• Chinese Grand Prix - Qualifying

Hamilton 'in a good position' for race

ESPNF1 Staff
April 14, 2012 « Hamilton 'not happy' with FP3 changes | Rosberg celebrates 'perfect lap' »
Lewis Hamilton was 0.505s slower than Nico Rosberg in qualifying © Getty Images
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Lewis Hamilton believes he is "in a good position" for the Chinese Grand Prix despite his five-place grid penalty.

While Nico Rosberg took the headlines with a stunning pole lap, Hamilton delivered a solid performance to set the second fastest time in qualifying. Having changed his gearbox prior to FP3 Hamilton will drop down to seventh place on the grid but he said he was pleased with how the car was working in race specification.

"We're in a good position I think," Hamilton said in the post-race press conference. "I made some good setup changes to the car; it feels good, particularly for the long runs. So it's going to be tough, for sure, I've got a lot of good drivers ahead of me but I'll be pushing as hard as I can.

"We've got a good car but I'm going to have to work my way up through the field tomorrow. But as long as I move forward in the race, I'll be happy. I've set my car up to be at its strongest in the race. So, although Jenson and I are a little bit further back than we'd like, and we've got a bit of work to do, we can still make it. This is a track where you can overtake, and we've got DRS too - so I'm massively excited about tomorrow."

Hamilton also praised Rosberg for the manner of his maiden pole position.

"A big congratulations to Nico, it's fantastic and really done in style - there's quite a big gap between us. I'm very proud of him, obviously we grew up together, racing together and we always dreamed of being in Formula One. Now we're on the front row together - obviously I've got a penalty but still, it's a good feeling."

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