Category: Motor Racing

Canadian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton takes his second successive pole position for Team McLaren Mercedes, with his world champion team-mate Fernando Alonso in second.

It was another fantastic performance from Lewis, as Fernando was the fastest driver throughout the practice sessions leading up to qualifying.

But in the final moments in session three – the top ten shootout – Hamilton hooked up two perfect laps to seal pole position in the United States Grand Prix.

His lap time of one minute, 12.331 seconds was only a few tenths quicker over team-mate Alonso. Both drivers lock out the front row for the third consecutive time and it will be a fascinating contest between them for overall race victory.

Behind the two silver cars came the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen (third and fourth respectively). The red cars seem to be struggling and at one point, were behind the BMW-Saubers. It was a great recovery by the Italian team but extra performance is needed in order to get back on terms with McLaren.

Nick Heidfeld qualified his BMW-Sauber in P5, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen – who qualified his best-ever position for Renault. This follows on his recent result in Montreal in which Heikki finished fourth in an incident-packed race.

Making his Grand Prix debut is Sebastian Vettel, who is racing for BMW-Sauber this weekend as the team’s regular driver – Robert Kubica – was denied to take part by doctor orders. The 19-year-old German has done a remarkable job to qualify in seventh ahead of Jarno Trulli (Toyota), Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) and Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault).

Back to the man of the action Lewis Hamilton, who has admitted that he was surprised to be on pole position. The Formula One rookie is driving at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the very first time and yet, has managed to be beat his team-mate even though he wasn’t expect to!

“I’m quite surprised to be honest,” he said. “Going into qualifying we had not found the optimal set-up and I knew Fernando would be quick here, but it’s great to see the team are so quick and ahead of Ferrari.

“Going into it I had to pull it all out, and my two last laps in Q3 were spot on, and I just beat my last lap at the end. I couldn’t be happier, I didn’t expect pole as I thought Fernando would be quicker.”

Hamilton added that he was happier with his second pole than he was with the first one.

“I am ecstatic, didn’t expect to get pole. I am happy for the team. Getting my second pole is even better than last week, but when I came across the line and they said I had P1 I was screaming in the helmet for the whole lap, I was ecstatic.

“The crowd were fantastic, and across from the garage there is a flag with ‘Lewis on’ it, there is lots of support so I am happy.”

But will he on Sunday night? As world champion Fernando Alonso says he is full of confidence in the Grand Prix. The Spaniard may be nearly two tenths down on Lewis but he feels upbeat for the race ahead.

“It has been a good weekend for me no doubt,” said Alonso. “I was fastest in practice but not in the important one, Q3, but being fastest all weekend gives me confidence for tomorrow.

“There are many factors at play in Q3, so many things can happen tomorrow and I am full of confidence.”

He added: “I didn’t improve much in the second lap, I had quite good grip in the car and was quite happy with the laps. I think tomorrow we can do very well.”

So it will be another Hamilton versus Alonso showdown. Can the Spaniard resist the urge to pass his young team-mate in a desperate bid to take the lead at the first corner? Will Lewis score another race victory – making it a double in North America? What about Massa and Raikkonen can the Ferraris fight back? And just how fast will the BMW-Saubers be? If anything, the 2007 US Grand Prix should be a thrilling contest.

United States Grand Prix starting grid

1. HAMILTON McLaren 1:12.331
2. ALONSO McLaren 1:12.500
3. MASSA Ferrari 1:12.703
4. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:12.839
5. HEIDFELD BMW 1:12.847
6. KOVALAINEN Renault 1:13.308
7. VETTEL BMW 1:13.513
8. TRULLI Toyota 1:13.789
9. WEBBER Red Bull 1:13.871
10. FISICHELLA Renault 1:13.953
11. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:12.873
12. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1:12.920
13. BUTTON Honda 1:12.998
14. ROSBERG Williams 1:13.060
15. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:13.201
16. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1:13.259
17. WURZ Williams 1:13.441
18. SATO Super Aguri 1:13.477
19. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1:13.484
20. SPEED Toro Rosso 1:13.712
21. SUTIL Spyker 1:14.122
22. ALBERS Spyker 1:14.597

Lewis Hamilton takes his first Formula One victory in an incident-packed Canadian Grand Prix, which featured four Safety Car periods.

Hamilton drove an impressive race, which was full of action and drama. But he made no mistakes throughout the weekend and deserves this fantastic result. An amazing achievement when you consider that this is only his sixth race as a Formula One driver. To record his maiden victory with a faultless drive from pole position is fantastic. Expect plenty more in the next couple of races this season.

In second was BMW-Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld who also drove a great race. Alex Wurz finished third for Williams, his first podium for the team after making his race debut ten years ago at the wheel of a Benetton. The Austrian commented that it was a “dream” result after a difficult weekend.

Heikki Kovalainen was another driver who was pleased to finish in the top eight with a fine fourth position. The Finn ended a miserable weekend filled with engine failures and incidents to record his first points of the season. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was fifth but seemed to lack pace and at one point, got overtaken by a sublime Takuma Sato in the Super Aguri!

In fact, Takuma was driving a sensational race and not only did he passed a Ferrari, the popular Japanese driver even got ahead of Fernando Alonso, with a superb overtaking manoeuvre in the last two laps! That was the real highlight of the Canadian Grand Prix in my mind.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso ended a disappointed Grand Prix with seventh after making three serious errors into the first corner. The first of which was on the opening lap when the Spaniard tried an over-ambitions move to take the lead. Alonso ran wide – just like the scenario in the Spanish Grand Prix – went onto the grass and was lucky not to hit anyone as he returned back to the track.

His bad luck didn’t end there as Alonso received a 10-second penalty for pitting during the first Safety Car period – before the pit lane was opened. So he dropped even further places and to cap it off even more, suffered the embarrassment by being overtaken by a Super Aguri from an inspired Sato…

Toyota’s Ralf Schumacher finished in the last remaining points position with eighth. Only twelve cars from a field of 22 finished in this crazy Canadian Grand Prix. Two were disqualified (Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa) due to exiting the pits despite the red light being shown… While the other remaining cars either broken down (in the case for poor old Jenson Button, who didn’t even start due to a clutch problem) or crashed.

Back to the man of the race, Lewis Hamilton who celebrates this “historic” day with a superb lights-to-flag victory in only his sixth Formula One starts.

Starting from pole position, the 22-year-old Briton became the first rookie to win in the sport since Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya for Williams back in 2001.

Hamilton showed great composure, while those around him were scraping into walls and pirouetting around corners, to confirm his status as a future champion.

“It has been a fantastic day, this is history,” said Hamilton. “To come here the first time in Canada, been a fantastic season already, I have been ready for quite some time for the win but just when or when.

“The team gave me a perfect car, the safety car made it a bit boring, but once we got going it got more exciting.

“We sat behind the safety car for quite some time and then dulled down for a while, then began building it (the gap) back again. The team did a great job getting me in and out before the first safety car.

“The last few laps I was just counting them down, I could see the board and I am the kind of guy to push until the end, and if you make one mistake you are on the marbles and in the wall. So I just wanted to enjoy it.

“I have to dedicate this one to my dad (Anthony) because without him it wouldn’t all be possible.”

Hamilton has now finished on the podium in all his Formula One races so far.

The Briton says he now plans to enjoy being at the head of the championship, but is already looking to consolidate it in Indianapolis next Sunday.

“There is plenty of time to enjoy it. I have to say hello to all my family back home, and all the fans and the team – at Woking, Stuttgart and Brixworth to prepare the car.

“Going into Indy, I go there with great confidence, we have to try to continue with the performance we have.”

So a fantastic result for Lewis but the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix will be remembered mainly for the horrifying accident that befell Robert Kubica. The Pole is believed to have escaped only with a broken leg after a high-speed impact with the wall approaching the hairpin.

After the first Safety Car, the race resumed for only a brief period before Kubica clipped the back of Jarno Trulli’s Toyota while running flat out on the approaching to the hairpin. The BMW-Sauber ran wide onto the infield grass, got airborne over an access road and slammed into the inside wall, before rolling back across the track and coming to rest on its side in the hairpin run-off.

Kubica was carefully removed from the car and taken to the medical centre, where he was awake and alert. He was airlifted to hospital in Montreal for further checks, and subsequently diagnosed with a broken leg.

Hopefully Robert will make a full recovery, but it remains unclear when he will be back behind the wheel. My best wishes goes to him for surviving that nasty-looking crash on lap 27.

Hamilton’s win has moved him into the clear lead in drivers’ championship standings, eight points in front of McLaren’s team-mate Alonso. Felipe Massa is already 15 points behind in third.

The next race is the United States Grand Prix at the world’s famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Can Lewis score his second race victory or will Felipe, Fernando and Kimi strike back? We will find out in the next seven days!

Canadian Grand Prix result – 70 laps

1. HAMILTON McLaren 1h 44m11.292s
2. HEIDFELD BMW Sauber +4.343
3. WURZ Williams-Toyota +5.325
4. KOVALAINEN Renault +6.729
5. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +13.007
6. SATO Super Aguri-Honda +16.698
7. ALONSO McLaren-Mercedes +21.936
8. R. SCHUMACHER Toyota +22.888
9. WEBBER Red Bull-Renault +22.960
10. ROSBERG Williams-Toyota +23.984
11. DAVIDSON Super Aguri-Honda +24.318
12. BARRICHELLO Honda +30.439
R. TRULLI Toyota +12 laps
R. LIUZZI Toro Rosso-Ferrari +16 laps
R. MASSA Ferrari Disqualified
R. FISICHELLA Renault Disqualified
R. ALBERS Spyker-Ferrari +23 laps
R. COULTHARD Red Bull-Renault +34 laps
R. KUBICA BMW Sauber Accident
R. SUTIL Spyker-Ferrari +49 laps
R. SPEED Toro Rosso-Ferrari +62 laps
R. BUTTON Honda +70 laps

Fastest lap: ALONSO 1:16.367

Rising Formula One star Lewis Hamilton takes his first pole position with a fantastic display in the qualifying session at Montreal, the scene of this year’s Canadian Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver beat his world champion team-mate Fernando Alonso by four tenths of a second, setting a lap time of one minute, 15.707 seconds. The Spaniard tried to improve his time and was actually faster than Lewis in the first two sectors in his final run. But at the end of the lap, Fernando made a mistake at the fianl chicane and this resulted in second position.

BMW-Sauber Nick Heidfeld will start in an impressive third ahead of the Ferrari pair of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa (fourth and fifth respectively). This performance from Heidfeld matches his best starting position since Melbourne.

Raikkonen and Massa were expected to set the pace but seem to struggle around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The Finn was a tenth quicker than the Brazilian, but both were seven tenths of a second behind leader Hamilton.

Mark Webber (Red Bull) and Nico Rosberg (Williams) continued their promising weekends by securing sixth and seventh respectively, ahead of Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber team-mate Robert Kubica, and Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella.

Jarno Trulli completes the top ten for Toyota, which is a great recovery especially when you consider that the team suffered suspension dramas in the first practice sessions.

Back to the man of the moment, Lewis Hamilton who has hailed this result as a “fantastic day” after grabbing his maiden pole position.

This is an amazing achievement as this is only his sixth race in Formula One. With Hamilton leading team-mate Alonso, this is the British team’s second consecutive pole position of the season and its first in Canada since 1998.

“It has been a fantastic day and a fantastic weekend, the team have done a fantastic job,” said Hamilton. “It came down to this and had to pull it out at the last minute. It is not easy, especially when you have a two-time world champion hunting you down. I am very happy.

“For the final lap the car was sweet, the tyres were perfect and I had to pull it all out. The important thing was to be consistent.”

Hamilton, tied on points with his team-mate at the head of the championship standings, will be looking for his maiden victory in tomorrow’s race.

The rookie reckons it will be vital to arrive in the lead at the first corner.

“Tomorrow is going to be tough as always, but I have not been fortunate enough to start on pole (before),” the Briton added. “Tomorrow is a new experience for me, we have the car, the strategy and the team.

“I have to get to the first corner first and then after that we have to stay consistent.”

If Lewis does this without any incident and drive a fast and clean race, the British star could win his first ever Grand Prix. Now that would be a great result for Formula One!

Starting grid – Canadian Grand Prix

1. HAMILTON McLaren 1:15.707
2. ALONSO McLaren 1:16.163
3. HEIDFELD BMW 1:16.266
4. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:16.411
5. MASSA Ferrari 1:16.570
6. WEBBER Red Bull 1:16.913
7. ROSBERG Williams 1:16.919
8. KUBICA BMW 1:16.993
9. FISICHELLA Renault 1:17.229
10. TRULLI Toyota 1:17.747
11. SATO Super Aguri 1:16.743
12. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1:16.760
13. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:17.116
14. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:17.304
15. BUTTON Honda 1:17.541
16. SPEED Toro Rosso 1:17.571
17. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1:17.542
18. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1:17.634
19. WURZ Williams 1:17.806
20. SUTIL Spyker 1:18.089
21. ALBERS Spyker 1:18.536
22. KOVALAINEN Renault 1:19.196

Marcus Grönholm extends his championship lead to nine points over main rival Sébastien Loeb with victory in the Rally of Greece.

The Finn was left unchallenged throughout the event and was able to control his pace in the Ford WRC to maintain his advantage over the reigning world champion, who finished second for Citroen.

Loeb wasn’t entirely satisfied to finish behind the winner – due to the points gap between himself and Grönholm – but the Frenchman will be determined to fight back as the championship takes a two-month break before the next round.

As for Petter Solberg, the 2003 champion was delighted to finish on the podium, as for once both Subarus were on the pace with team-mate Chris Atkinson heading the times during the early stages of the rally.

Mikko Hirvonen had to settle for fourth after the Finn lost ground on day two due to a broken windscreen, while Henning Solberg made sure that there were three Fords in the top five.

A perfect weekend for the double world champion as Fernando Alonso gave the McLaren-Mercedes team their 150th Grand Prix victory with a dominant performance on the streets of Monte Carlo.

The Spaniard led home team-mate Lewis Hamilton to score his second Grand Prix win of the season. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa finished in a distant third place and was the last remaining runner to finish on the lead lap. The impressive pace from the McLarens meant that the rest of the F1 field were lapped.

The expected rain never made an appearance after the clouds parting away just before the start. The two McLarens left the grid in formation with Alonso ahead. Hamilton tried his best to stay in touch but lost out due to traffic. Second place was the best he could have hoped for, despite many predicting that this was the race Lewis can win.

Despite starting in third, Felipe Massa just didn’t have the speed to compete against the two silver cars out in front. The Brazilian opted to switch to the super-soft compound Bridgestones (with the white stripes) during his first pit-stop, but it didn’t work out so he dropped even further behind… In the end, he was a full minute behind the race winner.

Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella finished in a lonely fourth ahead of the reliable BMW-Saubers of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld respectively. Both drivers employed single-stop strategies in the 78-lap race. Alex Wurz took seventh for Williams, his first points-scoring finish since making his return to Grand Prix racing this season. The Austrian managed to stay ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who started the race in P16. Kimi didn’t progress quite so well in the mid-pack especially when he was stuck behind the heavy-fuelled and single-stopping Honda of Jenson Button. He eventually got passed to claim the final point.

Alonso’s superb victory in Monaco means he now leads the drivers’ championship table with 38 points. Hamilton’s hard-fought second – his fifth podium in succession – gives him the same score as his team-mate, but Lewis is officially second in the standings since Fernando won two races this season. Massa is five points behind on 33, with Raikkonen on 23. In the constructors’ standings, McLaren have 76 points to Ferrari’s 56 as the championship moves onto the double rounds in North America.

Monaco Grand Prix result – 78 laps

1. ALONSO McLaren 1h40m29.329s
2. HAMILTON McLaren + 4.095s
3. MASSA Ferrari + 1m09.114s
4. FISICHELLA Renault + 1 lap
5. KUBICA BMW-Sauber + 1 lap
6. HEIDFELD BMW-Sauber + 1 lap
7. WURZ Williams + 1 lap
8. RAIKKONEN Ferrari + 1 lap
9. SPEED Toro Rosso + 1 lap
10. BARRICHELLO Honda + 1 lap
11. BUTTON Honda + 1 lap
12. ROSBERG Williams + 1 lap
13. KOVALAINEN Renault + 1 lap
14. COULTHARD Red Bull + 2 laps
15. TRULLI Toyota + 2 laps
16. SCHUMACHER Toyota + 2 laps
17. SATO Super Aguri + 2 laps
18. DAVIDSON Super Aguri + 2 laps
R. ALBERS Spyker + 8 laps
R. SUTIL Spyker + 24 laps
R. WEBBER Red Bull + 60 laps
R. LIUZZI Toro Rosso + 76 laps

Fastest lap: Alonso 1min 15.284 secs

UPDATE: McLaren are to face an investigation by motor racing’s governing body over the team orders they imposed on their drivers at the Monaco Grand Prix.

World champion Fernando Alonso and teammate Lewis Hamilton were ordered to hold position after the first round of pitstops in Monte Carlo – in a move aimed at reducing risks to secure a McLaren 1-2.

A statement issued on Monday said: “The FIA has launched an investigation into incidents involving the McLaren Mercedes team at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix in light of a possible breach of the International Sporting Code.

“The relevant evidence is under review and a further announcement will be made in due course.”

I will be surprise if the team is excluded from the race result. This is the worst-case scenario if this happens. I reckon a fine for fixing the race is the most likely outcome.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso took his first pole position of the season after beating his team-mate Lewis Hamilton by a small margin of two tenths of a second.

The McLaren drivers dominated the one-hour qualifying session and despite a brief shower, the pace of Alonso and Hamilton was mighty impressive. Hamilton was fractionally quicker than the Spaniard until he encountered Mark Webber’s Red Bull Racing on the approach to Portier. The Australian moved off line as they went through the tunnel, but Hamilton lost that vital moment to record a lap time of 1min. 15.905secs. This was only good enough for second, but despite the outcome this was his best ever qualifying performance after four races.

As for Alonso, he was fast approaching Nico Rosberg’s Williams but managed to squeeze in a lap time of 1min. 15.726secs to take the top spot. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa qualified in third but for team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn will start back on row eight after damaging his car.

Raikkonen clipped the inside barrier at the exit of the Swimming Pool complex on his first flying lap in session two, breaking the Ferrari’s right-front suspension.

The Finn continued as far as La Rascasse, but the damaged F2007 could not make around the sharp right corner and ended up parked in virtually the same place, as Michael Schumacher had been in that infamous blocking incident in last year’s qualifying session.

As Kimi sat there – stricken on the outside of the corner – Massa came upon him and decided to go to the left; for a moment a double nightmare loomed for the Italian team, but Raikkonen managed to reversing his way out of trouble, and the Brazilian was able to go by. The Finn eventually got back to the pits, but the damage could not be repaired in time.

Giancarlo Fisichella took Renault’s best grid spot of the season with P4, with Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber doing the same for Williams and Red Bull in fifth and sixth respectively. The BMW-Saubers will start on row four, with Nick Heidfeld ahead of Robert Kubica.

As for David Coulthard, he made into the top-ten shootout but was denied by the race stewards to take part as a punishment for blocking Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen when on an out-lap near the end of the second qualifying session. The Red Bull driver was demoted to 16th on the grid, behind Raikkonen, while Kovalainen could only manage 14th.

So with the two McLarens up front, it will be fascinating who will lead into Sainte Devote first. Overtaking on this narrow street circuit is near impossible so it is vital to have track position and the best race strategy. It also doesn’t help that there is an eighty percent chance of rain on race day…

Can Lewis Hamilton win his first-ever Formula One race after four starts? He has an amazing record around Monte Carlo, winning last year’s GP2 event with some style. Or will we see Fernando Alonso scoring his second win as a way of kick-starting his title defence? What about Massa? Will the Brazilian score another race victory despite qualifying in third. The 2007 Monaco Grand Prix should provide these answers with drama and thrills around the Principality.

Monaco Grand Prix starting grid

1. ALONSO McLaren 1:15.726
2. HAMILTON McLaren 1:15.905
3. MASSA Ferrari 1:15.967
4. FISICHELLA Renault 1:16.285
5. ROSBERG Williams 1:16.439
6. WEBBER Red Bull 1:16.784
7. HEIDFELD BMW-Sauber 1:16.832
8. KUBICA BMW-Sauber 1:16.955
9. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:17.498
10. BUTTON Honda 1:17.939
11. WURZ Williams 1:16.662
12. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1:16.703
13. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:16.319 *
14. TRULLI Toyota 1:16.988
15. KOVALAINEN Renault 1:17.125
16. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:16.251
17. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1:18.250
18. SPEED Toro Rosso 1:18.390
19. SUTIL Spyker 1:18.418
20. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1:18.539
21. SATO Super Aguri 1:18.554
22. ALBERS Spyker No time

* Coulthard was not allowed to participate in Q3 after impeding Kovalainen during Q2.

Finland’s Marcus Grönholm has moved back into the lead of the World Rally Championship by winning the Rally Italia after main rival Sébastien Loeb spun off in leg three.

Before sliding into a ditch and into retirement, the Frenchman looked set to take his fourth consecutive victory despite suffering a lack of grip on the loose gravel stages during leg one.

Grönholm’s team-mate Mikko Hirvonen finished in second, which helped the Ford Rally team to remain ahead of Citroën in the manufacturers’ standings.

Dani Sordo came home in third, ahead of the Solberg brothers (Henning and Petter respectively).

Felipe Massa took his second successive victory with a dominant display in the Spanish Grand Prix. He led from pole position and despite a brief contact with double world champion and home favourite Fernando Alonso at the first corner, the Brazilian had the speed advantage to beat the McLarens for the race win. Lewis Hamilton benefited from his team-mate mistake to finish second and now leads the drivers’ standings after only four races in his Grand Prix career.

Alonso finished the race in a disappointed third place, after his failed attempt to take the race lead by going around of Massa into the turn one. The Ferrari and McLaren banged wheels and the Spaniard was forced to take a trip through the gravel, losing vital track positions to Lewis Hamilton and Kim Raikkonen.

From there on, Massa was in full control in the 65-lap race with only a brief scare during his first pit-stop, when a small fuel spillage caused a dramatic fire on the side of his F2007 as he pulled away. The damage was only superficial and the Brazilian went on to take his fourth career Grand Prix victory.

As for his Ferrari team-mate Raikkonen, the Finn was initially in third place split between the McLaren pair, but after just ten laps was forced to retire with an electrical problem. This retirement means the Finn drops down to fourth in the leader board with only 22 points.

Robert Kubica finished in fourth for BMW-Sauber, his best result of the year. As for his team-mate Nick Heidfeld, the German had a nightmare race when during his pit-stop Nick was signalled out before the right front wheel gun was disengaged…

Heidfeld managed to get going again but was forced to retire with fifth place on the cards. This left the way clear for David Coulthard in the Red Bull, scoring his and the team’s first points of the season. The Scot finished ahead of a tight battle featuring Nico Rosberg’s Williams and the three-stopping Heikki Kovalainen in the Renault.

Finishing in eighth and scoring that all-important championship point was Takuma Sato in the Super Aguri. The Japanese driver drove a superb race and benefited from the late pit stop of Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella.

The Spanish Grand Prix race results means Lewis Hamilton moves ahead of former record holder Bruce McLaren as the youngest driver ever to lead the world championship, with 30 points to Alonso’s 28, Massa’s 27 and Raikkonen’s 22.

“I keep saying I am living my dream,” he said, “and it’s really true. I’ve been working so hard, and to come out of my fourth grand prix leading the world championship, driving with top drivers in world, is just incredible.”

The championship now moves to the most glamorous race track on the calendar, the Monaco Grand Prix. Hamilton has an excellent record on the narrow streets circuit with last year’s GP2 race win. Can the Formula One rookie score his first win in two weeks time? Let’s wait and see.

Spanish Grand Prix result (65 laps)

1. MASSA Ferrari 1hr 31mins. 36.230secs
2. HAMILTON McLaren +6.790s
3. ALONSO McLaren +17.456s
4. KUBICA BMW Sauber +31.615s
5. COULTHARD Red Bull +58.331s
6. ROSBERG Williams +59.538s
7. KOVALAINEN Renault +1m02.128s
8. SATO Super Aguri +1 lap
9. FISICHELLA Renault +1 lap
10. BARRICHELLO Honda +1 lap
11. DAVIDSON Super Aguri +1 lap
12. BUTTON Honda +1 lap
13. SUTIL Spyker +2 laps
14. ALBERS Spyker +2 laps
R. HEIDFELD BMW Sauber +18 laps
R. SCHUMACHER Toyota +20 laps
R. LIUZZI Toro Rosso +45 laps
R. SPEED Toro Rosso +55 laps
R. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +55 laps
R. TRULLI Toyota +56 laps
R. WEBBER Red Bull +57 laps
R. WURZ Williams +62 laps

Fastest lap: MASSA 1m22.680s (lap 14)

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa took his third successive pole position by beating his main championship rival and home crowd favourite Fernando Alonso by just three hundredths of a second.

This was another impressive performance by the Brazilian; his fifth in the past six races and tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix should be another great battle between Ferrari and McLaren.

By qualifying at the front, Massa will have the advantage of leading the chasing pack into the first corner. Overtaking at the Circuit de Catalunya will be tricky as the track relies on the aerodynamics of these modern spec Formula One racing cars. But the possibility of cars passing each other could come into effect with a new chicane at the end of the lap.

The Brazilian predicts that the Grand Prix will be difficult to call but Massa believes he has a good chance of winning in front of the Spanish crowd.

“Definitely it is very nice. Three pole positions in a row this year so I have a really quick and great car,” said Massa.

“I am happy to see the job of the team, for sure. I am really happy to be first in qualifying and we are looking forward to having a good race.

“I am really happy to be here, tomorrow will be difficult and tight race for all the Spanish people and everyone watching, hopefully we can have some good laps and a good race.”

Massa has again out-qualified his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn having to settle for third position for the third time running.

Raikkonen admitted he was happy with his car over the first two sectors of the circuit, but struggled with the handling in the final one.

“I think it is better than nothing,” said the Finn. “I was happier today with the car, I think we had good speed in the first two sectors but lost it all in the last. The car was difficult to drive.

“We have to get that right for tomorrow so we can drive, but it is not a bad position and we will see what happens.”

As for McLaren, double world champion Fernando Alonso remains confident for the race despite losing out on the top spot in the closing stages in qualifying.

“It has been a very good weekend for us so far with the car performing well, the front row of the grid is confirmation of how competitive the car is and how competitive the package is,” said Alonso.

“We are confident for tomorrow and we can see a very good race for the battle for the victory.”

His McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton will start the race in fourth but the British rookie might have the upper hand on the Spaniard with a better race strategy.

“We weren’t able to get any further up than fourth – I’m getting used to that position now in qualifying,” he said.

“But we had a slightly different strategy than Fernando at least, and I think we’re in good shape for tomorrow.

“If you work it out, I was just as quick, if not maybe quicker. But we will see.”

Behind the four fastest drivers came BMW-Sauber’s Robert Kubica, who managed to out-qualify his more experienced team-mate Nick Heidfeld. The German will start in eighth with the Toyota of Jarno Trulli split between them.

Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen made it into the top ten for the first time in his Formula One career with eighth, two places and three tenths of a seconds ahead of team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella.

Between the Renault pair it’s David Coulthard in the Red Bull. This was the Scot’s highest grid position since the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix.

Tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix should be quite tense as three drivers are tied on exactly the same championship points (Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton). The long run down to the first corner will be critical and the McLarens seem to be pretty good off the line this year. Alonso will be going for glory in front of his passionate crowd but can Massa stop him? What about Raikkonen, can he take his second victory for team? Or will we see the first Grand Prix win for Hamilton? Let the racing commence!

Spanish Grand Prix grid

1. MASSA Ferrari 1:21.421
2. ALONSO McLaren 1:21.451
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:21.723
4. HAMILTON McLaren 1:21.785
5. KUBICA BMW 1:22.253
6. TRULLI Toyota 1:22.324
7. HEIDFELD BMW 1:22.389
8. KOVALAINEN Renault 1:22.568
9. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:22.749
10. FISICHELLA Renault 1:22.881
11. ROSBERG Williams 1:21.968
12. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:22.097
13. SATO Super Aguri 1:22.115
14. BUTTON Honda 1:22.120
15. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1:22.295
16. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1:22.508
17. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1:22.666
18. WURZ Williams 1:22.769
19. WEBBER Red Bull 1:23.398
20. SUTIL Spyker 1:23.811
21. ALBERS Spyker 1:23.990
22. SPEED Toro Rosso No time

World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb clinched another victory in his Citroën C4 but the Rally Argentina will be remembered for its controversial start than its competitive World Rally Championship action.

The first day of the event was cancelled due to heavy overnight rain and it didn’t help that all the drivers and teams were so far away from the special stages to compete in… Nevertheless, the Frenchman took commanding control as soon as the real stages began and Loeb finished the event with a 36.7-second gap over rival Marcus Grönholm.

Loeb has extended the championship points lead by two, now with 48 to Grönholm’s 45. Early standings leader Mikko Hirvonen is now third with 36 points. Even with Citroën’s lead driver Loeb on top of the standings, Ford still maintains the edge in the Manufacturers’ title chase with 81 to Citroen’s 72 points after six rounds on the WRC calendar.