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Lewis Hamilton continued his impressive form by outdueling championship rival Felipe Massa in a tense fight in Q3 at Hockenheim. The British Grand Prix winner set an impressive pace around the 2.841-mile race track with a time of one minute, 15.666 seconds. This was Hamilton’s ninth career pole position in Formula One.

Hamilton’s McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen will line up in third after a mistake on his first flying lap. The Finn went off on his approach to the stadium section during his timed run but he did well to recover, unlike fellow countryman Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari.

The world champion seems to be having great difficulty in his F2008. From turn-in understeer to oversteer on the exit of corners, Kimi just lacked the confidence and speed compared to team-mate Massa. To qualify in only sixth place was a major disappointment for the ‘Iceman’ but the team remain optimistic that Kimi will be a big factor in the race despite a poor start to his German Grand Prix weekend.

Toyota’s Jarno Trulli achieved another excellent qualifying run with fourth. The Italian hope his high grid position will result in a podium finish just like he did at Magny-Cours last month. This can be achievable providing Jarno doesn’t get left behind by the faster McLarens and Ferraris on race day.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso will start in fifth for Renault. The Spaniard was quite surprised to be in the top six after admitting the team might struggle in making through to Q2. This was proven by team-mate Nelson Piquet, who will start in lowly seventeenth position. Even though Alonso is happy to be in the top half of the grid, I reckon he will have great difficulty in keeping up with the faster cars in the 67 laps race.

Canadian Grand Prix winner and championship contender Robert Kubica could only manage to qualify his BMW Sauber in seventh. It wasn’t the best result for the Polish driver, who suffered a drive-shaft failure leading up to qualifying. At least, he did a better job than team-mate Nick Heidfeld. The German made a costly error during his timed run in Q2 and will start his home race down in twelfth position.

The present and future Red Bull trio of Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel (Scuderia Toro Rosso) and David Coulthard completed the top ten.

Rain is expected in Sunday’s German Grand Prix and we all know what kind of action and drama that will bring when the track is wet! Lewis Hamilton will have the clear advantage with his front row slot but can Felipe Massa challenge him for the race victory? Let’s find out on race day.

Qualifying times from Hockenheim:

1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.666
2. Massa Ferrari 1:15.859
3. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.143
4. Trulli Toyota 1:16.191
5. Alonso Renault 1:16.385
6. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:16.389
7. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:16.521
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:17.014
9. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:17.244
10. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:17.503
11. Glock Toyota 1:15.508
12. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:15.581
13. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:15.633
14. Button Honda 1:15.701
15. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:15.858
16. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:16.083
17. Piquet Renault 1:16.189
18. Barrichello Honda 1:16.246
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:16.657
20. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:16.963

Lewis Hamilton achieved his lifelong ambition by winning the British Grand Prix in style with a commanding drive in the tricky wet conditions. The McLaren driver was under heavy criticism over the last couple of weeks from the press following two disappointing races, so to win at Silverstone in front of the passionate home crowd was a perfect result for Lewis.

Hamilton’s victory margin was simply stunning as he lapped nearly every car in a dramatic 60-lap race at the former RAF airfield. Only Nick Heidfeld and Rubens Barrichello (second and third respectively) finished on the lead lap as everyone else was struggling in the tricky conditions.

It was Heidfeld’s third visit to the podium. The German even pulled off some beautiful overtaking moves all in the Luffield corner. First, he passed Timo Glock’s Toyota around the outside and then inside Fernando Alonso in one go. Several laps later, Heidfeld did it again when battling with Kimi Raikkonen and Heikki Kovalainen. Second place was a great achievement for the BMW Sauber driver.

As for Rubens Barrichello, it was a super drive from the Brazilian. The team and driver made a good call by switching onto the Bridgestone extreme wets during the heavy rain shower. By running on this tyre, he was able to pass cars left, right and centre with ease. In fact Rubens was even quicker than race leader Lewis Hamilton at this point of the race! To finish third is fantastic result for the Honda driver, especially when you consider he started way down in P16.

World champion Kimi Raikkonen could only manage fourth for Ferrari but it should have been a lot more. The team made a tactical error during its first pit-stop by not opting to change the immediates Bridgestone for Kimi. The heavy rain shower that followed meant the Finn lost so much speed and time over Lewis Hamilton.

Pole-sitter Heikki Kovalainen must be feeling disappointed to finish the race down in fifth. The Finn actually made contact with his McLaren team-mate on the opening lap exiting Copse in a desperate bid to stay in front. He lost the lead soon after when Hamilton lunge down the inside into Stowe.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso finished sixth for Renault and he too was a victim by staying out on worn Bridgestones during the heavy rain shower. Alonso struggled badly on pace and was passed by the recovering Kovalainen (who spun his McLaren during the wet stages of the race). The Spaniard managed to hold off Jarno Trulli’s Toyota and Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams in the closing laps of the Grand Prix though.

Even though Nakajima made a few trips off the road, he drove another impressive race to score some valuable points for the Williams team. As for Trulli, the Italian at one point was up to third before making his final pit-stop; still it was a good result for team and driver. Not so in the sister Toyota of Timo Glock, who went around in circles(!) and finished down in twelve.

Nico Rosberg did well in the difficult handling Williams to finish in ninth, though he had to make an unscheduled pit-stop after colliding into the back of Glock. Without that incident – the German was running on the same tyres as Barrichello (the extreme wets) – he would have finished higher.

Poor old Mark Webber. The Australian made a bad start and was immediately overtaken by the fast starting Lewis Hamilton down the inside into Copse. To make matter worse, he spun exiting Becketts… The Red Bull Racing driver was able to recover but more spins followed and in the end, Webber finishing in a depressing tenth.

At least he was ahead of Felipe Massa, who had a nightmare weekend at Silverstone. First off, he crashed his Ferrari after slipping up on Alonso’s oil in the opening practice session. Then he had that wheel-nut problem in qualifying, missing out on a run to do a fast lap. And in the race he spun no less than five times!

He was the last remaining runner in the British Grand Prix, behind Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais and Timo Glock.

As for the other title contender, Robert Kubica had the opportunity to move into the points lead but he lost control of his BMW Sauber under braking for the Abbey chicane.

In terms of the list of retirements, Jenson Button was unable to stay on the road despite running the same tyre as team-mate Barrichello. Nelson Piquet was in a potential point scoring position but lost control of his Renault and headed into the Abbey gravel trap. Both Force Indias ended up in the gravel too with Adrian Sutil aquaplaning (almost hitting Bourdais along the way) and Giancarlo Fisichella spinning while being lapped by the fast Hamilton. As for David Coulthard, the Scot’s final race in front of home fans didn’t even lasted a single lap as he collided into Sebastian Vettel at Priory.

But the day belonged to Lewis Hamilton. His victory at Silverstone was the perfect answer to his race critics. He didn’t put a foot wrong in the wet conditions and it will be fascinating if he can keep up this winning momentum in the second half of this exciting Formula One season. The result means he is now the joint leader in the standings with both Ferrari drivers on 48 points. Kubica is only two points behind!

British Grand Prix, Silverstone:

1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h39:09.440
2. Heidfeld BMW Sauber +1:08.500
3. Barrichello Honda +1:22.200
4. Raikkonen Ferrari +1 lap
5. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap
6. Alonso Renault +1 lap
7. Trulli Toyota +1 lap
8. Nakajima Williams-Toyota +1 lap
9. Rosberg Williams-Toyota +1 lap
10. Webber Red Bull-Renault +1 lap
11. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
12. Glock Toyota +1 lap
13. Massa Ferrari +2 laps

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:32.150

Not classified/retirements:

Kubica BMW Sauber 40 laps
Button Honda 39 laps
Piquet Renault 36 laps
Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 17 laps
Sutil Force India-Ferrari 11 laps
Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 lap
Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1 lap

World Championship standings, round 9:

Drivers:

1. Hamilton 48
2. Raikkonen 48
3. Massa 48
4. Kubica 46
5. Heidfeld 36
6. Kovalainen 24
7. Trulli 20
8. Webber 18
9. Alonso 13
10. Barrichello 11
11. Rosberg 8
12. Nakajima 8
13. Coulthard 6
14. Vettel 5
15. Glock 5
16. Button 3
17. Piquet 2
18. Bourdais 2

Constructors:

1. Ferrari 96
2. BMW Sauber 82
3. McLaren-Mercedes 72
4. Toyota 25
5. Red Bull-Renault 24
6. Williams-Toyota 16
7. Renault 15
8. Honda 14
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7

Next race: German Grand Prix, Hockenheim 18-20 July

Heikki Kovalainen claimed his maiden pole position at the British Grand Prix, while his McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton was demoted down to fourth place after making a costly mistake on his first flying lap.

It should have been Hamilton taking the top spot as he had the quickest car around the Silverstone circuit. But that oversteer moment into Priory cost him time. Despite this set back, Lewis still has the opportunity to do well in the race even though his team-mate is at the front of the grid.

Heikki’s pole position time of one minute, 21.049 seconds was half a second quicker than the nearest rival, that of Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber. To qualify ahead of the Ferraris is an impressive achievement for the team and the Australian. It will be fascinating if Webber has the pace or the right fuel strategy to match the top runners in the 60-lap race.

World champion Kimi Raikkonen will start in third place with home crowd favourite Lewis Hamilton joining him on the second row. It wasn’t a great performance from the Scuderia, as both Raikkonen and Felipe Massa seemed to lack the outright speed that many were expected. It was quite a surprise to see the two red cars struggling in Q2. To line up third and ninth (Massa) was not the result the team were looking for.

For the first time this season, Nick Heidfeld outqualified his BMW Sauber team-mate Robert Kubica with fifth position. The German was able to generate enough heat into his Bridgestone (his main problem this year) to edge ahead of Kubica. The Polish driver was unable to set a competitive lap time in Q3 due to puncture and will start in tenth place.

Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet will line up in sixth and seventh respectively. The Brazilian is beginning to regain his confidence in the Renault R28 after a poor show earlier this year.

Sebastian Vettel continued his promising performance with ninth for Toro Rosso, one place ahead of world championship leader Felipe Massa. The Brazilian was heavy comprised in Q3 by a wheel-nut problem in the pits, meaning he missed the chance to set a competitive lap time. To line up on row five is a major disappointment for Felipe.

Two-time Silverstone winner David Coulthard will start the race in eleventh. It will be Scot’s final home race after announcing to the world’s press that he will retire at the end of this year’s championship.

As for the other British driver, Jenson Button got caught out in the brief rain shower in Q1 and was unable to set a lap time in the Honda. He will start the British Grand Prix in P17, behind his team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

Sunday’s race will be deeply fascinating as there is a slight possibility of rain. Can Heikki scored his dream result for McLaren by winning in front of the passionate British crowd? Does Webber have the genuine pace to match him? What about Raikkonen and Hamilton? Can we expect the ‘Iceman’ and the Brit to stage a comeback drive and win the race? Let’s find out tomorrow in the penultimate race at Silverstone.

Qualifying times from Silverstone

1. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.049
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:21.554
3. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:21.706
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.835
5. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:21.873
6. Alonso Renault 1:22.029
7. Piquet Renault 1:22.491
8. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:23.251
9. Massa Ferrari 1:23.305
10. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:19.788
11. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:20.174
12. Glock Toyota 1:20.274
13. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.531
14. Trulli Toyota 1:20.601
15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:21.112
16. Barrichello Honda 1:21.512
17. Button Honda 1:21.631
18. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:21.668
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:21.786
20. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:21.885

Felipe Massa heads the drivers’ championship after a decisive victory at Magny-Cours. The Brazilian was behind his Ferrari team-mate in the first 38 of the 70 laps race, but when Kimi Raikkonen developed an exhaust problem (losing him vital horsepower), Massa was able to benefit and take the chequered flag.

Even though Raikkonen had a problem with his F2008, the pace of the red cars was significant compared to the rest of the 20-car field. Jarno Trulli finished in a distant third, earning the team’s first podium since Melbourne 2006. It was nice gesture for Trulli to dedicate this podium finish to the former Toyota team boss Ove Andersson, who was killed in a car crash earlier this month.

The Italian was under extreme pressure from McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen in the closing stages of the race. On the run down to the Imola chicane, the Finn tried a move around the outside. The two cars touched but Trulli held the racing line and stayed in front.

As for Lewis Hamilton, this wasn’t a great weekend for the British driver. After his mistake in Canada in which he was penalised by crashing into the back of Raikkonen’s Ferrari in the pits, Lewis had a tough race in the French Grand Prix.

Starting from P13 on the grid, he was given a second penalty (a drive-through) when he cut the Nurburgring chicane while passing Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap. It was a little harsh by the race stewards in my opinion – Lewis couldn’t take the racing line into the chicane after just passing the Toro Rosso. He was going way too fast! So with this punishment and his low grid position, Hamilton’s race was already comprised. He tried in vain to regain lost ground by overtaking several cars, including arch-rival Fernando Alonso, but in the end Lewis finished tenth.

After winning the previous race in Montreal, Robert Kubica struggled with pace in the BMW Sauber. The Polish driver lacked the performance many people when expecting and to finish sixth was disappointing. At least Robert did a better job behind the wheel of the F1.08, as team-mate Nick Heidfeld was the last remaining runner on the lead lap (he finished P13).

Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber led home an intense and private Renault battle with sixth, ahead of Nelson Piquet (who scored his first points of the season), Fernando Alonso and David Coulthard. The young Brazilian was able to move ahead of his Renault team leader when Alonso slid wide when lapping Giancarlo Fisichella’s Force India three laps from the end. It was a great result for Piquet after several bad races.

Toyota’s Timo Glock hung to eleventh position despite a late challenge from Vettel in the Toro Rosso. Nick Heidfeld was a disappointing P13 for BMW Sauber (he finished second in Montreal). Rubens Barrichello, who started from the back of the grid after a gearbox change, was the first lapped runner in P14 heading home the Williams duo of Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg (who also received a penalty in the pit-lane crash at Montreal).

Sebastien Bourdais was P17 for Toro Rosso ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil in their Force Indias. Jenson Button was the only retirement after his Honda made first-lap contact with Bourdais and sustained irreparable damage.

Massa’s third Grand Prix victory of the season (the eighth in his Formula One career) means he becomes the fourth driver to lead the championship standings. In addition, Massa is the first Brazilian to lead the world championship since the late great Ayrton Senna back in 1993. He has 48 points compare to Kubica’s 46 and Raikkonen’s 43. Hamilton trails with 38 after his second race without scoring points.

Meanwhile Ferrari extends their lead in the constructors’ championship to a commanding 17 points over BMW Sauber.

French Grand Prix, Magny-Cours:

1. Massa Ferrari 1h31:50.245
2. Raikkonen Ferrari +17.984
3. Trulli Toyota +28.250
4. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes +28.929
5. Kubica BMW Sauber +30.512
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault +40.304
7. Piquet Renault +41.033
8. Alonso Renault +43.372
9. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault +51.021
10. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes +54.538
11. Glock Toyota +57.700
12. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari +58.065
13. Heidfeld BMW Sauber +1:02.079
14. Barrichello Honda +1 lap
15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota +1 lap
16. Rosberg Williams-Toyota +1 lap
17. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
18. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari +1 lap
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari +1 lap

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:16.630

Not classified/retirements:
Button Honda 17 laps

World Championship standings, round 8

Drivers:

1. Massa 48
2. Kubica 46
3. Raikkonen 43
4. Hamilton 38
5. Heidfeld 28
6. Kovalainen 20
7. Trulli 18
8. Webber 18
9. Alonso 10
10. Rosberg 8
11. Nakajima 7
12. Coulthard 6
13. Barrichello 5
14. Glock 5
15. Vettel 5
16. Button 3
17. Piquet 2
18. Bourdais 2

Constructors:

1. Ferrari 91
2. BMW Sauber 74
3. McLaren-Mercedes 58
4. Red Bull-Renault 24
5. Toyota 23
6. Williams-Toyota 15
7. Renault 12
8. Honda 8
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7

Next race: British Grand Prix, Silverstone July 4-6

World champion Kimi Raikkonen claimed Ferrari’s 200th pole position as he and team-mate Felipe Massa locked out the front row. The qualifying session at Magny-Cours became a private duel between the Scuderia pair, with each setting the quickest time around the 2.741-mile race track.

Massa initially set the pace with his impressive Q1 and Q2 performance but in the session that matter the most – the top ten shootout – it was Raikkonen who took the honours with a lap time of one minute, 16.449 seconds.

Even though Lewis Hamilton was third fastest, the McLaren driver has be demoted ten places following his pit-lane incident in the Canadian Grand Prix a fortnight ago. So lining up behind the red cars will be Fernando Alonso in the Renault.

Toyota’s Jarno Trulli also moves up a place and will join the double world champion on row two.

Heikki Kovalainen lines up in fifth place for McLaren ahead of Montreal winner Robert Kubica. The championship leader seemed to lack the outright pace compare to Ferrari and McLaren, which is a surprise as you would expect the BMW Sauber to continue that winning performance after Canada… Both Kubica and team-mate Nick Heidfeld (who is down in eleventh) will experience a difficult race on Sunday with these low grid positions.

Red Bull Racing takes up row four with Mark Webber edging ahead of team-mate David Coulthard, despite being slowed on his first Q3 lap when Trulli had a spin in his path at the 180 corner.

Timo Glock will start the French Grand Prix in ninth alongside the under-pressure Renault driver of Nelson Piquet. The Brazilian needs to put in a solid performance after seven disappointing races. His future at the team hangs in balance if he suffers another non-finish.

Sunday’s French Grand Prix will provide some interesting stories especially in the drivers’ championship. Kubica currents leads with 42 points but can Kimi Raikkonen (who is down in fourth in the standings) ignite his season campaign with race victory? What about Massa? Can the Brazilian challenge his Ferrari team-mate? And as for Hamilton, the British driver needs to take big risks by overtaking several cars if he wants to score big.

In addition, there is a small possibility of rain heading to Circuit de Nevers on race day. So will Lewis benefit the bad weather to his advantage with his low grid position? Lets wait and see.

Qualifying times from Magny-Cours:

1. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 1:16.449
2. Felipe Massa, Ferrari 1:16.490
3. Fernando Alonso, Renault 1:16.840
4. Jarno Trulli, Toyota 1:16.920
5. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren 1:16.944
6. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber 1:17.037
7. Mark Webber, Red Bull 1:17.233
8. David Coulthard, Red Bull 1:17.426
9. Timo Glock, Toyota 1:17.596
10. Nelson Piquet, Renault 1:15.770
11. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber 1:15.786
12. Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso 1:15.816
13. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren 1:16.693*
14. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso? 1:16.045
15. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams 1:16.243
16. Jenson Button, Honda 1:16.306
17. Rubens Barrichello, Honda? 1:16.330
18. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India? 1:16.971
19. Adrian Sutil, Force India? 1:17.053
20. Nico Rosberg, Williams 1:16.235*

* Ten-place grid penalty following the pit-lane crash at Montreal

Twelve months on after his horrific crash, Robert Kubica claimed his maiden win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Kubica led home his team-mate Nick Heidfeld, giving BMW Sauber both their first victory and first one-two as a full Formula 1 constructor.

It had been a remarkable turnaround for the Polish driver following a year on from his atrocious crash at the street circuit. His debut victory for BMW – the manufacturer’s first since taking over Peter Sauber’s team back in 2006 – means Robert now heads the drivers’ standings for the first time in his Grand Prix career.

David Coulthard finished in an excellent third position for Red Bull Racing despite issues with his brakes. The Scot avoided all the chaos and made a decisive pit stop during the Safety Car period to take his place on the podium. It was DC’s first top three finish since the Monaco Grand Prix back in 2006.

The podium finishers all benefitted from the race’s most dramatic moment, when championship leader Lewis Hamilton crashed into the back of Kimi Raikkonen in the pits!

Prior to the bizarre incident, Hamilton was on course for a dominant victory. The McLaren driver led away from pole position and was pulling away with ease from Kubica and Raikkonen in the early laps. But when Adrian Sutil parked his Force India on the entrance to Turn 3 on lap 17, race control decided to deploy the Safety Car.

All of the leading runners headed to the pits to take advantage of the caution period. Hamilton came into the pit lane first but a poor pit-stop by the McLaren mechanics meant he lost ground to Raikkonen and Kubica. The Ferrari and BMW then dutifully halted at the pit lane exit because the red light was flashing away to signal the drivers NOT to return back onto the race circuit. It was at this moment Hamilton ploughed into the back of the Ferrari!

As for Nico Rosberg – who gained fourth position after passing Fernando Alonso’s Renault at the first corner – the Williams driver also got caught out in the pit exit mayhem! Unlike Raikkonen and Hamilton, though, Rosberg was able to continue after a second stop for repairs. He would later on finish in tenth.

That incident in the pits and the Safety Car period meant that the midfields runners were able to score big in this dramatic Canadian Grand Prix.

Toyota opted for a single pit stop for both of its drivers and at the chequered flag, Timo Glock broke his 2008 duck with fourth – two places ahead of team-mate Jarno Trulli.

Split between the Japanese cars was Felipe Massa in the sole remaining Ferrari. The Brazilian had a topsy-turvy afternoon behind the wheel of his F2008. First, a miscommunication from his team meant he had to make an extra pit stop during the Safety Car period (the Ferrari mechanics had the wrong fuel pump for him). Then he lost even more ground when Felipe had to make a late ‘splash-and-dash’ pit stop with 18 laps to go.

This was frustrating for Massa, as the Ferraris had the speed to match the McLarens in race trim. Still, this didn’t hinder the Brazilian in terms of pulling off some fantastic overtaking manoeuvres, in particular on lap 50 when he passed both Rubens Barrichello and Heikki Kovalainen in one go!

Actually, Kovalainen was caught out by the fragile track surface at the hairpin (the scene in which many drivers were voicing their concerns to the race organisers). Heikki slid wide with Barrichello and that allow Massa to slip through down the inside. The Finn then spent the remaining part of the race in a huge battle with the Honda and Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel for the final point-scoring positions. But in the end, Heikki was unable to pass Vettel and finished in ninth.

Rosberg completed the top ten after his early delay in the pits, finishing ahead of Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Sebastien Bourdais.

His Williams team-mate Kazuki Nakajima was heading for another strong result but had to retire after damaging his front wing on the rear of Button’s Honda. The dislodged wing then wedged under the front of the Williams and sent it into the wall in the pit entrance.

As for Renault, it was a bad day for Flavio Briatore as Nelson Piquet Jr. was forced to retire after spinning while chasing team-mate Alonso. The double world champion also spun when trying to pass Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber. Alonso blamed the crumbling track surface when he hit the wall on lap 45.

Giancarlo Fisichella became the final retirement when he crashed his Force India on the way out of Turn 4.

So a fantastic result for Robert Kubica. His breakthrough victory after 28 races is a great achievement. I bet Mario Theissen, the team principal, is feeling ecstatic with this result, but I do feel sorry for Nick Heidfeld though. The German was unable to make use of his heavy-fuelled car in the middle stint of the race and that elusive win for Nick will come soon.

Kubica now leads the drivers’ standings with 42 points, four points ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa. BMW Sauber now moves into second position in the constructors’ championship, three points behind leader Ferrari and 17 points ahead of McLaren-Mercedes.

Canadian Grand Prix result – 70 laps

1. Kubica BMW Sauber 1h36:24.447
2. Heidfeld BMW Sauber +16.495
3. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault +23.352
4. Glock Toyota +42.627
5. Massa Ferrari +43.934
6. Trulli Toyota +47.775
7. Barrichello Honda +53.597
8. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari +54.120
9. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes +54.433
10. Rosberg Williams-Toyota +54.749
11. Button Honda +1:07.540
12. Webber Red Bull-Renault +1:11.299
13. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:17.387

Not classified/retirements:

Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 54 laps
Nakajima Williams-Toyota 49 laps
Alonso Renault 47 laps
Piquet Renault 42 laps
Raikkonen Ferrari 20 laps
Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 20 laps
Sutil Force India-Ferrari 14 laps

World Championship standings, round 7:

Drivers:

1. Kubica 42
2. Hamilton 38
3. Massa 38
4. Raikkonen 35
5. Heidfeld 28
6. Kovalainen 15
7. Webber 15
8. Trulli 12
9. Alonso 9
10. Rosberg 8
11. Nakajima 7
12. Coulthard 6
13. Vettel 5
14. Barrichello 5
15. Glock 5
16. Button 3
7. Bourdais 2

Constructors:

1. Ferrari 73
2. BMW Sauber 70
3. McLaren-Mercedes 53
4. Red Bull-Renault 21
5. Toyota 17
6. Williams-Toyota 15
7. Renault 9
8. Honda 8
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7

Next race: French Grand Prix, Magny-Cours. June 20-22.

UPDATE: Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will lose ten places on the grid at the French Grand Prix following their pit lane incident in Canada.

Hamilton crashed into the back of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen at the end of the pit lane on lap 20, when the Finn braked to stop in front of the red light. The Briton said he saw the light too late and could not avoid hitting the Ferrari.

Both men retired in the accident.

Rosberg could not stop in time either and hit Hamilton from behind, although the Williams driver was able to continue in the race.

Both Hamilton and Rosberg will be hit with a 10-place grid penalty in France in two weeks’ time.

Lewis Hamilton is on target by repeating his maiden victory at the Canadian Grand Prix after taking a stunning pole position at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The McLaren driver was easily the fastest around the race track after topping the time sheets in both session one and two of qualifying. His pole position lap of one minute, 17. 886 seconds was over half a second quicker than his nearest rival, the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica. It was Hamilton’s eighth career pole, his second this season.

Sharing the front row is Kubica. It was a remarkable performance from the Polish driver, especially after his horrific crash twelve months ago. Robert would have shocked the Formula One paddock with his late charge for pole position, but second is still a great achievement for the team and driver.

Race favourites Ferrari could only manage third and sixth. World champion Kimi Raikkonen struggled for grip on a track that was breaking up and the Finn will start the race in third, nearly a second adrift from championship rival Hamilton.

Team-mate Felipe Massa was unable to continue his impressive qualifying form and will line up in sixth. Between the red cars are double world Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Nico Rosberg (Williams), fourth and fifth respectively.

Hamilton’s McLaren colleague Heikki Kovalainen lines up in seventh with Nick Heidfeld – again out-qualified by team-mate Kubica – in eighth.

Honda’s Rubens Barrichello took ninth spot while Mark Webber was unable to take part in the final part of qualifying after damaging his car at the end of the previous session.

The Red Bull driver has expressed his concerns to the race organisers about the state of the circuit and there are question marks whether the Grand Prix will take place due to the deteriorating nature of the track’s surface.

Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix could well be very unpredictable, even if the outside chance of rain doesn’t materialise.

Qualifying times from Montreal:

1. HAMILTON McLaren 1:17.886
2. KUBICA BMW 1:18.498
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:18.735
4. ALONSO Renault 1:18.746
5. ROSBERG Williams 1:18.844
6. MASSA Ferrari 1:19.048
7. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1:19.089
8. HEIDFELD BMW 1:19.633
9. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:20.848
10. WEBBER Red Bull 1:17.523
11. GLOCK Toyota 1:18.031
12. NAKAJIMA Williams 1:18.062
13. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:18.238
14. TRULLI Toyota 1:18.327
15. PIQUET Renault 1:18.393
16. SUTIL Force India 1:19.108
17. FISICHELLA Force India 1:19.165
18. BUTTON Honda 1:23.565
19. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1:18.916*
20. VETTEL Toro Rosso No time

*Five-place grid penalty for gearbox change

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton achieved his life-long ambition by winning the Monaco Grand Prix in a thrilling race in tricky weather conditions. He survived a brush against the Armco barrier on lap five exiting the Tabac corner and went on to take an all-important win. Hamilton’s second victory of the season (the sixth in his Grand Prix career) came at the perfect time to take the championship lead.

Robert Kubica beat pole-sitter Felipe Massa in the rain-affected race with second position thanks to pitting onto the groove (dry slicks) Bridgestone at the right time. Despite locking out the front row, the Ferraris made the wrong strategy call in the race and suffered the consequences. This was especially true for world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who was given a drive-through penalty for making his tyre decision at the start of the race too late… and then crashing his F2008 against other cars.

The Finn even took out the impressive Adrian Sutil in the Force India after losing control under braking for the chicane… At that point, Sutil was driving faultlessly around the streets of the Principality, staying out of trouble and gaining places after starting from the back of the grid. Force India were looking good with fourth position in the remaining laps of the Grand Prix until that moment with the world champion…

The collision meant Mark Webber (for Red Bull) and Sebastian Vettel (in the sister team that of Toro Rosso) to complete the top five. Honda’s Rubens Barrichello profited from all the incidents in this dramatic Monaco Grand Prix with a fine sixth – bringing an end to his nightmare 22 race points drought which stretched back to the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Kazuki Nakajima kept out of trouble to finish seventh for Williams (competing in the team’s 600th Grand Prix), while Heikki Kovalainen managed to score the final point despite stalling his McLaren on the parade lap.

Before the race even began, several drivers were concerned about the weather conditions. Without traction control, it was extremely difficult to stay on the track. Even though the rain is a great variety in levelling out the playing field – by which the mid-field teams can score big – it was still a challenge for all the Formula One drivers to control over 700 brake horsepower around a twisty and narrow street circuit. So making the right call in starting on which Bridgestone was the key question.

With three minutes before the start of the race, the drivers and teams made the decision to start on intermediates. But unfortunately, Raikkonen made the choice too late and was given a drive-through penalty for this mistake.

As the red five lights flicked off, Hamilton made a clean getaway from third on the grid to move ahead of Raikkonen as the cars heading into Saint Devote. Leading from the front was Massa and at this early stage of the race, the Brazilian was the quickest.

On lap five while running second, Lewis made an error on approaching the Swimming Pool complex. The McLaren went into oversteer and he brush the Armco barrier with his right-rear tyre. This resulted in a puncture for Lewis but luckily he made it back to pits and was able to continue (without losing too many positions). During this pit stop to replace the damage Bridgestone, the McLaren mechanics decided to switch strategy and fuelled Hamilton’s car with more fuel. This gave the advantage to them over Ferrari in the outcome of the race.

The safety car made its first appearance on lap seven after a series of incidents at Casino Square. First double world champion Fernando Alonso tagged the wall and – like Hamilton – destroyed his rear-right tyre but he managed to make it back to the pits and continue. Moments later, David Coulthard (in the Red Bull) slid into the same barrier, and was then collected mid-crash by Sebastien Bourdais (in the sister Toro Rosso), who was having an accident of his own! Both cars were out on the spot.

Alonso took the opportunity to switch to the extreme wets during his stop for repairs and that gave him that extra pace to challenge the other cars when the race resumed following three laps under the safety car.

Unfortunately, his charge with a better-spec wet tyre resulted in him tangling into BMW’s Nick Heidfeld in the Hotel Hairpin (formerly known as Loews), breaking his Renault’s front wing and forcing Heidfeld to pit with a puncture.

Nico Rosberg also lost his wing in an incident with Kovalainen in a traffic jam behind the interlocking BMW and Renault in the tight hairpin.

At this point, a message flashed on to the timing screens from Formula One Management (FOM) that car number one (Kimi Raikkonen) will need to serve a drive-through penalty. The Iceman took this after the restart – losing him time and position – but he would lose even more when he missed his braking point at Sainte Devote breaking his front wing.

Team-mate Felipe Massa also had a moment at the first corner, though the Brazilian didn’t hit the barrier and was able to continue. By then Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber took the lead of the Monaco Grand Prix. The Pole couldn’t shake off the Brazilian, and when the Ferrari stayed out six laps longer than Kubica before its first pit stop, Massa was able to get back in front of the BMW Sauber. But both were behind Lewis Hamilton, however…

Initially the McLaren driver was dropping away from the pair due to running with a heavy fuel load, but as his car lightened and the track began to dry out, Lewis was setting purple sectors. He was lapping between one and three seconds faster than Massa during the middle part of the race.

By the time Hamilton made his final pit stop and took on dry groove Bridgestone on lap 53, his lead over second-place was nearly 40 seconds. He had no problems rejoining the race up front.

The expected second phase of the rain shower didn’t arrive and McLaren made the right call to bring in Hamilton with the correct tyre selection. Robert Kubica also benefitted by switching to ‘slicks’ and gained a place over Felipe Massa. Ferrari made a mistake by delaying the decision to switch to groove tyres for Massa and this ultimately cost them the race.

Behind Hamilton, Kubica and Massa was Adrian Sutil in the Force India. The German was driving a beautiful clean race and gained an advantage when the team chose the perfect moment to change onto the dry tyres. This allowed Sutil to take fourth from Mark Webber who made his tyre call a fraction too soon in the semi-dry track conditions.

Sutil was enjoying the moment battling against world champion Raikkonen and the Red Bull of Webber until Nico Rosberg had a huge crash on the entry to the Swimming Pool section on lap 61 – prompting a second safety car.

This was bad news for Lewis Hamilton. After comfortably stretching his lead to around 40 seconds, the safety car wiped out that time advantage and now Kubica was on his tail. As the race resume with only eleven and a half minutes to go (the race was approaching its two-hour limit), Raikkonen made a silly error in his determination to get past Sutil on the restart.

It seems Kimi lost control under braking on his approach to the sea front chicane. The Finn tried to lose some speed but he couldn’t slow down… Kimi ploughed into the rear of the Force India causing terminal damage to Sutil and ending all hopes for the team and the German.

Raikkonen was able to continue but that incident cost him the championship lead. Ninth position was a disappointing result for the Iceman after a frustrating race.

As the chequered flag fell on the two-hour mark, Lewis Hamilton crossed over the finish line feeling overjoyed. It had been a fantastic drive from the McLaren star and crucially it came at the time after four dominant races from rival Ferrari.

Robert Kubica finished in an excellent second position without making any mistakes in the wet-dry race. Felipe Massa came home in third and even though he started on pole position, it wasn’t a good result for Scuderia. At least Massa should be satisfied to out-perform his team-mate and he is now only a single point behind Raikkonen in the championship standings.

Mark Webber benefitted from the Raikkonen/Sutil incident to take fourth ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who finally scored a result for the new Toro Rosso STR3. Rubens Barrichello finished in sixth ahead of Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams and Heikki Kovalainen in the McLaren.

Behind Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso was tenth for Renault after a series of collisions, followed by Jenson Button, who lost his Honda’s front wing on the opening lap in a brush with Nick Heidfeld. The Toyotas of the three-time spinning Timo Glock(!) and Jarno Trulli came home in P12 and P13 while the last remaining runner was Heidfeld.

Non-finishes were Sutil, Rosberg, Coulthard and Bourdais with Nelson Piquet joining the list of retirements after dropping out of a tough fight with Vettel after brushing a wall. Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella also recorded a DNF in his 200th Grand Prix.

The result of this thrilling race puts Hamilton back in the championship lead with 38 points to Raikkonen’s 35, Massa’s 34 and Kubica’s 32. In the constructors’ standings, Ferrari have 69 to McLaren’s 53 and BMW Sauber’s 52. The battle for the world championship has suddenly come alive again as Formula One heads over the Atlantic to Canada in a fortnight’s time.

Monaco Grand Prix, 76 laps

1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2h00:42.272
2. Kubica BMW Sauber +3.069
3. Massa Ferrari +4.811
4. Webber Red Bull-Renault +19.264
5. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari +24.657
6. Barrichello Honda +28.408
7. Nakajima Williams-Toyota +30.180
8. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes +33.191
9. Raikkonen Ferrari +33.793
10. Alonso Renault +1 lap
11. Button Honda +1 lap
12. Glock Toyota +1 lap
13. Trulli Toyota +1 lap
14. Heidfeld BMW Sauber +4 laps

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:16.689

Not classified/retirements:

Sutil Force India-Ferrari 67 laps
Rosberg Williams-Toyota 58 laps
Piquet Renault 46 laps
Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 37 laps
Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 13 laps
Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 13 laps

World Championship standings, round 6:

Drivers’

1. Hamilton 38
2. Raikkonen 35
3. Massa 34
4. Kubica 32
5. Heidfeld 20
6. Kovalainen 15
7. Webber 15
8. Alonso 9
9. Trulli 9
10. Rosberg 8
11. Nakajima 7
12. Vettel 4
13. Barrichello 3
14. Button 3
15. Bourdais 2

Constructors’

1. Ferrari 69
2. McLaren-Mercedes 53
3. BMW Sauber 52
4. Williams-Toyota 15
5. Red Bull-Renault 15
6. Renault 9
7. Toyota 9
8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6
9. Honda 6

Next race: Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal. June 6-8

Ferrari arrived at Monte Carlo hoping for a much better showing than they managed last season when the McLarens ran rings around them with a perfect 1-2 result. Fast-forward twelve months on, not only have Scuderia improved on form with a quick and reliable car, but Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen locked out the front row of the grid even though the McLarens were the pre-race favourite.

Indeed, Lewis Hamilton was the fastest driver around the streets of the Principality after setting the pace in the Mercedes-powered MP4-23 during opening practice on Thursday. You would expect the team and driver to continue this impressive form into the all-important qualifying session, but it seems their Italian rival have something up its sleeve in terms of outright performance.

With Felipe Massa scoring his third pole position of the season with a lap time of one minute, 15.787 seconds around the tight, twisty and challenging street circuit, it will be fascinating whether McLaren can fight back. World champion Kimi Raikkonen is alongside his team-mate with second position giving Ferrari its first front row start since 1979. By starting at the front, Ferrari will have the advantage in strategy and hopefully can end that winless streak at Monaco after six difficult years.

Championship challenger Lewis Hamilton was disappointed and shocked to only qualify in third. The McLaren driver admitted later on that he was losing time to the red cars in the middle sector of the lap, but he remains optimistic for the race ahead. His team-mate Heikki Kovalainen was only two-tenths of a second slower and will start the race in fourth.

Behind the two top teams in Formula One, Robert Kubica took his customary fifth position for BMW Sauber while Nico Rosberg carried his excellent practice form into qualifying with sixth for Williams. The British squad is celebrating its 600th Grand Prix and team boss Sir Frank Williams is hoping Rosberg can score some championship points in Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Double world champion and two-time Monaco winner Fernando Alonso lines up in seventh for Renault despite a lack of speed and rear-end grip in the R28. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli will start in eighth ahead of the Red Bull pair of Mark Webber and David Coulthard – ninth and tenth respectively.

In Coulthard’s case, the Scot was unable to take part in the top-ten shootout for pole position after losing control of his car under braking at the sea front chicane. The Red Bull locked its rear brakes over a crest in the road and the car pitched right into the Armco and DC became a passenger as the car went out of control down an escape room… Luckily he was unhurt but the Red Bull RB4 suffered heavy damage.

Several drivers’ last efforts in Q2 were affected when Coulthard struck the barrier. That left Nick Heidfeld down in P13 (his worst for 2008), both Hondas (Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, though the latter is under investigation by the race stewards for blocking one of Giancarlo Fisichella’s laps in Q1), Kazuki Nakajima, and Timo Glock.

Nelson Piquet continued to struggle in qualifying after being knocked out in Q1. The Brazilian is under pressure to perform and it didn’t help that he nearly damaged his car when exiting Portier during his fast lap… He will line up 17th on the grid.

Both of Scuderia Toro Rosso’s new cars were also knocked out in the first round. Champ Car star Sebastien Bourdais was unlucky not to make it through, with his last lap just half a tenth slower than Kazuki Nakajima in 15th. Team-mate Sebastian Vettle was one-tenth slower and is in P18.

And bring up the rear, are the Force India drivers of Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella. The 2008 Monaco Grand Prix is Fisichella’s 200th Grand Prix but it was a frustrating session for the Italian. Not only was he given a five-pace penalty for changing the gearbox before qualifying, but he is under investigation over a blocking incident with Honda’s Barrichello…

Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix will be an interesting contest between the top four drivers in Formula One. Felipe Massa might not be a fan of this street circuit but he will have the advantage of having a clear track in front of him. If the Brazilian wins, he will significantly reduce the points gap to world champion Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers’ standings. For Raikkonen, the Finn has to challenge his team-mate for the race victory in order to sustain his championship lead. As for Lewis Hamilton, he wants that ‘dream result’ by winning for the team while McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen is hoping that he has an opportunity to score that elusive first victory after a set-back race in Turkey.

There is a possibility of rain heading to Monte Carlo on Sunday and it should be a dramatic race if the heavens open… Without traction control, it will be a challenging task for the 20 drivers to control 700 brake horsepower around a twisting street circuit for 78 laps… Let’s see what happens on race day!

Monaco Grand Prix grid

1. MASSA Ferrari 1:15.787
2. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:15.815
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1:15.839
4. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1:16.165
5. KUBICA BMW 1:16.171
6. ROSBERG Williams 1:16.548
7. ALONSO Renault 1:16.852
8. TRULLI Toyota 1:17.203
9. WEBBER Red Bull 1:17.343
10. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:15.839
11. GLOCK Toyota 1:15.907
12. BUTTON Honda 1:16.101
13. HEIDFELD BMW 1:16.455
14. NAKAJIMA Williams 1:16.479
15. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:16.537
16. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1:16.806
17. PIQUET Renault 1:16.933
18. SUTIL Force India 1:17.225
19. FISICHELLA Force India 1:17.823*
20. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1:16.955**

* Under investigating for blocking
** Penalised for gearbox change