Well, the new star did the business when required - Hamilton took pole for the British GP and Raikkonen had to be content with second spot. Hamilton's performance fitted into what is becoming his usual pattern: he did enough to get through to Q3 and then saved the magic for his very last run. For a long time it looked as though Alonso had the measure of him here but it proved not so. Lewis begins to seem unstoppable.
Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren
In contrast, Kimi appears to be gaining the upper hand over his team mate, Massa. All weekend he has been the quicker of the two Ferrari drivers and he has a new aura of confidence about him. Couple that with the fact that Ferrari and McLaren are about as equal in performance as it is possible to get, and we have the prospect of a hard-fought race ahead of us.
Much depends on who makes the best start tomorrow, of course, and, judging by recent form, that could well be Raikkonen. Alonso and Massa will be hoping to have some say in the matter too, although they might be better advised to try Raikkonen's French GP strategy of using the pit stops to get ahead. Any of the four could win this one.
Robert Kubica upheld BMW's honor by grabbing 5th slot but two teams have caught the German cars in Qualifying at least: Toyota and Renault. Ralf led the Toyota charge in 6th, perhaps spurred on by rumors about his future or lack of it, then came Kovalainen and Fisichella in the two Renaults. Heidfeld and Trulli completed the top ten, making the the front five rows of the grid the preserve of only five teams.
The gap to the rest is very slim, however, and Red Bull and Williams (in spite of Rosberg not making it through to Q2 thanks to traffic and a yellow flag) might interfere with the cars just ahead of them. The Toro Rossos faded in Q2 after showing so well in Practice and Honda, having reverted to last year's car, improved slightly to put the Super Aguris in their place.
The times are given below:
1 Hamilton McLaren 1:19.997
2 Raikkonen Ferrari 1:20.099
3 Alonso McLaren 1:20.147
4 Massa Ferrari 1:20.265
5 Kubica BMW 1:20.401
6 Schumacher Toyota 1:20.516
7 Kovalainen Renault 1:20.721
8 Fisichella Renault 1:20.775
9 Heidfeld BMW 1:20.894
10 Trulli Toyota 1:21.240
11 Webber Red Bull 1:20.235
12 Coulthard Red Bull 1:20.329
13 Wurz Williams 1:20.350
14 Barrichello Honda 1:20.364
15 Speed Toro Rosso 1:20.515
16 Liuzzi Toro Rosso 1:20.823
17 Rosberg Williams 1:21.219
18 Button Honda 1:21.335
19 Davidson Super Aguri 1:21.448
20 Sutil Spyker 1:22.019
21 Sato Super Aguri 1:22.045
22 Albers Spyker 1:22.589
Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren
In contrast, Kimi appears to be gaining the upper hand over his team mate, Massa. All weekend he has been the quicker of the two Ferrari drivers and he has a new aura of confidence about him. Couple that with the fact that Ferrari and McLaren are about as equal in performance as it is possible to get, and we have the prospect of a hard-fought race ahead of us.
Much depends on who makes the best start tomorrow, of course, and, judging by recent form, that could well be Raikkonen. Alonso and Massa will be hoping to have some say in the matter too, although they might be better advised to try Raikkonen's French GP strategy of using the pit stops to get ahead. Any of the four could win this one.
Robert Kubica upheld BMW's honor by grabbing 5th slot but two teams have caught the German cars in Qualifying at least: Toyota and Renault. Ralf led the Toyota charge in 6th, perhaps spurred on by rumors about his future or lack of it, then came Kovalainen and Fisichella in the two Renaults. Heidfeld and Trulli completed the top ten, making the the front five rows of the grid the preserve of only five teams.
The gap to the rest is very slim, however, and Red Bull and Williams (in spite of Rosberg not making it through to Q2 thanks to traffic and a yellow flag) might interfere with the cars just ahead of them. The Toro Rossos faded in Q2 after showing so well in Practice and Honda, having reverted to last year's car, improved slightly to put the Super Aguris in their place.
The times are given below:
1 Hamilton McLaren 1:19.997
2 Raikkonen Ferrari 1:20.099
3 Alonso McLaren 1:20.147
4 Massa Ferrari 1:20.265
5 Kubica BMW 1:20.401
6 Schumacher Toyota 1:20.516
7 Kovalainen Renault 1:20.721
8 Fisichella Renault 1:20.775
9 Heidfeld BMW 1:20.894
10 Trulli Toyota 1:21.240
11 Webber Red Bull 1:20.235
12 Coulthard Red Bull 1:20.329
13 Wurz Williams 1:20.350
14 Barrichello Honda 1:20.364
15 Speed Toro Rosso 1:20.515
16 Liuzzi Toro Rosso 1:20.823
17 Rosberg Williams 1:21.219
18 Button Honda 1:21.335
19 Davidson Super Aguri 1:21.448
20 Sutil Spyker 1:22.019
21 Sato Super Aguri 1:22.045
22 Albers Spyker 1:22.589