Hamilton urged to keep his cool

Britons Jackie Stewart and Damon Hill have told compatriot Lewis Hamilton he must keep his cool in the season's last two races if he is to join them as a Formula One champion.

The 23-year-old McLaren driver leads Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa by five points and could become the sport's youngest champion if circumstances favour him in China this weekend.

However Hamilton failed to score in Japan on Sunday, reviving fears that history may be repeating itself after he allowed a commanding lead to slip through his fingers at the same stage last year.

"This was not his finest hour," triple champion Stewart told the RBS website (www.rbssport.com/f1), commenting on Hamilton's wild start and subsequent drive-through penalty at Fuji.

"His approach in that first corner was slightly arrogant to other drivers.

"The Japanese race demonstrated that Lewis is still very young, in only his second season, and although he comes across as very cool in interviews, he doesn't always have the same level of mind management when he's racing.

"Lewis Hamilton can still win the championship, but not if he drives the last two races the way he drove in Japan."

Both leading contenders have struggled for consistency in the final run to the title, with Massa finishing seventh in Japan and failing to score in the previous race in Singapore due to a team blunder at his first pitstop.

Renault's Fernando Alonso, the double world champion who was Hamilton's team mate and foe at McLaren in 2007, has won the last two races.

Hamilton had scored 107 points by this stage last year but currently leads with just 84.

Whoever wins the title will end up with the lowest overall tally by a champion since Ferrari's now-retired Michael Schumacher triumphed with 93 points in 2003.

"If Lewis keeps a cool head, then he'll be fine. I think he will get the job done," Hill, Britain's last champion with Williams in 1996, told BBC radio.

"There is no question about his speed or ability, he just needs to stay cool and let it happen.

"Lewis is impatient to win that first title but you can't force it.

"It is a mark of Lewis's career that he's always been very keen to get the job done and move on, and you need that impatience. But it can sometimes trip you up if you're not wary."