McLaren's Hamilton has a seven-point lead over Ferrari's Massa ahead of Sunday's title decider at Interlagos.
The two title rivals recommenced battle in a closely-fought qualifying session at Interlagos.
With a maximum of 10 points available, the 23-year-old Englishman will be a strong favourite to become the youngest champion in F1 history at Interlagos.
The 23-year-old arrived at Interlagos in 2007 with a seven-point advantage over Raikkonen only to see the title slip through his fingers in a dramatic race.
With title rival Felipe Massa winning at Interlagos, Hamilton needed at least a fifth-placed finish to secure the title, but was sixth heading into the final lap.
With Massa winning at Interlagos, the Englishman knew he had to finish fifth to claim the title but he had slipped to sixth with one lap to go.
The McLaren team are determined not to jeopardise Hamilton's title chances by pushing for victory at Interlagos but in first practice the two title rivals were evenly matched.
The Ferrari driver, who says he "grew up" at the Interlagos circuit, won his home race in 2006 and was second to Raikkonen last year after letting him pass.
He was passed by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton on the final lap at Brazil's Interlagos circuit, which promoted Hamilton to fifth, enough for the Englishman to claim the drivers' championship.
We'll be watching the cars whizz round the bumpy Interlagos circuit for the next hour or so to gauge form ahead of qualifying at 1600, when the real business begins.
Hamilton saw the title slip through his fingers at Interlagos last season when he ran off the road trying to pass his then McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso on the first lap.
Massa will not be racing at his beloved Interlagos circuit this weekend as he is still recovering from serious head injuries suffered in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.
Australia will host the season's opening grand prix in Melbourne on March 18, with Brazil staging 2012's final race at Interlagos on November 25, the week after the new race in Texas.
He could make it six in Brazil on Sunday in his final race before retirement but needs to win at Interlagos and hope championship leader Fernando Alonso fails to score a point.
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But his hopes appear to have faded after he was the slowest man out on the soaking Interlagos surface once the second session restarted following a 70-minute delay due to horrendous weather.
The Renault driver, who won the 2005 and 2006 world titles at Interlagos, edged out the Brazilian by just 0.057 secs on his way to the day's best flying lap of 1:12.296.
From a pre-race downpour of rain on the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, to the early exit of veteran David Coulthard and the effects of a drying track -- this race had it all.
The McLaren driver needed only to finish inside the top five at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo's Interlagos circuit to claim the crown, but it happened in the most dramatic of circumstances.
My delight wasn't greeted by an air of friendly camaraderie, not least because everyone - and I do mean everyone - watching on at the Interlagos circuit thought the title had gone to Felipe Massa.
With a seven-point lead over Massa in the bank, the Englishman doesn't need to win at Interlagos but asking him to rein in his racing instincts is about as likely as Brazilians suddenly being rubbish at football.
The 23-year-old, who is seven points clear of Ferrari's Felipe Massa heading into the race at Interlagos, wears a yellow helmet because of his admiration for Senna, who was killed in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
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