LEWIS Hamilton faces a potentially incendiary press conference today in the build-up to Sunday's penultimate race of the year in Shanghai, China. World governing body, the FIA, appear to have fanned the flames of discord currently raging around Hamilton by lining the McLaren driver up alongside Fernando Alonso, Robert Kubica and Kimi Raikkonen.
There was no love lost between Hamilton and Alonso as an acrimonious partnership developed during their time at McLaren last year before ultimately exploding. As if to underline the depth of ill feeling still prevalent inside Alonso, the Spaniard ear
lier this week made it clear he would help Felipe Massa win the world title.
Alonso also agreed with the stewards' decision to punish Hamilton with a drive-through penalty for forcing Raikkonen off at the first corner of Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.
As for Kubica, the BMW Sauber driver stoked up the apparent anti-Hamilton feeling ahead of the race in Fuji by questioning the 23-year-old 's driving standards at times this year.
Kubica drew particular attention to a couple of Hamilton's moves at the Italian Grand Prix last month, with one pass on Toyota's Timo Glock forcing the German to put two wheels on the grass to avoid a collision.
Raikkonen, despite his ice-cool persona, must surely be starting to get a little hot under the collar with Hamilton's antics. The incident in the Japanese Grand Prix followed Hamilton driving into the back of the Finn in the pitlane in Montreal during the Canadian Grand Prix, an accident which forced both drivers out of the race – and crucial championship points.
Then in the Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton passed Raikkonen in the now infamous chicane-cutting manoeuvre that sparked a furious debate and an appeal that was ultimately thrown out.
The full article contains 303 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
