CHRIS LINES

AP Auto Racing writer

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in both practice sessions yesterday for the Chinese Grand Prix, demonstrating pace that could clinch him the Formula One title this Sunday.

Hamilton, who leads the drivers' championship by five points with two races remaining, set a best time of 1 minute 35.630 seconds in morning practice at Shanghai International Circuit, and followed that with a 1:35.750 to top the timesheets in the second session.

"No matter what we changed on the car, it just kept getting better and better and the grip and balance kept improving," Hamilton said.

"This is the best possible way to kick off any weekend and has given me extra confidence for the next few days. I feel in a very good place right now."

If Hamilton is to clinch the title in China, he would need to finish on the podium and score at least six more points in the race than Ferrari's Felipe Massa. Otherwise the title will be decided in the final race of the season in Brazil.

Massa, Hamilton's closest title rival, had the second best time of the day in the morning session, 0.390 seconds behind. He was sixth in the afternoon session.

"In the first session, the car was a bit twitchy but then, especially in the second part of the afternoon session, its handling improved," Massa said. "We are working in the right direction in terms of car set-up."

In the morning session, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen - who celebrated his 29th birthday yesterday - and McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen were third and fourth quickest.

In the afternoon, Fernando Alonso, winner of the past two Grands Prix, was second behind Hamilton, with his Renault teammate Nelson Piquet Jnr. third.

"We need to work hard because we can improve the car a little bit in terms of set up," said Alonso, who won the 2006 Chinese GP with Renault and finished second in last year's race while driving for McLaren.

"The two top teams are very quick so we need to get in the middle of them and have a better qualifier to start from the front."

BMW's Robert Kubica, who is 12 points behind Hamilton in the standings and retains slim hopes of the title, was fifth quickest in the morning session but only 12th in the afternoon.

"We tried all kinds of different things, but I'm not happy with the balance of the car, and the overall level of grip is poor," Kubica said. "There is still a lot of work to be done."

Cloudy conditions prevailed yesterday and were expected for qualifying today, but light rain is forecast for tomorrow.