Postive start for Brit ace

4:05am Saturday 5th July 2008

Lewis Hamilton declared himself satisfied with his start to the British Grand Prix weekend after finishing inside the top three in both of yesterday's practice sessions at Silverstone.

The McLaren driver is looking to end a run of two races without scoring points but was outpaced by team-mate Heikki Kovalainen in both of the 90-minute sessions, the Finn fastest in the afternoon having been second behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

On a day when it was confirmed Silverstone is to lose the British Grand Prix to Donington Park from 2010, Hamilton's demeanour when addressing the media appeared to reflect the gloominess of some in the paddock, although he insisted he was happy with his progress.

''Although we only tested here last week, the track felt quite different today,'' said Hamilton, whose afternoon session began with a trip across the grass at Club.

''The car's balance felt good despite my having a grassy moment. In the afternoon, the car felt reasonably consistent, and I feel we've got a good benchmark for the weekend ahead.''

Hamilton's failure to rack up points in both Canada and France has been typical of a topsy-turvy season that has seen the 23-year-old provide flashes of brilliance with his wins in Australia and Monaco, but commit errors that were simply not a feature of his rookie year.

Hamilton finds himself 10 points behind championship leader Massa at the season's midway point but he remains bullish over his prospects for the remainder of the campaign.

''It's just a different year, it's another year,'' he said. ''We're working as hard as we can. We're stronger this year than we were last year - we just haven't been as consistent."

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