Hamilton hopes KERS helps him lead

The Briton will start from fourth position, but will have the KERS system to boost his chances of making a good start, something the cars in front of him will not.

Hamilton admitted McLaren team is still not quick enough to fight on top, but the Briton was nonetheless encouraged by his result in qualifying in Hungary.

"It was so hard out there this afternoon," Hamilton said. "Maybe we could have been closer to the front because my final lap wasn't a great one, but fourth is a good position from which to start tomorrow's race.

"We're still not quick enough and need to keep pushing but, nonetheless, it feels great to be back up there competing for the first few rows on the grid.

"I have a few cars to try and boost past so I hope there's some good grip on my side of the grid - it would be fantastic to get the lead into the first corner," he said.

Team-mate Heikki Kovalainen qualified in sixth place, the Finn claiming it was hard to find grip when the car was on low fuel.

"It was harder to find grip on the track this afternoon, and the car was sliding around quite a bit," said Kovalainen. "It was better on heavier tanks, but it was still difficult to get enough heat into the tyres. At one point, I overcooked them - it was tricky to get the right balance, so sixth was the best I could do today.

"The most encouraging thing about today is that we're much closer to the front. With the same upgrades as Lewis, we've made great progress, and it shows the incredible efforts of everybody in the team.

"I don't know if any other team in the paddock could have made such a big step. We should all be encouraged by that - but the work starts again to get us back to the very front."