Lewis Hamilton paid glowing tribute to his McLaren-Mercedes team and car after the reigning F1 World Champion led a Silver Arrows front row lock-out in qualifying for the European Grand Prix in Valencia – suggesting that they ‘haven’t seen this level of performance for a long time’.

Quick throughout practice around the Valencia Street Circuit under the baking Spanish sun, Hamilton kept his powder dry during the truncated third free practice session on Saturday morning – lapping just eighth-quickest – but effusive about the balance of his car, it was clear that the British star was going to be a contender.

A comfortable second-fastest in both Q1 and Q2 courtesy of only a single run in each, a searing opening salvo in Q3 put the Stevenage-born ace on top of the pile by the gaping margin of 1.3 seconds, and though his rivals would close the gap – to less than a tenth in the end – they could not topple him, despite a couple of brief off-track moments for the ten-time grand prix-winner. Team-mate Heikki Kovalainen looked to be on-course to snatch Hamilton’s thunder in the very dying moments of Q3, but a late mistake preserved the status quo as it was.

“After winning in Hungary, we came here not knowing if the others would have closed the gap,” confessed the 24-year-old after clinching his 14th career F1 pole position. “Clearly, we’re still competitive. We haven’t seen this level of performance for a long time. Last year, I was able to do only one run in an easy qualifying session but, this year, we’ve had to use every second of the sessions to get through.

“I’m really happy with the balance – the car feels great, particularly in the slower corners and I managed a couple of very good laps today. We’ll start the race from a very competitive position – but a lot will depend on strategy and how the start goes. Congratulations to Heikki – he did a fantastic job. It’s been very close between us all weekend, so this is great to see. We’ve got the front row to ourselves – and that’s something we’ve all wanted for a very long time…”

Indeed, such a scenario has not occurred since the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix more than a year ago, and the belated repetition after a largely torrid season delighted the Woking-based outfit’s team principal Martin Whitmarsh, who was quick to praise his drivers for having fulfilled their brief to absolute perfection. And with KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems) to help them get away from the line, on Sunday they could just prove to be unbeatable…

“A truly brilliant result for the entire team,” enthused the Englishman. “Well done, everyone! As for Lewis and Heikki, well, they were both brilliant too. They made things look relatively easy, but in fact the conditions out there today were very difficult for all the drivers – it was hot and humid, and the circuit is an extremely demanding one. Lewis did a fantastic job, and I’m sure both our drivers will perform very well in tomorrow’s race.”

“A great result,” concurred Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug. “Nobody has had fewer laps over the weekend so far, and nobody was faster than Lewis today. The lap time from his first outing in Q3 was strong enough that he could afford to abort his second attempt after two quicker sector times in order to save fuel for the race – a truly great job from Lewis. Every one of us got the best reward today with this ‘double pole’, and tomorrow the reward could be even better.”

McLaren has taken the wraps off its 2009 challenger, the MP4-24, at its hi-tec Woking base.

McLaren has unveiled the car that Lewis Hamilton will use to defend his Formula One world championship title, with the covers coming off the MP4-24 at a ceremony in front of the media at home in Woking.

The Mercedes-powered team became the third to launch its 2009 car, built to meet sweeping regulation changes, following in the wake of rivals Ferrari and Toyota, which took the wraps off their contenders on Monday and Thursday respectively.

The team has already completed two chassis and will begin its pre-season testing programme at the new Autodromo do Algarve circuit in Portugal on Monday. Test driver Pedro de la Rosa will conduct the first two days before Hamilton and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen take over on Wednesday and Thursday.

Force India has revealed that it is to link up with McLaren and Mercedes in F1 in 2009 – in a deal that includes an engine supply, KERS technology, gearbox and hydraulic systems and other ‘operational support’.

Just three days on from the announcement that it is to separate from engine-supplier Ferrari with immediate effect , Force India has confirmed the worst-kept secret in the Formula 1 paddock – that it will switch to Mercedes power in 2009.

Chairman and newly-appointed team principal Dr Vijay Mallya has repeatedly insisted of late that Force India is aiming big next year – what will be only the Silverstone-based minnows’ second campaign in the top flight.

Having failed to score a point in 2008 despite both Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil having run well up the order on occasion – as high as second place in the former’s case in Singapore – Mallya has considerably loftier ambitions for season two, and with the raft of changes in the sport’s regulations the Kingfisher Airlines billionaire had made clear that he desired more than just an engine-supplier next year.

With the Indian also pushing for an entire drivetrain, KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems) technology and other technical assistance as FIF1 bids to take a leap up the grid, Ferrari was unable to comply – but McLaren was.

‘The Force India Formula 1 team is pleased to announce a major new partnership that will propel the team forward for the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship and beyond,’ revealed a statement from the former Jordan Grand Prix and Midland F1 concern, going on to describe ‘a ground-breaking technical partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies (which is a company wholly owned by the McLaren Group) and with Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines.