Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert support Mika Hakkinen in his chase for the World Championship title. Not because they like Hakkinen more than Michael Schumacher but just because they believe he will triumph.

Hill stated: "It is going to be a tall order for Michael to beat Mika. Michael could not have picked a worse circuit than Suzuka because it is a track Mika loves."

"Mika has the better car, which will help. But the real story will be the tyres. The right choice will be critical. Bridgestone screwed up in the race last year, but they have learned from that. It's going to be a very close contest, and it's going to depend on which tyre company. Bridgestone or Goodyear has done the right work for this track and where their development has been concentrated," Herbert stated.

"Mika has the right character to win but crucially he also has the support from Ron Dennis and all the team at McLaren. The difference between them is that Michael also has the character but doesn't need the support. He's more capable of doing something on his own. Mika responds well to being told by McLaren that he can do the job, and I believe that he will. He only needs to finish second if Michael wins, but I can't see Mika doing that because settling for second can be fatal. I think he will just do the normal thing and go for it. He has to," he added.

"He's got to get through the first few laps, which will be the most dangerous for him and then he can decide how to play the race."