Hamilton says Alonso was lighter

The McLaren rookie, tied in the lead of the championship after the first three races of the season, will start the race from fourth position, two places behind world champion teammate Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton said after qualifying that fourth was the best he could have hoped for, suggesting his car was heavier than Alonso's.

"I didn't make any mistakes, I could possibly have got another tenth out of the car, we are on different fuel loads and that was the best," said Hamilton. "The second row was probably the maximum I could have got and we knew that going into qualifying.

"I think as you can see in the tests we are extremely close, we are extracting the maximum from the car.

"In test sessions we have been extremely close and we have both been doing a fantastic job, Fernando is on a slightly different strategy to me and that is what puts him ahead. There is nothing I can do about that."

The Briton, the first driver in F1 history to finish his first three races of the podium, admitted he was very happy with his performance today.

"I am not disappointed with it," he said. "To go into my fourth Grand Prix and have another good qualifying position. I think I did a very good job, I think the team did a good job to get myself out first and I think we possibly had a car to be third, and not a car to be any higher up.

"That would require a perfect lap and that happens very rarely, so I think from there we can get a very good start and I think Fernando did a fantastic job as well."