Hamilton bullish on victory chances

The championship leader had to settle for second place on tomorrow's starting grid after being beaten by Ferrari rival Felipe Massa by just 0.044 seconds.

Despite that, Hamilton believes McLaren have a strong car for the race, and he reckons he has a good chance of fighting for victory.

"It was good for me and I was quite pleased with that," said Hamilton. "In practice we have been quick and in Q1 and Q2 didn't have pace and couldn't put a good lap together. The first timed lap in Q3 I was fourth and not sure if I could do it, but I hung it out, kept on pushing.

"I lost a bit of time in final corner, it is a tricky corner, you don't want to lose too much there. But it's good for the team.

"The car feels very good, we have had three weeks to improve the car and the team has been working really hard, not everyone had holidays. They have been pushing to come here with another step.

"We have a very strong package and tomorrow we stand in good stead for a competitive race with the Ferraris."

Hamilton's teammate Fernando Alonso, seven points behind the Briton in the standings, will start the race from fourth place.