Hamilton: McLaren stronger than in Germany

The world championship leader got his Hungarian GP off to a perfect start with the fastest time in Friday practice and, with his car featuring new nose horn wings, he is bullish about the progress his team are making.

"Today was a smooth day, quite relaxed," said Hamilton. "Heikki and I both had a very productive day, with no problems with the car.

"I feel even from the last race we've made another step. At the moment I feel very comfortable in the car. But also I feel there's still time for me to find, and I'm going to do that.

"We've the pace to attack and go for the win. It's down to us to pull it out of the bag."

Although McLaren's form compared to Ferrari on the hot Hungaroring circuit has lifted Hamilton's confidence, he was not letting his expectations get too carried away though.

When asked if his performance meant he was favourite for pole position, he responded: "I never see myself as favourite."

The hot weather greeting teams this weekend is good news for McLaren's rivals Ferrari, who are better able to manage their tyres when temperatures are higher.

Ferrari's technical director Aldo Costa said on Friday that the team's struggles in Hockenheim owed much to them not being able to use the tyres well there, because of the cooler than expected weather.

"I think the last race for us was very difficult for finding the good grip from the tyres but we were not the only team," he explained. "Most of the drivers were having, during the race mainly, a lot of problems to find grip.

"The tyres were very, very hard probably - too hard for that kind of circuit especially the hard tyre. There was no wear at all, the tyre just was not working for that kind of circuit. This was valid for us and it was valid as well for most of the teams."