Italian Grand Prix: Friday Practice

Kimi Raikkonen ended the day at the top of the timesheets after a severely rain-interrupted first day of action in Monza. The first session was all but a total washout, with only the second session seeing any meaningful running from the teams. If it rains like it did during fist practice, we may be lucky to get a race at all on Sunday!

Not much to report from the first session other than rain, rain, rain.

And then some more rain.

There was hardly any meaningful running throughout the session, with neither McLaren even bothering to set a lap time. The only incident of note was Kazuki Nakajima putting his Williams into a gravel trap and ending his session barely before it had begun. The rain got so bad towards the end that the pit lane drains were all overflowing, and the session was red-flagged. The early stoppage meant that Sutil and Fisichella were the fastest two drivers of the day in their Force Indias!


First Practice Times

01 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:32.842 18 laps
02 R. Barrichello Honda 1:33.428 14 laps
03 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:33.695 19 laps
04 T. Glock Toyota 1:36.800 13 laps
05 N. Rosberg Williams 1:36.900 9 laps
06 F. Alonso Renault 1:36.965 10 laps
07 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.142 20 laps
08 J. Trulli Toyota 1:37.214 13 laps
09 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:37.392 5 laps
10 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.754 13 laps
11 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:38.057 11 laps
12 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:38.303 7 laps
13 J. Button Honda 1:39.062 12 laps
14 F. Massa Ferrari 1:40.233 5 laps
15 N. Heidfeld BMW no time 1 lap
16 K. Nakajima Williams no time 2 laps
17 R. Kubica BMW no time 1 lap
18 H. Kovalainen McLaren no time 1 lap
19 M. Webber Red Bull no time 1 lap
20 L. Hamilton McLaren no time 1 lap

The second session was far more interesting, with the track now starting to dry. As you would expect the times tumbled throughout the session, and there was plenty of running from all the major teams as they sought to make up for lost time from the first session washout.

As the track dried out and more and more rubber was laid down the lead changed hands more times than could be remembered, but by the end of it Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen took the Friday honours. His success came on the back of some great news for Kimi and his Finnish fans, as it was announced just before the session that he has signed an extension to his current contract which will take him to the end of 2010. I'm not sure how great that news is for the Tifosi, because to be honest Kimi really hasn't looked the part for most of this season. It certainly isn't good news for Fernando Alonso, the man who many thought would be the man to take over from Kimi in 2010. His options for the future seem to be narrowing somewhat, with BMW now being a likely destination for the Spaniard.

The BMW's looked very quick in the second session, finishing 2nd and 3rd. Kubica edged out Nick Heidfeld, the man most believe will have to make way for Alonso if the rumoured move is to take place. Kubica did have a rather spectacular spin into the second chicane towards the end of the session, but no lasting damage done. Lewis Hamilton was fourth for McLaren in a fairly solid performance for the young Brit. It was a very close session all round though, with the top four drivers separated by barely more than a tenth of a second.

Title contender Felipe Massa was a little further adrift down in sixth place, with Williams' Nico Rosberg getting himself between Massa and Hamilton in fifth with a good performance. Force India surprisingly managed to continue their "good form" from first practice, with Adrian Sutil actually making it into the top 10 on merit in 9th place. Toyota seem to have taken something of a step back in terms of pace compared to earlier in the season, as Trulli and Glock looked terribly slow as they did in Spa. Hopefully for them that means that they are merely focusing all their development attention on 2009. Renault too looked pretty dismal, with Alonso way down in 18th and Nelson Piquet dead last after an embarrassing spin at the Retifilio left him wedged high and dry on the speed bumps, meaning he needed rescuing by the marshalls!

Practice Two Times

01 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:23.861 31 laps
02 R. Kubica BMW 1:23.931 26 laps
03 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:23.947 29 laps
04 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:23.983 25 laps
05 N. Rosberg Williams 1:24.110 33 laps
06 F. Massa Ferrari 1:24.247 34 laps
07 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:24.365 29 laps
08 M. Webber Red Bull 1:24.521 35 laps
09 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:24.669 22 laps
10 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:24.773 35 laps
11 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:25.100 25 laps
12 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:25.192 39 laps
13 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:25.204 24 laps
14 R. Barrichello Honda 1:25.296 25 laps
15 J. Button Honda 1:25.309 34 laps
16 K. Nakajima Williams 1:25.330 28 laps
17 T. Glock Toyota 1:25.397 28 laps
18 F. Alonso Renault 1:25.481 22 laps
19 J. Trulli Toyota 1:25.753 29 laps
20 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:26.195 23 laps Read more!

Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying: Hamilton the class of the field in Spa

Lewis Hamilton secured one of the most important pole positions of his young career in Saturday's qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. At a track where Ferrari were expected to dominate, the McLaren drivers ended up in first and third leaving Massa and especially Raikkonen with plenty of work to do tomorrow afternoon. Nick Heidfeld produced one of his best displays of the year to come in fifth place ahead of Alonso, Webber, Kubica and the two Toro Rosso drivers.

The conditions were decidedly cool with dark clouds surrounding the circuit. Fortunately for the drivers the rain that threatened to throw a spanner in the works never arrived, and the whole session was run in dry conditions. The first session didn't really throw up too many surprises; all of the main contenders made it through comfortably and without incident, and the predicted strugglers went out of the first hurdle. Both Hondas looked pretty appalling, their blushes saved only by perennial back markers Force India and the terribly out of sorts Kazuki Nakajima.

The second session again saw the main title rivals get through without any real issues. There was a real surprise at the top of the timing screens though, as Toro Rosso's under pressure Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais was fastest of all. Fastest in Q2 doesn't really count for much in the end, but I'm sure it's a moment Bourdais will remember for a long time. Kovalainen was second behind the former Champ Car ace ahead of his team mate Hamilton. McLaren were looking extremely comfortable, with Lewis Hamilton running the fewest laps of anyone in the entire field by this point in the day. Were Ferrari holding anything back in store for Q3?

Felipe Massa was the first man out in Q3 and would be the man setting down the benchmark time for everyone to match. He made a bit of a balls up of the final chicane though, and lost plenty of time. Raikkonen was easily faster than Massa, but then both McLarens went faster still and looked very comfortable. Heidfeld continued his excellent showing from yesterday by getting ahead of Massa. Vettel did not bother going out for the first round of flying laps. He clearly was happy enough just to stay in P10 and fill his tank to the brim for race day.

Everyone came in and bolted on a fresh set of option tyres and went out to do battle again. This time around Massa held it together really well and went fastest so far. It looked an excellent lap from the Brazilian, and he seemed to squeeze out everything the Ferrari had to offer. Raikkonen couldn't match his team mate, a situation which has now become the norm for the increasingly beleaguered world champion. But behind Kimi on the road Hamilton was absolutely flying, and he crossed the line a full 3 tenths quicker than Massa. A brilliant lap from the young Brit, one which his team mate Kovalainen couldn't quite match. McLaren couldn't quite manage the front row lock out they would have hoped for, but Heikki at least managed to split the two Ferraris in third place. Heidfeld took a well deserved 5th place ahead of a strong performance from Alonso. Webber edged out the struggling Kubica by the slimmest of margins for 7th place, with Bourdais putting in his best showing of his F1 career in 9th ahead of Vettel.

So the run down to La Source on the very first lap will be a straight fight between this year's two main title contenders. Massa will be looking for a repeat performance of his brilliant first lap in Hungary two races ago, but may find it tricky given that La Source is a somewhat easier corner to defend from pole. It should be a great fight between the two, and a perfect test of their title credentials. Hamilton certainly looked a little faster here today, but the suspicion is that he's running a little lighter in the first stint. It should be fascinating to watch, especially if the Ardenne Forest throws up the kind of changeable weather it is famed for at any point during tomorrow's race...

Provisional Starting Grid

1. Hamilton
2. Massa
3. Kovalainen
4. Raikkonen
5. Heidfeld
6. Alonso
7. Webber
8. Kubica
9. Bourdais
10. Vettel
11. Trulli
12. Piquet
13. Glock
14. Coulthard
15. Rosberg
16. Barrichello
17. Button
18. Sutil
19. Nakajima
20. Fisichella Read more!

Belgian Grand Prix: Saturday Practice

Nick Heidfeld was the fastest man in Saturday's final practice session before the action starts in earnest in this afternoon's qualifying. BMW have not looked competitive all weekend, so many will have been surprised to see the German pipping McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen to the top spot in this rain affected session. Title contenders Hamilton and Massa were 4th and 5th respectively, with Kimi Raikkonen a couple of places further back in 7th.

The track was wet as the green light signalled the start of the session, and as a result there was very little running for the first half an hour. A few of the midfield runners and back markers came out early on to do a bit of track sweeping and getting a feel for the circuit. Several of the leading drivers like the McLaren boys didn't even come out of the pits until the final 10-12 minutes of the session.

Unsurprisingly, as the track cleared throughout the session the times dropped dramatically. The early times were up in the high 1.50s bracket, but by the end of the session were a full ten seconds per lap faster. The likes of Vettel and Bourdais started to up the pace with about twenty minutes to go in the session, being the first drives to dip under 1:50s. Raikkonen was the first of the big boys out to play, and he immediately looked quick. He went faster than the Toro Rossos, and could have gone faster still but for a huge lock up into the Bus Stop that put him right off the track temporarily.

The two McLaren drivers were next to show their hands. On his very first flying lap Hamilton knocked a massive 1.3 seconds off the fastest time, and Kovalainen wasn't far behind. Massa was the last of the main drivers to take to the track and he too looked quick, although not quite up to the times of the McLarens.

As the session began drawing to a close Nick Heidfeld put in a blistering lap to go P1 and the only man in the 1:47s. It was a real surprise as Heidfeld has been struggling all year with his one lap pace, and his team mate Kubica has been having a torrid time trying to get his tyres to work for him so far this weekend. Hamilton had a bash at taking the P1 slot and looked to be comfortably going to make it before he too locked up at the Bus Stop and had to bail out of going for the apex. Yesterday's fastest man Alonso put in a great lap at the death to slot in just behind Heidfeld, but he was quickly bumped down the pecking order by Kovalainen going P2.

There is probably not a lot we can learn about the relative pace of the lead cars. The McLarens were quickest on paper today, but none of the main drivers put any serious miles on their cars. I would still expect Ferrari to be red hot favourites to take the pole today, with the McLarens in close company.
Read more!

European Grand Prix: Massa Wins First Valencia Grand Prix?

Felipe Massa took the chequered flag in the inaugural European Grand Prix in Valencia to record what should be a well deserved fourth victory of the season. However, the race result is still in doubt due to the fact the race stewards are going to be investigating an incident in the pit lane during Massa's second and final stop, which could yet gift the 10 points to Lewis Hamilton. In truth it wasn't a great race, and the most exciting action happened in the pitlane, mainly with Ferrari attempting to shoot themselves in the feet as much as possible. Kubica finished the race strongly in third, but Kimi Raikkonen ended up retired and pointless after an engine failure.

If Massa is to be denied his victory it will be extremely harsh on the young Brazilian as he drove a faultless race from lights to flag. After some discussion over night Massa ended up starting from pole on the right hand side of the grid instead of the left as had been originally expected, and quite right too. The advantage this gave him allowed him to take the perfect line through the opening corner and lead the race from the first lap onwards. He didn't have to worry too much about Hamilton behind him from the start as the McLaren driver didn't get the best of starts and was more worried about fending off Kubica's BMW through the opening corners.

Amazingly everyone managed to get through the tight turn 2 relatively unscathed, in stark contrast to the GP2 races earlier in the weekend. Sadly that wasn't to be maintained throughout the rest of the opening lap. Firstly David Coulthard got a nudge from behind and spun, putting him right down to last place, then disaster struck for home favourite Fernando Alonso. To the horror of the 100,000 Spanish fans lining the circuit Alonso got rear ended by Kazuki Nakajima's Williams, removing his rear wing. He limped back to the pits and the Renault mechanics tried to get the car back out on track to try and put on a show for the fans, but on closer inspection there was damage to the rear suspension and gearbox so the towel was thrown in. Alonso is the main reason this Grand Prix came to Valencia, and he will have been furious to see his race ruined so early on and to be unable to perform for his hordes of fans.

From then on it was pretty plain sailing for most of the field for the first stint. Massa managed to edge gradually ahead of Hamilton, and Hamilton in turn edged ahead of Kubica. Behind him Kovalainen had made it in front of compatriot Raikkonen from the start and was managing to keep the Ferrari behind him with relative ease. The Ferrari was probably the faster car, as evidenced by Massa's blistering pace out front, but due to the tight nature of the track there was little opportunity to overtake.

The question now was one of fuel loads. Hamilton's only hope appeared to be if Massa had been running significantly lighter in qualifying. Massa was indeed the first to pit, and strangely that was bad news for Kimi Raikkonen. Massa was released from his stop straight into the path of his team mate, meaning Kimi was stuck behind a much heavier car while Kovalainen, the man he was challenging, was able to cruise away into the distance. Not great strategy work from Ferrari it must be said.

Hamilton though was not able to stay out too much longer and was next to pit. He made a good stop, but despite setting the fastest lap of the race while out in front was unable to put any significant dent in Massa's 4 second lead at the front of the field. And things didn't get much better for Hamilton as this second stint was where Massa really put the hammer down. Massa made it look pretty effortless behind the wheel, slowly but surely putting tenth after tenth after tenth between himself and Hamilton. Lewis wasn't driving badly, the McLaren just didn't have anything more to give on the day.

Then things finally got a little bit interesting in the final pit stops. Massa was bunched up behind backmarker Sutil as they both entered the pits. Both had pretty much identical pit stops, but Ferrari were clearly anxious to get their man out in front of the back marker and released him right alongside the Force India. Due to the extremely tight pit lane exit Massa was forced to back off and pull in behind Sutil. There was no contact, but it certainly was very risky from Ferrari, and sure enough the announcement was made that they were under investigation for the incident.

But then things took a turn for the weirder, as it was then announced that the incident was to be investigated AFTER the race. This would mean that Massa would take the chequered flag but with the possibility of subsequently being stripped of the trophy. Investigating incidents after the race normally only occurs if the incident in question happens in the final 5 laps of the race. However, there were more like 20 laps to go when this incident occurred. The decision was a baffling one, and one which has the potential to throw some real controversy over the race and title challenge. The evidence was there for all to see. Either it was dangerous or it wasn't, the decision should be a fairly straighforward one for the stewards. Why on earth did they dodge the bullet and delay the decision? It just didn't make any sense.

While Ferrari were still worrying about what penalty may befall their lead driver (and let's be honest about this, on current form Massa has to be the lead driver in the team. Raikkonen doesn't look anywhere near capable of mounting a consistent title defence at the moment), things got much worse for the team. Raikkonen pitted, and whilst the fuel rig guys were still trying to pull the nozzle free Kimi floored the throttle. The nozzle was still very much attached, along with the two guys holding it, and one poor pit worker got clobbered by the rear wheel of the Ferrari. Kimi hit the brakes, but the damage had been done and the mechanic looked pretty badly hurt. Thankfully it seems that the mechanic is going to be OK, but it was still a horrible looking incident.

Replays showed that Raikkonen had NOT been given the green light to leave the pits from Ferrari's unique pit lane release system, but he went anyway. From the video footage it seems that the world champion was at fault. He was able to continue racing while his mechanic was stretchered to the medical centre, but not for long. While stepping on the gas on the exit of the final corner he lost drive, then pulled over out of the racing line as his engine detonated in smokey fashion. It brought to the end a pretty awful weekend for Raikkonen, one of many this season, and was Ferrari's second engine failure in as many races. They seem to have pace, but there are real question marks over their reliability and over the mind set of Kimi Raikkonen who is losing ground in the title race and does not appear to have much of an answer to Massa's brilliant pace of late.

Aside from Adrian Sutil stuffing his Force India into the barriers in the closing laps, that was about as far as the excitement went in this Grand Prix. Massa cruised to the chequered flag some seven seconds clear of Hamilton with Kubica putting in a very strong performance to take third. Kovalainen had a quiet day back in fourth, with both Trulli and Vettel keeping him honest with fine displays for fifth and sixth. Glock got seventh, and Rosberg claimed Williams' first points in a while with eighth place.

Whatever the result of the stewards' inquiry, Hamilton will still hold the championship lead as they head to Spa-Francorchamps. It was a fairly poor race from a spectators' point of view, and the organisers will be hoping that the wholesale changes to the F1 regulations next year will yield a more exciting race with more overtaking opportunities next year. They will also be hoping that Fernando Alonso (possibly Honda bound?) will be able to stay on track for longer than one lap. And we will all be hoping that there is no nonsense with delayed investigations, that only serve to confuse and confound F1 fans and drivers alike.

Provisional Race Result

1. Massa*
2. Hamilton
3. Kubica
4. Kovalainen
5. Trulli
6. Vettel
7. Glock
8. Rosberg
9. Heidfeld
10. Bourdais
11. Piquet
12. Webber
13. Button
14. Fisichella
15. Nakajima
16. Barrichello
17. Coulthard
ret Raikkonen
ret Sutil
ret Alonso

*subject to investigation after race regarding pit lane incident. Read more!

European Grand Prix Qualifying: Massa Masters the Streets of Valencia

Felipe Massa will start the first ever Grand Prix on the streets of Valencia's harbour from pole position after a perfect final lap knocked Lewis Hamilton off top spot by 2 tenths of a second. Of the drivers from the two big teams it was only really Massa and Hamilton who turned up to the party in the final qualifying session, with the Finns Raikkonen and Kovalainen back in fourth and fifth respectively. Robert Kubica put in an excellent performance to to take third, and could well be the cat amongst the pigeons as the three big title rivals stream down towards the crucial turn 2 on the opening lap.

After being bathed in glorious sunshine all yesterday the weather was decidedly gloomy and overcast for today's session. The spectre of rain loomed throughout the session, and there were brief spots of rain falling across the track at one point, but the track remained dry. The cool conditions definitely didn't suit the drivers too well though, as they struggled to get their tyres working in the early part of the session, particularly the option tyre.

In Q1 we had a real surprise in terms of the fastest man on track. Jarno Trulli was quickest despite missing out on this morning's practice session with mechanical problems. All of the major players got through without too much trouble, but there were surprises elsewhere too. Toro Rosso looked strong as they had done all weekend, but their big brothers Red Bull struggled badly. Coulthard failed to make it through, and Webber only just made it through. There was further disappointment for British fans as Jenson Button also dropped out. Button had looked pretty quick all weekend long, so it was a real surprise to everyone to see him joining team mate Barrichello on the sidelines for the rest of qualifying.

Q2 got underway with very light rain beginning to fall. It didn't last though, and didn't seem to make conditions any more slippery than they already were. The big story from this session was the massive disappointment for the Spanish fans as Fernando Alonso could only manage 12th fastest in the session. He had been looking reasonably strong all weekend, and would have certainly have expected to be making it through to the final session. However, on his final lap he ran wide coming out of the bridge section and skidded across the kerb losing him vital time, and probably giving him a sore backside in the process. With Piquet in 15th place this was pretty disastrous news for Renault, and also for the Valencia race promoters who would have been desperate to see Alonso doing well here.

At the front Sebastian Vettel continued his fantastic weekend and his impressive season so far by topping the time sheets. Could he be about to spring a real surprise in the final session? Sadly no, he couldn't quite maintain his head of steam in the final session. He put in a good performance to finish in P6, but a mistake on his final lap ended his chances of getting in amongst the big boys. Still, with Bourdais in a decent 10th place it was easily Toro Rosso's best qualifying performance yet. Hard to believe they are supposed to be one of the minnows of the F1 world, and a team that Dietrich Mateschitz is wanting to sell off.

After the first round of hot laps Ferrari were looking very strong. Both Massa and Raikkonen had put in strong laps, Kovalainen seemed to be struggling a little with his McLaren, and Hamilton made a costly error braking for the final turn that left him well adrift of the Ferraris. Hamilton knew he had to up his game in the final minutes, and he certainly rose to the challenge. He was the first of the major players to set his final flying lap, and he jumped straight to the top of the time sheets. The gauntlet had been very much thrown down to Kimi and Felipe. Raikkonen was first to step up to the plate, and he failed to impress, finishing well over two tenths shy of Hamilton. Kimi stayed on the prime tyre for his final lap, and I wonder whether he now regrets that decision.

The spotlight fell on Felipe Massa next, and he didn't disappoint. Running the softer option tyre he drove a completely clean lap and set a blistering time to take pole position by 2 tenths of a second. After his bitter disappointment in Hungary three weeks ago, this will have been the perfect tonic. Kubica was still out on track in the BMW, and he put in a great lap too. He squeezed out every last tenth the BMW had to offer, but it was only good enough for P3. Still an excellent performance from the Pole.

So Massa and Hamilton will lead the field on a voyage into the unknown tomorrow afternoon in the first ever Grand Prix start in Valencia. There is still some debate as to which side of the track will be the most favourable for the run down towards the opening turns, with some pundits claiming that starting in P2 may actually yield a better start. We'll have to wait and see, but one thing's for sure, Hamilton will be looking for a bit of revenge over Massa after the Brazilian got the jump on him at the start in Hungary.

Provisional Starting Grid

1. Massa
2. Hamilton
3. Kubica
4. Raikkonen
5. Kovalainen
6. Vettel
7. Trulli
8. Heidfeld
9. Rosberg
10. Bourdais
11. Nakajima
12. Alonso
13. Glock
14. Webber
15. Piquet
16. Button
17. Coulthard
18. Fisichella
19. Barrichello
20. Sutil Read more!

European Grand Prix: Saturday Practice Session

Robert Kubica set the pace in the final practice session before Saturday afternoon's qualifying session for the European Grand Prix. It was a session in which the drivers from the big two teams were keeping their powder dry for the most part; Felipe Massa was the quickest of the four in fifth place, with team mate Raikkonen as far down as fifteenth.

Williams showed some good pace in this session with Rosberg and Nakajima second and fourth respectively. It was also another good session for the Toro Rosso team, and this time it was Sebastein Bourdais who led the way up in third place. After a very inconsistent debut season thus far Bourdais seems to be really enjoying himself here in Valencia. The track character is quite similar to some of the American street circuits he will have been familiar with from his days as Champ Car champion, and it really seems to suit his driving style.

Lewis Hamilton was a respectable seventh place, but he doesn't look entirely happy on here yet. At one point in the session he went fastest of all on his first lap on the soft compound tyres, and then almost immediately spun off the track. He appears to have good pace when he manages to hold it together, but will need to up his consistency if he wants to score well here and cement his lead in the driver's championship. Title rival Kimi Raikkonen had a very quiet session this morning way down in 15th, but he showed he had good pace over one lap by being fastest of all yesterday, so will not be unduly worried by his position today.

Saturday Practice Times

1. R Kubica BMW-Sauber 1:38.754
2. N Rosberg Williams 1:38.877
3. S Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:39.009
4. K Nakajima Williams 1:39.270
5. F Massa Ferrari 1:39.276
6. S Vettel Toro Rosso 1:39.300
7. L Hamilton McLaren 1:39.314
8. N Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 1:39.335
9. Coulthard Red Bull 1:39.421
10. N Piquet Renault 1:39.452
11. M Webber Red Bull 1:39.597
12. J Button Honda 1:39.628
13. F Alonso Renault 1:39.652
14. H Kovalainen McLaren 1:39.802
15. K Raikkonen Ferrari 1:39.802
16. T Glock Toyota 1:39.919
17. A Sutil Force India 1:40.019
18. G Fisichella Force India 1:40.059
19. R Barrichello Honda 1:40.512
20. J Trulli Toyota no time
Read more!

Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying Report: Can Anyone Stop Hamilton?

Lewis Hamilton was the class of the field as he cruised serenely to pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix. In the final session he beat his team mate Kovalainen into second place with room to spare, making things extremely difficult for Hamilton's title rivals in the Ferraris in tomorrow's race. Felipe Massa was third and Kimi Raikkonen was a very disappointing sixth place in the sister Ferrari. Kimi was pushed down the grid by two excellent 'comeback' performances, with Kubica returning to form in the BMW and Timo Glock coming back after a nasty accident in Germany to record his best qualifying performance to date.

The whole session played out under perfectly sunny conditions, ideal for the fans and drivers alike. The first session saw the main championship protagonists make it through comfortably, with the McLarens looking very strong and Raikkonen down in a slightly disappointing 6th place, a position he was to become very familiar with. As per usual with Q1, all the action took place in the squabble for 15th place. With the renaissance of the Toro Rosso team the battle for the final places in Q2 was to be fought between the Honda and Williams drivers, who look to be really struggling for pace at this point in the season.

In the final moments of the session both Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg put in excellent laps to get into fourteenth and fifteenth place. This nudged BMW's Nick Heidfeld down into the drop zone. The German was on his final lap though, and was strong favourite to make it through. However, fate managed to conspire against him in the final turns of the lap. Entering the final hairpin he had Sebastien Bourdais in front of him being held up battling for track position with a Toyota. Bourdais had to back right out of the throttle which ended up putting him right in the path of Heidfeld. Nick eventually ended up skidding across the astro-turf on the outside of the turn and could not improve his lap time. His displeasure was clear for all to see as he was gesticulating at the car in front, but really it was just a case of rotten luck. The incident is being investigated, but it would be extremely harsh to punish Bourdais for it. This was just what Heidfeld didn't need though, as he has struggled with tyre performance in qualifying all season long, and this will have done nothing to silence the doubters.

The second session ended with Felipe Massa in top spot, ahead of Timo Glock's Toyota. After his nasty accident in Germany Glock appears to have bounced back with some great form here. He was getting the better of his qualifying-specialist team mate Trulli for the first time this season. Hamilton was a little further down the field than may have been suspected, but he was clearly taking it easy and doing just what was needed to get through to the final session.

In the closing moments things heated up as per usual, with the battle seemingly being between the drivers from the two Red Bull teams. Webber and Vettel were looking strong in the top ten, with Coulthard just fractionally behind them. However, things were to be upset somewhat when Nelson Piquet put his Renualt up into ninth place, knocking out Vettel. He's followed up his best ever race in Germany with his best ever qualifying performance, good stuff from the young Brazilian. One of the final men across the line was Jenson Button. The Honda has looked pretty horrible all weekend, and with Barrichello down in 18th some may have thought Button would be delighted just to get up to 15th place or so. Button though loves this track after scoring his only ever race win here in 2006, and put in a great lap to put himself in P12, way better than was expected of him.

The final session was expected to be the Lewis Hamilton show, and he didn't disappoint. He has looked extremely comfortable in the car all weekend long, and seems to have pace to spare. In the dying moments of the session he set the fastest lap, but the next fastest lap was his own opening hot lap, which just underlines his superiority here. Kovalainen put in a strong performance to complete the all important front row lockout for McLaren, just edging out Felipe Massa by a few hundredths of a second. Robert Kubica put in a great lap for fourth place, finally getting the BMW hooked up after looking pretty ordinary throughout free practice, and Timo Glock also put in a superb lap to take fifth. Glock may well be light on fuel given how far ahead of his team mate he is, but great stuff nonetheless.

Kimi Raikkonen will be hoping that Glock is indeed light on fuel, and that his Ferrari is running a heavy first stint, otherwise he could be in line for a fairly miserable race tomorrow. At this crucial moment of the season he really isn't rising to the challenge of defending his world title. There have been rumours filling the F1 press for a couple of months now that Kimi is considering retirement when his current contract expires in 2009. Whether all this speculation his distracting him, or he just isn't happy with the set up of the car remains to be seen, but unless he gets his backside in gear quickly he can kiss goodbye to any hope of retaining his championship. Felipe Massa is looking the driver most likely to take the fight to Lewis Hamilton at the moment, and given that we know how poorly Massa seems to handle pressure situations, Ferrari are not in an enviable position at the moment.

Alonso continued his decent form with a 7th place, ahead of Trulli, Webber and Piquet.

So given the strength of McLaren so far this weekend, and the tight and twisty nature of the Hungaroring track, only a fool would bet against a silver car taking the chequered flag tomorrow. Of course, the race to the first corner will be all important here, and Kovalainen will need to have his wits about him to fend off Massa given that he will be starting on the dirty side of the grid. The other major factor tomorrow may well be tyre wear. So far the softer compound tyres have not performed well in the sweltering Budapest heat. All drivers will have to run at least one stint on the soft tyres, and given how badly they have been graining up in practice, it will be a real test for the drivers to manage things effectively.


Provisional Race Grid

1. Hamilton
2. Kovalainen
3. Massa
4. Kubica
5. Glock
6. Raikkonen
7. Alonso
8. Webber
9. Trulli
10. Piquet
11. Vettel
12. Button
13. Coulthard
14. Bourdais
15. Rosberg
16. Heidfeld
17. Nakajima
18. Barrichello
19. Fisichella
20. Sutil Read more!

Bahrain Qualifying Report - Kubica Stars as Massa Falters

Pole on Pole? Pole to Pole? Pole Dancing His Way to Pole? Pole Pollaxes His Way to Pole Position? The tabloid headline writing possibilities are endless! Regardless of your pun of choice, the result is that young Polish driver has taken his first ever pole position by the slimmest of margins, and the first for BMW-F1. Read on to find out more...

Robert Kubica upset the form books with a sensational debut pole position in the Bahrain desert. Everything pointed towards a Ferrari pole position and most likely an all Ferrari front row judging by the pace in yesterday's practice sessions. However, it wasn't to be as the young Polish driver beat Massa into second place, with Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in third and fourth respectively.

The first session included a red flag as Takuma Sato lost the back end of the Super Aguri on the exit to the final corner, spinning out into the wall. His car was too badly damaged to continue, though should make tomorrow's race without any problems. The big loser in Q1 was definitely David Coulthard, who finished the session down in 17th. It has been a rather disappointing performance from the Red Bull team so far this weekend, after showing so much promise in Malaysia. Sebastien Bourdais was probably the star of the session, making it through to the second session for the first time in his debut season.

The big story of Q2 was Jenson Button squeezing through in 10th place by the thinnest of margins, just edging out Mark Webber and his teammate Rubens Barrichello. Button would eventually end up an excellent ninth place for Honda. Aside from that everything went to form in this session.

Going into the final session Felipe Massa was in such confident form that it looked like he would breeze through to secure pole, but it wasn't to be. Lewis Hamilton was the first of the big boys to show his hand, showing that the crash he suffered in practice yersterday hasn't set him back too much. Kubica and Massa both went faster though by the end of the first hot laps. In the final runs it was Hamilton again who was the first across the line, and again he went quickest. However, behind him Kubica was flying and setting fastest sector times and went through two tenths quicker than his good friend Hamilton. Raikkonen was next through but was a slightly disappointing fourth. Massa was the last of the main contenders on a hot lap, but the timing screens showed that he had lost nearly three tenths in the middle sector due to a slight error. He couldn't manage to overhaul Kubica, missing out by a few hundredths of a second.

So a wonderful first pole position for Kubica, and for his young team BMW. Judging by how fast he was in comparison to teammate Heidfeld who finished down in sixth you would have to assume that he's very light on fuel, but a remarkable performance nonetheless. What does this mean for Felipe Massa though? He has had a dreadful start to the season and there have been rumours surrounding his future with the Scuderia. So far this weekend he had silenced the doubters, looking incredibly fast. But when it really mattered, he yet again failed to produce the goods by making a mistake on his final run. Still, he has the race tomorrow to redeem himself, and will still have to be the pre-race favourite to take the win.

Qualifying Results

01 R. Kubica BMW 1:33.096
02 F. Massa Ferrari 1:33.123
03 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:33.292
04 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:33.418
05 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:33.488
06 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:33.737
07 J. Trulli Toyota 1:33.994
08 N. Rosberg Williams 1:34.015
09 J. Button Honda 1:35.057
10 F. Alonso Renault 1:35.115
11 M. Webber Red Bull 1:32.371
12 R. Barrichello Honda 1:32.508
13 T. Glock Toyota 1:32.528
14 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:32.790
15 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:32.915
16 K. Nakajima Williams 1:32.943
17 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:33.433
18 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:33.501
19 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:33.501
20 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:33.845
21 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:34.140
22 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:35.725

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