Hamilton's chances fading after Japan GP

Lewis Hamilton finally finished a race but his hopes for the Formula One championship took a major blow at Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished fifth in the race at Suzuka, and is now 28 points behind leader Mark Webber with just three races left.

"I'm a bit disappointed in myself," Hamilton said after the race. "The team has been doing everything to score points. On my part, I made a big mistake on Friday and then had the gearbox problem."

Hamilton's bad weekend started on Friday when he crashed in practice, running wide in the Degner bend and hitting the tire barrier, damaging his McLaren.

Then on Sunday he was penalized for making a gearbox change. He finished third in qualifying but the penalty dropped him down to eighth place on the grid and he never seriously challenged winner Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton was knocked out of the Singapore Grand Prix after a mid-race collision with Webber. It was there that his gearbox was first damaged.

He also had problems with the new gearbox in Sunday's race, losing third gear.

"I just downshifted to third and then accelerated and lost it," Hamilton said.

Consecutive non-finishes at Italy and Singapore already had Hamilton dropping in the standings. He led the championship after winning the Canadian Grand Prix in June but is now in fourth place behind Vettel, who moved into third.

Now, the English driver has almost no chance.

"It will be very difficult but we'll keep pushing, we remain optimistic" Hamilton said.

Hamilton's McLaren teammate Jenson Button is fifth in the standings. The McLaren duo have scored just 103 points over six races since Germany.

Hamilton's next chance to change his luck will come at the Korean Grand Prix on Oct. 24 assuming the race goes ahead as scheduled.

There are concerns the track may not be ready. A final decision on the Korean GP venue will be made at the start of next week when FIA race director Charlie Whiting is set to complete a pre-race safety inspection.