Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has insisted that he has not given up hope of securing a race victory before the end of the season.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel has dominated since the end of August, emerging with four wins, but Hamilton is confident that his Mercedes car can compete with his rivals during the Japanese Grand Prix.
The 28-year-old told Sky Sports News: "This is definitely one that I would love to win. The first sector is the most challenging and critical, but the Red Bull has been the quickest there over the last four years and I anticipate that they will be the quickest there again.
"But I hope that our strong showing in the second sector at Korea will correlate here. So fingers crossed. We'll see, but I hope that we can give the Red Bulls a close race.
"I haven't given up. We just need a weekend to go our way. I've not had any good races here and I really hope that this will be a new start for me here."
Hamilton is currently in fourth position in the drivers' standings.
