Tokyo - McLaren's Lewis Hamilton tightened his grip on the Formula One title by claiming pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix yesterday.

It was his sixth pole of the season, after a time of 1 minute 18.404 seconds. His title rival Felipe Massa of Ferrari will start from a disappointing fifth.

But the question in the paddock at the Fuji Speedway was not so much whether the McLaren driver is capable of claiming his first title as whether he is capable of doing it fairly.

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