SHANGHAI, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Formula One world championship leader Lewis Hamilton insisted Friday he had done nothing to merit a dangerous driving probe that could cost him valuable points, but said he expected to be penalised.

With just two races to go, Hamilton is waiting to find out if his 12-point lead in the drivers´ standings will be hit by the stewards´ investigation into his driving behind the safety car in last weekend´s Japanese Grand Prix.

After complaints by Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel that Hamilton was at least partially responsible for their race-ending crash at Fuji, Vettel´s Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost gave stewards video evidence of the controversial manoeuvres.

But the rookie British driver, speaking at qualifying for Sunday´s Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, said he was completely innocent.

"I had a good weekend, I didn´t put a foot wrong. I didn´t do anything to put anyone else in danger," he said.

"I´ve come away to China and all of a sudden I´m going to be punished for something.

"I just think it´s a real shame for the sport. Formula One´s supposed to be about hard, fair competition. That´s what I´ve tried to do this year, just be fair.

"There´s been some real strange situations this year where I´m made to look the bad person and, by the looks of it, this weekend be given a penalty.

"If this is the way it´s going to keep going, it´s not somewhere I really want to be."

Hamilton could clinch the title with a win in Shanghai. But if found guilty of improper driving, his points from Japan could be erased.

That incident was missed by official TV coverage, but a clip posted on the YouTube video sharing website shows Hamilton slowing dramatically and veering to the right of the track just before Vettel rear-ended Webber.

Webber issued a statement Friday clarifying that he did not make an official complaint to Formula One race stewards about Hamilton´s driving, although he did publicly criticise the Briton in Shanghai on Thursday.

While Hamilton dominated the off-track agenda in Shanghai, Ferrari´s Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time in each of Friday´s practice sessions ahead of Sunday´s penultimate race of the season.

Still, Raikkonen is wary of taking too much encouragement from topping the times in practice, when Ferrari´s McLaren rivals may have been carrying more fuel than him.

"A good day, even if the Friday results have to be considered for what they are given that we do not know what our main rivals are up to," said the Finn, who is 17 points adrift of Hamilton with just two races left.

"The track was very slippery, but luckily, there are plenty of escape roads (so) that any mistakes don´t cost a driver anything.

"I´m expecting a very close fight in qualifying," he added.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso was second fastest in both sessions ahead of Raikkonen´s teammate Felipe Massa, while Hamilton was fourth.