(AFP) - World championship leader Lewis Hamilton has shrugged off concerns over the condition of the Montreal track ahead of Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.
The British McLaren driver produced a sizzling qualifying performance to take pole position by a huge margin on Saturday and was seemingly the only driver not to be affected by the crumbling track surface.
The problem areas are due to be repaired before the grand prix, but Hamilton is confident that he can find a way to win regardless of the driving conditions.
"At the end of the day if there is a problem, it is my job to find a solution and get around it as quick as possible. It is one of my skills," he said.
"I am able to adjust to whatever conditions I have, and that is probably why I am so strong in the wet. I feel at home, I feel comfortable. And it wasn't tough, to be honest.
"For me, more of a concern is the safety cars that there probably will be there, and not getting caught out like some of the drivers were last year."
Hamilton, who topped the qualifying times by over six tenths of a second, will be gunning for his second consecutive pole and race win double in Montreal - he will start alongside BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica.
Finnish World Champion Kimi Raikkonen is third on the grid for Ferrari, with Renault's Fernando Alonso completing the second row.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of qualifying was Felipe Massa only managing sixth fastest in the second Ferrari.
The Brazilian had been aiming for his third consecutive pole but could not even match the time of Williams' German driver Nico Rosberg who produced his best result of the season to take fifth on the grid.
However, Massa, currently four points behind Hamilton and one adrift of Raikkonen, has not given up on what would be a spectacular victory.
After qualifying he rightly pointed at the traditionally unpredictable nature of races on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as a cause for optimism.
He said: "In normal circumstances I'd have said that starting from sixth meant I had abandoned any chance of fighting for a top place finish.
"I don't think I can say that here, especially as we have been so strong all weekend.
"Clearly, if these track conditions continue there will be a further element of uncertainty in a race which traditionally, can already be influenced by chance events."
Parts of the Montreal track were resurfaced before this year's grand prix and it was these areas that crumbled in qualifying.
Race officials responded to numerous driver complaints by ordering the problem areas to be resurfaced, but there must still be concerns over whether the track can cope with the demands of a 70-lap race.