Wet or Dry, We Can Make Up Lost Points - Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton says he can take another step towards his first formula one title this weekend despite the crushing disappointment of this week's FIA court of appeal decision in Paris, which upheld the punishment that relegated him from first place to third in the Belgian grand prix for a driving infringement, reducing his championship lead to one point.

"Perhaps it wasn't the best result we planned for, but we move on. It's all in the past now," said the McLaren driver. "All we're going to do is focus on the next few races, and we can approach these races with the same confidence we did the last few."

He added that the hearing had not upset his preparations. "It didn't disrupt my week," he said. "I came straight from there to the airport and on the plane to here. It was kind of like doing a long stopover - it was just as boring as that."

Hamilton is looking forward to the challenge of the first formula one night race under floodlights, to be held on Sunday on Singapore's new Marina Bay street circuit. He walked the track yesterday and described it as a blend of Monte Carlo and the Valencia street circuit, which made its formula one debut in August when the European grand prix was run there. But he made it clear that he and his rivals were only guessing and would not really understand its intricacies in detail until after this evening's first free-practice session at 7pm.

"I would say it's a mixture between both," he said. "It's very similar to Valencia, where you have the brick walls instead of the Monaco barriers. But I think it's a little bit narrower, and instead of driving around a harbor you're driving through the streets. So it feels a little bit different. Also there are tighter corners on this track, so it's very fast but also with some tight, slow corners."

He added that he was finding the discipline of trying to remain on European time, to keep absolutely in line with the race's weekend schedule, a little bewildering. The late race start of 8pm local time on Sunday means that live television coverage in Europe will be screened in formula one's customary early-afternoon slot.

"I've just had my breakfast," he said at a press conference yesterday evening, "and have been making sure we do our training at night, past 9pm. We stay up until three or four in the morning, although there is not much to do at 4am. We're not partying, just watching films and playing computer games."

The weather must certainly be kept in mind, with Singapore's humid and sweltering daytime temperatures heralding heavy rain most evenings at this time of the year, but Hamilton is not worried. "Not really," he said. "We always hope for a dry race because it's a lot easier to push to the limit and keep the car on the track. The wet is always a step into the unknown. If you start from pole you're likely to lead into the opening corner and you'll be the first to hit any big puddles, [but] the fact is that we have a competitive car in both conditions so I'm not bothered what the weather does. I feel confident either way."

The Englishman goes into the 15th round of the 18-race series with Ferrari's Felipe Massa hot on his heels, but Hamilton's team-mate, Heikki Kovalainen, said it was too early to contemplate team orders or using his car to disrupt Ferrari.

"If I have the chance to help the team I will do so, but the team has not given me any instructions," said the Finn. "The best I can do for the team is take as many points as possible from the other drivers. If I have a chance to win, I will take it.

"The circuit here looks great. I ran it on Tuesday and I expect it will be a very exciting race."