Merc 'a whole lot better' than Malaysia - Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton claimed his 41st career pole position today and will lead the pack tomorrow for the third consecutive year in China, a statistic which bodes well for the Mercedes driver's prospects.

"China continues to be a good circuit for me, with some very positive vibes here," Hamilton said. "But the car is handling fantastically well this weekend, and a whole lot better compared to how it was in Malaysia."

The fastest man in qualifying, who managed to edge out team mate Nico Rosberg by a mere 0.04 seconds, was quick to praise his team for the work accomplished since the last round.

"At the end of the day this team just continues to do an amazing job. The guys at the factory did a great job to regroup after the last race and bring some improvements for this weekend and I feel very grateful for that."

In spite of today's satisfying performance, Hamilton remains entirely focused on tomorrow's race which he insists may not be the clear sailing to the chequered flag that some believe.

"It's obviously going to be tough as Nico is very quick and the Ferraris are also good on their long runs, so it's not over by all means. You really can't get too excited, it's a long race tomorrow."

Click here for Chris Medland's qualifying report from Shanghai.

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