It will probably come as no surprise to hear that one driver who believes Lewis Hamilton should have been punished for his behaviour behind the pace car last week is his own teammate, Fernando Alonso.

Speaking earlier today, the Spaniard said that the 2007 title fight was decided when race stewards elected not to punish Hamilton, even though the championship was actually decided when Alonso - in the same car, on the same track and in the same conditions - crashed out.

"I'm not thinking of this championship any more," he told Italy's Sky TV this morning, "it's been decided off the track."

The Spaniard then dismissed the drivers' briefing, presided over by FIA Safety Delegate, Charlie Whiting, claiming that it is dominated by officials and not the drivers.

"The drivers' briefing has no purpose," he said. "You go there to hear what Charlie Whiting and the other officials say. Twenty-one drivers have an opinion, Charlie and the officials another, and so it's like talking to a wall.

"It's better not to waste time and try to have fun in the car," he added.

However, there was little fun for the World Champion in qualifying when he could only mange fourth on the grid for tomorrow's race.

"Fourth place is the worst place for me to start," he admitted. "I'm a little bit pessimistic but fingers crossed for some rain, because maybe then I will have a shot."

Meanwhile, the search for the race fan who shot the footage that ended up on YouTube, and almost got Hamilton excluded from the results of the Japanese GP, continues.