Hamilton makes F1 history with podium

The McLaren driver put on another brilliant performance in Bahrain to cross the finish line in second position for the second race in succession.

Hamilton not only set a new record, but he also moved into the lead of the championship, now shared with teammate Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

"I am happy with it. This weekend we had definitely closed the gap to Ferrari and to have another second in only my third race I could not ask for more," said the Briton, who is already looking to score his first Grand Prix win.

"There is only more step from here and we will keep on pushing for Barcelona," he added.

"I think it is a fantastic achievement. I am extremely proud, we have worked extremely hard to get where we are today, me and my family, but also my team in terms of how competitive we are.

"I am looking forward to go home, I have not been home for nine weeks - I'll be back next week. I think the support is growing and looking forward to getting to Silverstone and seeing how many fans are there.

"I have not experienced it yet, so it will be new to me. I hope I will still be able to walk the streets!"

The 22-year-old finished the race just 2.3 seconds behind race winner Felipe Massa, after closing the gap significantly in the final part of the race.

"Unfortunately I didn't get as good a start as Felipe, he did very well for the first corner," Hamilton added. "I tried to make sure I tried to stay as close as possible and maybe have a chance on the first lap, we were evenly matched.

"I knew he would be going for another lap than me so I had to make sure I stayed as close as possible. I struggled a bit in the second stint but came good in the end."

Today's race was also the first time that Hamilton has beaten world champion Alonso in a Grand Prix.