Has Lewis let it slip?

The McLaren tyro ended up in the gravel entering the pits, leaving the way clear for winner Kimi Raikkonen and runner-up Fernando Alonso to turn the title decider in 13 days into a three-way fight.

Hamilton's rare blunder means his lead over teammate Alonso is slashed to just four points, with Ferrari's Raikkonen seven adrift.

Yesterday was a catastrophic anticlimax for the rookie who wanted to become Britain's first world champion since Damon Hill 11 years ago with one race to spare.

Although heartbroken, he turned his attention to the showdown in Sao Paulo, where finishing second or simply ahead of his rivals will see him clinch the crown.

He said: "I was gutted when I got out of the car as I hadn't made a mistake all year and to do it on the way into the pits is not something I usually do. But you can't go through life without making mistakes — I'm over it.

"Now we look forward to Brazil and I know the team is working hard to make sure the car is quick enough. There are still points to be had. I'm disappointed but there is still one more race to go and we are still ahead. I will bounce back and attack it."

Hamilton's error was partly forced by the state of his tyres. By the time he tried to pit for a second time after lap 31, the tread had almost worn smooth and he was struggling to control the car.

"The tyres were getting worse and worse but my mirrors were dirty and I couldn't see them. It's unfortunate for the team. They did a fantastic job as always and I'm so sorry for them. We still have one race to go, so don't worry, I can still do it."

McLaren would have called him in earlier to change from intermediate to dry tyres but feared the rain, which had sprinkled on and off throughout, was about to return. Therefore they kept him out, despite the fact he was haemorrhaging time.

He had just surrendered the lead to Raikkonen — with Alonso taking big chunks out of his deficit — when disaster struck. Hamilton walked out of the car uninjured but dejected.

The 22-year-old, who started the race on pole, said: 'The decision to keep the intermediate tyres was joint between the team and me and I didn't realise how badly damaged they were. It's all part of my learning process."

McLaren boss Ron Dennis, however, refused to point the finger at his protege, saying: "It's too extreme to say anyone made a mistake in this. It's been a very competitive season between our drivers and it will go on for another grand prix. I don't think we did anything dramatically wrong and neither did Lewis. But the circuit was considerably drier than the pitlane entrance. That's what made a difference."

RESULTS AND STANDINGS 1 K Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1hr 37min 58.395sec, 2 F Alonso (Sp) McLaren 1:38:08.195, 3 F Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:38:11.195, 4 S Vettel (G) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:38:51.895, 5 J Button (GB) Honda 1:39:06.995, 6 V Liuzzi (It) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39:11.995, 7 N Heidfeld (G) BMW Sauber 1:39:12.595, 8 D Coulthard (GB) Red Bull 1:39:19.095, 9 H Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 1:39:19.495, 10 M Webber (A) Red Bull 1:39:22.995, 11 G Fisichella (It) Renault 1:39:24.995, 12 A Wurz (Aut) Williams at 1 lap, 13 J Trulli (It) Toyota at 1 lap, 14 T Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri at 1 lap, 15 R Barrichello (Bra) Honda at 1 lap, 16 N Rosberg (G) Williams at 2 laps, 17 S Yamamoto (Jpn) Spyker at 3 laps. Drivers ch'ship: 1 L Hamilton (GB) McLaren 107pts, 2 Alonso 103, 3 Raikkonen 100, 4 Massa 86, 5 Heidfeld 58, 6 R Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 35. Constructors: 1 Ferrari 186, 2 BMW Sauber 94, 3 Renault 51, 4 Williams 28, 5 Red Bull 24.

SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

HAMILTON will win the world title if he is at least second in the closing race in Brazil a week on Sunday.

ALONSO, who is four points behind, needs to score five more than Hamilton. The championship will also be his if he wins and Hamilton is no higher than third. That would put them level on points but Alonso would win on countback, having won five races to Hamilton's four.

RAIKKONEN, seven off the lead, needs to finish second or better to stand any chance of being champion. The points on offer are: 1st: 10, 2nd: 8, 3rd: 6, 4th: 5, 5th: 4, 6th: 3, 7th: 2, 8th: 1.