'Better than sex' says Hamilton as he sweeps to pole

He stunned McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso as he forced Spain's double world champion into a mistake while trying to better the target time.

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Hamilton, 22, finished a comfortable 0.4sec quicker than Alonso even though he had never set foot on the track until Thursday.

Asked whether the feeling was better than sex, he said: "It's completely different, but I'd say it is, yes.

"This is the best feeling I have ever had. This is just fantastic. It is another step on my steep learning curve in Formula One.

"I always knew I had it in me but I was not sure when it was going to happen. But I got the opportunity and this time I grabbed it.

"I will have a good night with my dad and trainer and relax. I will get a good night's sleep and then come back and do the same job in the race.

"I will have to make sure I have both my mirrors covered and not give up any space at the first corner."

His father, Anthony, said: "I can't believe what's happened to the family this year. What Lewis has done is incredible."

Hamilton, level on points with Alonso but trailing in the drivers' standings due to races won, had done only a handful of laps on the track simulator at McLaren's Woking factory before heading to North America.

He said: "The circuit took a while to learn in practice. It looks a simple circuit but it is demanding physically and mentally. But when I arrived it was like going out on a circuit you've never been on before.

"I went away after practice and worked out how I could improve my lap as I knew I had a quicker time in me.

"The car was so sweet and I didn't make a mistake. But the race is going to be tough and Fernando will be my main rival."

Hamilton admitted he had to push it to the limit to seize his historic pole, the quickest by a rookie since Jacques Villeneuve took top spot on his debut in Australia 11 years ago.

It took seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher 41 races before his first pole, although Hamilton is not the quickest Briton to achieve the feat. John Surtees did it in his second race.

"I was chuffed when the team told me I was P1. When you know your lap is going to be quick you come up to that final corner at 210mph and you just think, 'Don't mess it up'.

"But it was tight and it's not easy when you have got a two-time world champion hunting you down."

Alonso paid the price for putting too much of his Bridgestone tyres on a rumble strip a couple of corners from the end.

The Swiss-based racer, 25, admitted: "I put the tyres over a kerb and lost 0.3sec. That cost me."

Germany's Nick Heidfeld is third followed by the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.