Lewis Hamilton has raised the stakes for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix with another swipe at team-mate and title rival Fernando Alonso.
The world championship leader has accused the Spaniard of being disloyal to McLaren after Alonso threatened to reveal evidence that would implicate the team in the spying row with Ferrari due to an argument with principal Ron Dennis at the Hungarian Grand Prix over his status in the Woking-based outfit.
And Hamilton believes Alonso's behaviour was unforgivable given their attempts to make him feel at home after his switch from Renault.
''Fernando was the world champion coming into the team and, especially at the beginning of the season, he's the guy that's supposed to take them to the championship, and they've bent over backwards to make him feel comfortable,'' said Hamilton.
''Me and Pedro (de la Rosa) have done the same, we've been told 'try and make Fernando feel welcome in the team'.
''We've done that and then you saw what he did.''
Hamilton set the fastest time of the day as he led a McLaren one-two in yesterday's second practice session after the Ferrari duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa had served notice the winner of tomorrow's 67-lap race at the Fuji Speedway will be as difficult to predict as first thought.
The Fuji circuit is staging a grand prix for the first time in 30 years and all 11 teams took full advantage of the first opportunity to get out on track with most completing around 60 laps over the two 90-minute periods.
Ferrari dominated the morning stint with Raikkonen topping the timesheets before McLaren, and Hamilton in particular, hit back in the afternoon as the 22-year-old beat the Finn's earlier time by nearly four tenths of a second.
And the rookie reiterated his stance that he will take the fight to Alonso over the final three races that will decide the world championship after the Spaniard forced him wide at the first turn in Belgium last time out.
''I'm going to attack 110 per cent,'' he said. ''I won't be giving him room next time. But I don't want to do anything silly that would take us both off the track.''
Hamilton was also honest enough to admit that poor choices regarding the set-up of his car have allowed Alonso to chip away at his lead over the last three races.
''I certainly haven't got it right the last couple of races,'' he added.
''When you go through Friday testing you haven't got time to change it, you haven't got that much time to take big risks so when you go through to Saturday qualifying you're stuck with what you've got.
''Usually me and Fernando have very, very similar set-ups and, more often that not, it's a set-up I've found because I always do the first day and a half of a three day test and I find the set-up.
''Pedro or Fernando can drive my car and they either like it or they make some changes to it.
''At the last race (in Spa), I let someone else do my set-up thinking that was the right way to go and it wasn't
''So we were miles apart and although I wasn't that far off his times, I have to feel my set-up was a lot further in the other direction.''
However, the McLaren driver was much happier with his first outing at the Fuji Speedway.
''It's obviously a challenge to get to know a new track but I have tried that three times this year already,'' he said.
''I stayed on the same set of tyres in the first session just to get a feel for the layout of the circuit.
''The grip levels increased throughout but the challenge is when you don't have a real idea of when they will stabilise.
''But we found a good basis and made continuous progress. Everything seems to be going in the right direction.''
Mark Webber, meanwhile, has backed under-fire Alonso to emerge from the most difficult season of his career as Formula One world champion.
Red Bull Racing driver Webber believes Alonso will triumph in his duel with Hamilton, saying:
''Alonso's coming into form and Lewis might be tightening up a bit.
''He's had a phenomenal first year and he might go out and brain this one and do a great job, but the last few races he's finished last out of the only four cars that can win the race.
''He's finished last of those in two of the last three so he knows he's got to take the fight to Fernando and take the championship back off him.
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