Hamilton delighted with pole

McLaren ace sees off challenge of Massa

Last updated: 20th July 2008

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British ace Lewis Hamilton was delighted after taking pole position at the German Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver followed up his fine British Grand Prix victory by recording the fastest lap in final qualifying in Hockenheim.

The joint championship leader finished just under 0.2 seconds ahead of rival Felipe Massa in Ferrari, with the young driver's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen back in third.

Welcoming his pole, Hamilton said: "It's quite cool coming here to Germany. I've had some great races here, but not just here but also at the Nurburgring as well.

"Driving into the stadium it's a bit like a football crowd, but the support means a lot and I'm really grateful.

"I feel pretty chilled and happy with what we've done so far, but it's tomorrow that counts and when Heikki (Kovalainen) and I have to do the best job possible.

Keep pushing

"I feel we have the pace, so we will keep on pushing. My final lap I was quite happy with to be honest. It went very smoothly.

"The first Q3 lap I had was looking to be a good lap but they put the flags out at Turn 12. I think Heikki ran a bit wide. I had to be careful not to get a penalty, so I gave a big lift.

"I know I had it in me and knew we had the pace. I could have gone a bit quicker if we needed to, so it was pretty cool."

Hamilton won in the wet at Silverstone and rain is again expected for Sunday's race. While this will give the British driver confidence, he is taking nothing for granted.

He added: "It is very close. I am surprised to see how close it is between all the teams... it is a tenth here and there."

Massa's views

Massa finished last at Silverstone after he spun five times but does not fear the predicted rain on Sunday.

Instead he believes it will be a tough and tight race between Ferrari and McLaren.

He said: "It's not really a recovery, I know I'm quick. All my career I was quick on the wet, even in go-karts - always when it rained I won."

Kovalainen will head the second row after recovering from an early driving error to post the third fastest time.

"I just lost the rear end and went wide. Maybe I was just trying to go too deep into the corner," said the Finn, who recovered despite his car sustaining some damage.