Motor Racing: Hamilton All Set for First F1 Victory

Lewis Hamilton will start from pole position for today's Canadian Grand Prix, giving the 22-year-old his best chance yet of earning his first Formula One victory. The McLaren driver put in a scintillating qualifying lap to pip his team-mate, double world champion Fernando Alonso, by 0.4 seconds.

Hamilton has made a record breaking start to his career in motor sport's premier category, scoring successive podium finishes in his first five races, but has never before been on pole. In the closing stages of a tense qualifying session in Montreal, it looked as though Alonso would pip the youngster from Stevenage to the fastest time, just as he did in Monaco a fortnight ago, but the Spaniard lost more than half a second in the final third of his last lap and had to settle for second on the grid. Nick Heidfeld was third fastest ahead of the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.

Hamilton was delighted with his display and said: 'It's been a fantastic day and already a fantastic weekend. The team have done a great job. It's not easy, especially when you have a two-time world champion hunting you down.'

'The first row will be enough. I think we will have enough to win the race,' said a disappointed Alonso, who is tied with Hamilton at the top of the world championship standings on 38 points

Ron Dennis, the McLaren principal who signed Hamilton to his team's driver development program when he was only 13, praised both drivers, saying: 'It was a great effort from both of them. For us it's just great to have the margin we appear to have on the Ferraris, which is our main competition. To be here and have both cars on the front row is really great. I'm proud for the team, we're here as a team. I'm delighted for Lewis.'

McLaren received criticism from some quarters in Monaco when the team ordered their drivers to slow when they were running first and second, a strategy that denied Hamilton a chance of victory, but that is a far less likely scenario on a more open track such as Montreal.

'We are absolutely even-handed and it's the way we are going to be tomorrow,' said Dennis.