Hamilton: I had to pull it all out

The McLaren championship leader delighted his home crowd with a last-gasp flying lap that moved him to the top of the times by a tenth of second from Ferrari rival Kimi Raikkonen.

The crowd stood on their feet to applaud the 22-year-old rookie, who had scored his third pole position in nine races.

"I can hear everyone outside," said a delighted Hamilton. "It was an extremely intense qualifying session. The Ferraris were extremely quick as was Fernando.

"It was down to the final lap. The first timed lap was not very good and I lost time in Turn 1.

"I had to pull it all out and I did a sweet job to get the lap. I am very excited about tomorrow now.

"I have been struggling in sector 1, losing two tenths especially to Fernando. This time I came across the line and tried to do it flat, didn't do it but nearly did, then tried to maintain that for the rest of the lap.

"The last couple of corners I knew I was up three tenths or something. When you have that pressure, seeing the fans out there is fantastic.

"It is great to see that reaction. It gives you an extra buzz."

Hamilton, leading the championship by 14 points from his teammate Fernando Alonso, admitted he had been boosted by the British crowd.

"I feel quite relaxed coming into this weekend. I don't know about other drivers, maybe it is part of my personality. I like to make people happy, I sign extra autographs, to see the support and the flags waving, I see the Hamilton flags, I get a buzz from that a lot of energy, this is a big weekend for me.

"There is pressure but more of the pressure comes from myself. Tomorrow I will do the best job I can and we will see what happens."