Hamilton ecstatic after 'fantastic' day

The McLaren driver, in only his sixth race in Formula One, beat teammate Fernando Alonso by over four tenths of a second to give the British squad their second consecutive pole position of the season.

Hamilton moved to the top of the times in the dying seconds of the session, and Alonso was unable to match his lap despite having beaten his teammate's split times.

It was McLaren's first pole in Canada since 1998.

"It has been a fantastic day and a fantastic weekend, the team have done a fantastic job," said Hamilton. "It came down to this and had to pull it out at the last minute. It is not easy, especially when you have a two-time world champion hunting you down. I am very happy.

"For the final lap the car was sweet, the tyres were perfect and I had to pull it all out. The important thing was to be consistent."

Hamilton, tied on points with Alonso at the head of the championship table, will be looking for his maiden victory in tomorrow's race.

The rookie reckons it will be vital to arrive in the lead at the first corner.

"Tomorrow is going to be tough as always, but I have not been fortunate enough to start on pole (before)," the Briton added. "Tomorrow is a new experience for me, we have the car, the strategy and the team.

"I have to get to the first corner first and then after that we have to stay consistent."