Hamilton: Pole not as easy as it looked

The McLaren driver stormed to his third pole position of the 2009 season at the Yas Marina circuit, where the Briton finished over six tenths of a second ahead of Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton claimed it was not as comfortable as it looked but, given his gap, the former world champion admitted he should have opted for a heavier fuel load.

"Like I always say it was never easy but definitely as fun as it looked," said Hamilton. "The car has probably been best it has been all year. It seems to feel quite comfortable on this circuit.

"What they have done here is incredible and a it's a pleasure to drive here. When you have a good car here it is a great drive.

"With that lap for sure we should have thought about going longer, but I don't think we were too aggressive [on fuel]. That lap felt like it was getting better and better."

He added: "Anything could have happened. Clearly we have been very competitive all weekend, and car has felt great. I didn't have doubts in my mind about what we have done it. It was easy to make mistakes but fortunately I didn't, so I'm happy with my lap."

Hamilton again praised the circuit, which he reckons should provide an entertaining race tomorrow.

"We are always trying to improve other circuits and say kerbs should be good here, but honestly I think they have almost done a perfect job at this track with the layout," he added.

"It's really smooth, the kerbs are nice and in the right places. For racing it is very safe. There's quite a few opportunities to overtake so should be a good race."