Hamilton and McLaren happy with solid finish

Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton praised his McLaren-Mercedes team Sunday for producing a strong and reliable points-scoring car.

The Briton spoke after finishing sixth behind teammate Heikki Kovalainen in the Chinese Grand Prix won by Sebastian Vettel who claimed a maiden victory for Red Bull in a one-two finish with Mark Webber.

Hamilton endured a torrid race in the rain-swept conditions and spun off the circuit several times.

"Just that we finished and obviously the reliability of the car is fantastic, so it was great job from the guys. The most important thing is just continue to try and move forward and try and score some more points," he said.

"The conditions were so difficult - it was terrible. It was a little bit of fun at the beginning when I had some grip. "But then, as always, I don't know if it is my driving style or my car, we seem to destroy my tyres very early on.

"Especially at the end, there was 20 laps left, and after five laps my front left tyre was finished. So it was just really tough, aquaplaning all over the place.

SHANGHAI, April 19, 2009 (AFP)