his main rival's home Grand Prix, at a circuit packed with that rival's supporters.

That is the situation faced by Lewis Hamilton tomorrow, when he takes on Felipe Massa in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, and it is one which makes the outcome particularly hard to call, according to Allan McNish, the Scot whose own illustrious career in motorsport included a spell in Formula One with Toyota. "It's going to be a very good climax to the season," McNish said.

"Lewis is obviously in a strong position, in one sense, as he has a seven-point lead and is driving the best car. But he is also in a weak position, driving in Brazil, against a Brazilian in a Ferrari.

"And this last race of the season is taking place in exactly the same circumstances as last year. There are a few ghosts in the back of Lewis's mind that he wants to put to rest. I think it will be quite an intense race."

One school of thought is that Hamilton learned from his experiences last year, when he lost out on the title in the final race. McNish, by contrast, believes that the pressure is greater on the Englishman than it was during his rookie season.

"In some ways, no," he said when asked if he thought Hamilton was a more mature competitor now. "I've seen the reverse.

"Last year, he just drove without any pressure at all, and he rattled (his McLaren team-mate] Fernando Alonso. To some extent it was naivety that cost him, and inexperience crept up on him in China and in the last race.

"He's under more pressure this year, and he's making more mistakes because of that. That's not a criticism of Lewis, just a simple fact.

"The thing is he may never have as good a chance of becoming world champion again in his career. No-one is guaranteed the best car. Even Ayrton Senna had years when he was not in a position to challenge for the world championship."

Having rounded off his own season at the start of last month with victory in the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans race in the United States, McNish has spent much of the past few weeks in Portugal, test-driving with Audi in Portugal. He will fly home to Monte Carlo this afternoon, however, and a rare day off tomorrow will allow the 39-year-old to watch the action from Interlagos.

At the circuit for practice, Hamilton maintained he is "very relaxed" in holding a seven-point lead over home hero

Massa. "Last year I came here with a lead, but I had a very bad race in China," added Hamilton. "I looked at this race and I was nervous. I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, and I had to deal with it. It was a very tough weekend.

"This weekend there is a different approach. I've come from a win, and I've matured a lot, last year and this year.

"So although it's going to be a very tough weekend, I feel very relaxed, and we've another great opportunity to win the title. I will have to keep control of my emotions and do a solid job like I did in China."

However, local media were doing their best to upset his preparations, staging a number of schoolboy pranks as Hamilton attended an event on behalf of one of his sponsors.

In the middle of a Q&A session with the television media, Rafinha Bastos, front man for comedy programme CQC, presented Hamilton with a Vasco da Gama football shirt. Vasco are a club from Rio de Janeiro, so when Hamilton held up the shirt in front of the cameras, after first asking 'Is it clean?', there were a number of boos from the 300-strong Sao Paulo audience.

Bastos, though, was then outshone by Vesgo, one half of television comedy duo, Vesgo and Silvio. His initial comments were friendly enough as he said: "Hamilton, we are here today to say we like you very much and we are cheering for you. In the name of all Brazilians who love you, we'd like to give you this gift." At which point he threw onto the stage for Hamilton a soft toy black cat, a symbol of bad luck in Brazil.

Although Hamilton was told 'Don't touch it, don't touch it', it was too late, he had already picked it up.

The Brazilian people have not hailed one of their own as world champion since Senna won the last of his three titles in 1991. Yet tomorrow Massa

has the opportunity to claim the crown on home soil, a feat not achieved since Giuseppe Farini won the inaugural title in 1950 in front of his Italian fans.

Massa is aiming to become the fourth Brazilian to clinch the title, following in the footsteps of Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Senna, and he said: "Senna was like a kind of god here in Brazil, and before that there was Nelson's father (referring to Piquet junior, sat alongside him).

"I think we have a great country in terms of building drivers, and I would hope we can carry on with that story here."

STANDINGS

1 L Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 94

2 F Massa (Bra) Ferrari 87

3 R Kubica (Pol) Sauber 75

4 K Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 69

5 N Heidfeld (Ger) Sauber 60

6 F Alonso (Spa) Renault 53

7 H Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 51

8 S Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 30

9 J Trulli (Ita) Toyota 30

10 T Glock (Ger) Toyota 22

HOW THE WORLD DRIVERS' TITLE WILL BE DECIDED TOMORROW

LEWIS Hamilton and Felipe Massa will go head-to-head for the Formula One world drivers' championship this weekend.

McLaren's Hamilton currently holds a seven-point lead over Ferrari ace Massa going into the final race of the season in Brazil.

Britain's Hamilton is aiming to become the youngest champion in Formula One history at the age of 23 years and 300 days.

As for Massa, he would become Brazil's first world champion since Ayrton Senna in 1991.

Here, we assess what each man has to do to take the crown.

HAMILTON WILL BE CHAMPION IF ...

• He finishes fifth or higher, regardless of Massa's placing.

• He finishes sixth or seventh and Massa does not win.

• Massa fails to finish in the top two.

MASSA WILL BE CHAMPION IF...

• He wins and Hamilton is sixth or lower. If Massa wins and Hamilton comes sixth, the two would be level on 97 points, but Massa would take the title on countback, 6-5 on race wins.

• He finishes second and Hamilton is eighth. The two would be level on 95 points, but Massa would again take the title on countback, 3-2 on second places.