Hamilton hit with penalty as rain washes out qualifying

5:06 p.m. Sat, 09 Oct, SUZUKA, Japan – McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton suffered a huge blow to his title hopes when he was slapped with a five-place penalty for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix, but torrential rains made headlines as they forced the abandonment of qualifying today.The 25-year-old, third in the drivers’ championship and needing a good finish to stay in touch with the leaders, was reprimanded for an illegal gear-box change further compounding an already disappointing weekend.Hamilton had earlier crashed out at the Degner Curve just 44 minutes into the first practice session yesterday.However, race officials moved to abandon qualifying today in light of safety concerns, with persistent heavy rain drenching the Suzuka Circuit and making the historic track dangerous for driving.Qualifying will begin tomorrow at 10 am  with the race set for 3 pm.Hamilton was in agreement with the stewards’ decision, describing the conditions as some of the worst he had ever seen.“Rivers were coming across the track from one side to the other. It was just crazy!” said the Brit, whose paternal grandparents hail from the Caribbean island of Grenada.“I like going out in the wet but to keep the tyres at the right temperature we have to go at a certain pace and that was completely impossible. There was aquaplaning everywhere.”Ironically, the postponement worked in Hamilton’s favour as it gave the team enough time to properly prepare the car for tomorrow’s action.“Yesterday (Friday) I did so much damage to the car so the guys now have enough time to fix everything perfectly again,” he pointed out.“Because when we got ready for Practice Three this morning the car was not 100 per cent, but tomorrow (Sunday) it will be.”Hamilton now faces a tough outing tomorrow, knowing that he needs a top performance in qualifying to compensate for his grid penalty in the race which will follow just hours later.He is on 182 points, 20 adrift of leader Red Bull’s Mark Webber with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in second on 191 points.Hamilton said he would be looking to get the most out of tomorrow’s race.“I don’t think we have any expectations. I want to get through qualifying safely and get as good a position as possible with the limited time that I have on the track,” he said.“In the race, I hope to make my way forward and score as many points as I can.” (CMC)