Hamilton 'overwhelmed' by strong showing

The young Briton, making his Grand Prix debut this weekend, continued with his outstanding debut by outpacing his world champion teammate Fernando Alonso in the first two parts of today's qualifying.

In the final one, Hamilton was unable to repeat the feat, but his performance was enough to secure him fourth position, meaning he will start right behind Alonso.

"I'm overwhelmed to be on the second row for my first Grand Prix," said Hamilton. "A huge thank you to the team who have worked so hard both here at the track and back at base.

"This weekend is what I have been preparing myself for during the past 13 years and I'm enjoying every moment," added the 22-year-old.

Despite his strong qualifying, Hamilton is not making any predictions for the race, and wants to score as many points as possible.

"I think we are in with a good chance in the race. Basically I want to get a good start and then work hard to score as many points for the team and myself. I'm not going to make any predictions because anything can happen but so far so good."