A.Wayne

Morning Chaps,

All Lewis , Sigh.....

A.Wayne

By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde Thursday, July 5th 2007, 14:27 GMT

McLaren drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton say they are not worried about the espionage controversy involving the British squad and rivals Ferrari.

"I don't know the full story," Alonso told reporters at Silverstone. "From the drivers point of view, we arrived here and drive the car and then fly home on Sunday afternoon.

"It doesn't change too much."

Ferrari have dismissed their technical manager Nigel Stepney while also taking legal action against him and McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan.

The controversy looks set to overshadow Hamilton's first British Grand Prix, but the McLaren rookie said it's not something he is focusing on.

"I don't know about Fernando, but it has not made any difference to me," Hamilton said. "I've got one job which is to get in the car and do the driving, and I don't think it has affected the team either.

"To be honest I am not focused on it and I don't know anything about the details, I just saw it on autosport.com. So if you want to ask any questions, ask the team about that."

A.Wayne

By Pablo Elizalde Thursday, July 5th 2007, 09:27 GMT

A business partnership has submitted a joint venture proposal to Silverstone owners the British Racing Driver's Club (BRDC) to secure the future of the circuit and the British Grand Prix.

The partnership, formed by the chairman of the Focus/Wickes DIY chain Bill Archer and by real estate entrepreneur Mike Rockall, would secure the future of the race after 2009, when the current contract ends.

The proposal would allow the BRDC and the partnership to form a joint venture company for the future development of Silverstone and would also ensure immediate funds are available for improvements to the British track and its facilities.

The new partnership said it would also provide the British Grand Prix with a new promoter to replace the BRDC, while protecting the future financial independence and member benefits of the Club.

"In this time-critical situation, our JV proposal can achieve the core objectives of the BRDC; to retain the F1 Grand Prix long term, finance the necessary improvements to Silverstone, and ensure the continuation of the independence, finances and member benefits of the Club," Archer and Rockall said in a statement.

"We have submitted our proposal to the board of the BRDC and we look forward to discussing it with them after what we all expect will be a successful Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone.

"The UK is the world's premier nation in the world in the motor sport industry. Silverstone must be improved to the highest international standard to retain that pre-eminence.

"We are confident as experienced and successful businessmen, working in partnership with Bernie Ecclestone, F1 and the BRDC, we can open a new chapter in Silverstone's proud history."

A.Wayne

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton firmly believes that he can win this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone - the first time he will ever race a Formula One car in front of his fellow countrymen.

That is despite Ferrari’s speed here in recent testing and sudden return to form in Magny-Cours - and in spite of all the scandal that has blown up following allegations that a senior McLaren engineer received stolen intellectual property from Ferrari and the ensuing suspension of that engineer.

Both of these factors will add to any pressure Hamilton feels racing at home, but he is convinced that he can join a long list of Britons who have won the British Grand Prix: Sir Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks, Peter Collins, Jim Clark, David Coulthard, Sir Jackie Stewart, James Hunt, Nigel Mansell, John Watson, Damon Hill, Johnny Herbert.

“You can’t win every race, and the most important thing is to be consistent, which I think we are,” he said after finishing third at Magny-Cours. “Both the Ferrari drivers said they made a good step forward, but when you are behind people, as we were in Magny-Cours, it’s a lot harder to show your true pace. I don’t think they were as quick, as much faster than us, as it looked today. Traffic and strategy had a lot to do with that, so I still think we can bounce back at Silverstone, without a doubt.

“I don’t think Ferrari’s sudden speed is worrying. It just shows they’ve made a great step forward and had a slightly better strategy than us. We were always on a three-stop strategy but what happened at the start affected that. After I had made my third pit stop I was a long way behind Felipe so there was no point in me wrenching the neck out of the engine trying to catch him. Throughout the race we were quite consistent on speed, but we need a little more. I am sure that we will make another improvement before Silverstone.

“To be honest, in France I was not disappointed. I don’t like to be overtaken, but that’s the same for everyone. But I was on the podium again and we are the most consistent team and I think we are doing a better job. I have extended my lead in the World Championship, so I couldn’t be happier.

“It is a great feeling to go to Silverstone as the World Championship leader. To do so certainly seemed unimaginable at the start of the season. I’m very, very happy with the job I’ve done and the team have done and I go into my first British GP with the team I always wanted to drive for, and that’s one of the greatest feelings a driver can have.”

After scoring his (and Honda’s) first point of the season, Jenson Button is also feeling a little more upbeat ahead of his home race. “Silverstone will be fun because I have a lot of friends and family coming and the fans treat you the same way even when things are tough. The fans at Silverstone have always been fantastic and there are four Brits to cheer on, so the lead-up will be hectic.”

David Coulthard and Anthony Davidson (in his first British Grand Prix) are both seeking points finishes for Red Bull and Super Aguri respectively, while BMW Sauber and Renault will re-engage their battle for third place overall as Williams look to do well on home ground, Toyota hope to reproduce the speed Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher displaced in the test here in June, and Toro Rosso hope their seamless shift gearbox will translate into Red Bull-matching lap times. With their factory just over the road from the circuit, Spyker would also like to take something good home from this one.

On paper, however, Ferrari are looking very strong. “We are back where we expect to be. You could feel the improvement in the car everywhere, really. In every corner,” Raikkonen said after his second win of the season, which brought the score to two apiece for the four leading contenders.

One thing that may well bring in a degree of uncertainty to the overall equation is the weather, with rain forecast for each day.

A.Wayne

The underlying message of the weekend is, if you are attending the race, bring your Wellington boots, rain macs and umbrellas, because things look very unsettled.

Showers will continue in the region on Thursday, when the ambient temperature will reach 16 degrees Celsius. There will be heavier rain on Friday as the temperature rises a degree, then showers for Saturday and Sunday with similar temperatures.

The schedule of events is modified slightly. Friday morning practice runs as usual from 1000 hours local time to 1130, but Saturday morning practice is from 1000 to 1100, and qualifying will start at 1300. The race will run over 60 laps of the 5.141 kilometre (3.194 mile) circuit, or 308.355 kms (191.605 miles), and will start at 1300 hours local time, which is an hour ahead of GMT.

A.Wayne

Hamilton has not had to "unlearn" anything about F1
Lewis Hamilton has been helped in his stunning start to his Formula One career by the new tyres used this year, Red Bull driver Mark Webber says.

The Australian says more experienced drivers have been hampered by adapting to the new Bridgestone control tyres.

"It has been very difficult for the guys who are seasoned campaigners to get used to these tyres," Webber said.

"The cars are vastly different but that final feel for us in terms of the confidence in the car is the tyres."

Interview: Red Bull driver Mark Webber

Webber describes this as one of a "few little subtleties that have helped [Hamilton] along the way" and admits that many regard tyres as "boring".


Mark Webber
Fernando Alonso has struggled big time on these tyres

Mark Webber (above)
But he pointed out that the Bridgestones behave very differently from the Michelin rubber used by many of Hamilton's rivals in recent years.

Hamilton's McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso, the world champion, and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen had been particularly badly affected because they have driven on Michelins for at least the last five years.

"It's like a golf or tennis player all using the same rackets," said Webber, talking in an interview with BBC Radio Five Live.

"Lewis, his fresh and naïve approach, that's all he knows. Fernando has struggled big time on these tyres.

"And that's not an excuse and Fernando hasn't used it as one because it's up to us to get on top of it, Kimi is the same. But most of us have found it very frustrating."

Webber was at pains to add that he was not diminishing Hamilton's achievements, which include finishing on the podium in all eight of his races and building up a 14-point world championship lead.

Lewis Hamilton leads Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen
Hamilton has left Alonso and Raikkonen in his wake this year
"Lewis has unquestionably a huge amount of talent and he has an amazing career ahead of him," Webber said.

Meanwhile, Hamilton has said he regards Sunday's British Grand Prix as "the biggest race of the year".

"It's my debut home race," the 22-year-old explained.

"It is going to be another new experience, and I expect the atmosphere will be incredible. I cannot wait to race in front of my home fans.

"To win at this race would be immense, but we have to be realistic with our expectations.

"This is one race out of 17, and as with all the grands prix, I will do my best to win for the fans.

"But the most important thing for them is to enjoy the whole weekend whatever the result will be."

A.Wayne

pics

chrisp

Looks like a PCA race.

A.Wayne

Thursday, July 5th 2007, 16:46 GMT

Participating: Rubens Barrichello (Honda), Jenson Button (Honda), Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Alexander Wurz (Williams).

Q. Alex, it's been a few years since you raced here, but you've had a third and a fourth here. What are your thoughts on this circuit?

Alexander Wurz: Yes, it's a nice circuit. I was here testing a few weeks ago and obviously there are some very high speeds here so the first five corners are quite incredible. Turn one, if everything is alright and the wind is coming from the correct direction, is flat out.

You arrive in seventh, flat out through the first corner. Then the whole section of Becketts, the first two corners, flat, just one downshift for turn five and you're on Hangar Straight. You haven't even touched the brakes until then. That's quite cool. It's a really a nice circuit.

Q. So far this year you've had some good races, but not necessarily good qualifying. What's been going wrong in qualifying?

AW: Well, if you call it wrong or not good enough, whatever it is, it's a few hundredths, a few tenths here and there and yeah, I have to work on that. As you say, the races are very strong, especially the starts. At every start, I have always overtaken people.

I think I'm actually the leader in overtaking manoeuvres on the race track in the 2007 season. But generally I have to work a little bit with the tyres, they are not really designed for my driving style, if you want to call it this. It was much better last year with the different constructions but that's something you have to dial your brain into, your processing into and I don't see any reason why that should cause me sleepless nights. But the racing is nice for sure.

Q. Anthony, it's been some time since you raced here, I think.

Anthony Davidson: Yeah, it's actually a circuit I don't really know that well, funnily enough, even though it's my home track. I know places like Jerez and Barcelona much better actually. It's a bit strange, but it's a fantastic circuit, a very pure track, very high speed as Alex was describing. The first sector, especially, is where you can really make or break your lap. You need a very good balance round here in the car too to get a good lap.

Q. When did you last race here?

AD: 2001 in Formula Three.

Q. But obviously you've tested here.

AD: Yeah, I have but obviously testing is pretty limited here as well, on the Formula One calendar. We even missed the last test, we were down in Jerez instead. But I'm looking forward to getting out there tomorrow and driving around a high speed circuit again.

Q. And racing in front of your home crowd?

AD: Absolutely. I had the experience of that in 2004 and last year on the Fridays only, and it does create a really nice atmosphere for being a British driver here.

Q. Rubens, a winner here and two pole positions as well. Could be wet this weekend. Is that going to be good for you?

Rubens Barrichello: I think so. It's a track that I think is probably the best that I enjoy. I enjoy coming to it more than others, wet or dry. I do enjoy coming here. When I used to test in Formula Three I didn't know I enjoyed it that much, but I really do in a Formula One car.

Q. Looking back at that win, a lot of overtaking manoeuvres.

RB: People consider that to be my best race. It was really nice to be able to overtake and the car was perfect that weekend, with the right choice of tyres and everything. Hopefully I'm going to have some sort of a repeat this weekend.

Q. Do you think it's going to hurt you that you didn't test here, whereas everybody else did apart from yourselves and Super Aguri?

RB: The first practice, maybe, but Silverstone is a track just like Barcelona, for example, where you can test the week before and then when you go back there it's all different, they clean the track and the wind is different and it might have rained. So the first practice, if it's the same people might have an advantage but I think by the second... we have been here quite often, so it's not a problem.

Q. Felipe, best of fourth in qualifying here and fifth last year but you've finished all your races here; what are your feelings about the circuit?

Felipe Massa: Hopefully it will be better this time. I think last year, if I remember well, in testing we had a good car here. In the race, maybe we brought the wrong tyres, and our car was not one hundred percent competitive here last year.

But this year our car is working very well on this kind of track and also the tyres are the same for everybody, so I am really looking forward to having a great weekend here. I always finish the race here. I've never had a fantastic position, especially the last year, but I really hope that we can really fight for first position here.

Q. After last weekend, Ron Dennis said McLaren ran relatively conservatively and that maybe they flattered Ferrari, made them look better than they were. What do you think about that statement?

FM: We were not conservative and we won and that's what counts. Maybe in some races we were not very strong and they won and now they have more points than us, so we need to be in front of them most of the race, so that's it. It doesn't matter what you say, it matters what you do on the track and that's why we're working so hard to try to improve the car every day, and everything.

Q. And you need to perhaps try and run less conservatively than them?

FM: In a championship like this, you cannot be conservative, in whatever race. Sometimes you can make mistakes by not being conservative but that's the way it is.

Q. Jenson, eighth place last weekend but it must have felt like a bit of a relief?

Jenson Button: Yes it did. More than gaining a point it was more the performance that we did over the weekend. Sunday's race was good fun and it was nice to be able to see the Renaults in front and then a McLaren, on the same lap! Quite unusual at the moment.

Q. What sort of modifications have been made and how much better did the car feel?

JB: There have been quite a lot of modifications, aerodynamically and mechanically as well. For me it felt like a big change in the race. Qualifying... we are still not there in qualifying. There is still a bit of speed that we need to find compared to a lot of the teams.

In the race the pace was ok and the consistency was reasonably good. It was nice to have a car that I could work with and push to the limit. We are still nowhere near where we want to be. We are still quite a long way off the Ferraris, the McLarens and the BMW's but we have moved forward and that's the important thing.

Q. Second on the grid here in 2005, fourth in the race in 2004. What are the chances of getting some more points this weekend?

JB: Well, the car in 2005 was pretty crap, so anything is possible. But I think qualifying is going to be reasonably difficult for us. It would be nice to get in Q3 but we have got to sort out a few things before we do that. We really don't know where we are here. We haven't tested here, so we have really just got to wait until tomorrow to see how competitive we are. As I said, we have got to work on our one lap performance a bit more.

Questions From The Floor

Q. (Xuping Tang - F1 Express) To Alex and Anthony. Is it more encouraging to be a racer instead of a testing driver in Formula One?

AD: Yeah, it is obviously what we have been working to do. For me over the last five years I have really tried to land a race drive and it's been a fantastic year so far. I am looking forward to the rest of the year obviously, but I think so far so good. It's been everything I thought it was going to be and I'm really enjoying it.

AW: My situation was slightly different to Anthony's because I have raced three seasons. I then decided after the years with Renault-Benetton to come and test for McLaren. This testing stint took a bit longer than I was hoping for but nevertheless… The fight to come back was hard but very rewarding once I sat on the grid at the first race this season in Melbourne.

That really was very pleasing, coming back. I think most of us here on the podium, apart from Rubens, were test drivers so I think you always have to watch out for the current test-drivers because it is not a bad job. It is something good, it is important for the team but nevertheless I really like the race and it feels more normal because test-driving just isn't right if you think you are a race driver.

Q. (Xuping Tang - F1 Express) For Jenson. Do you think the leaving of the test driver Anthony Davidson is one of the reasons for the recent car performance at the beginning of this season?

AD: I can answer that question!

JB: So you're saying it was all down to Anthony that we had a quick car last year? I can't give him that much credit. Anthony was good to have in the team because he was very experienced. We worked together for many years so yeah it was very useful but he's gone on to better things.

We've got Christian [Klien] in the team now and he's doing a very good job. He doesn't get that much testing, the testing rules have changed so he's not getting as much testing as he would have hoped but he is doing a good job as well.

Q. (Xuping Tang – F1 Express) Do you want him [AD] back?

JB: I think it is a bit unfair to try and steal him back from racing. I think he's enjoying himself.

Q. (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) Rubens, the team has finally started to get on top of the car but if you look back what has been the chief problem with the car?

RB: Since the beginning of the year the car has had some big stability problems and every time you change from high-speed to low-speed as you try to turn the car into a corner you lose the back end, so we have been addressing the problem. Magny-Cours was a lot better in that respect. I think we are going in the right direction. We are still very draggy on the straights which is something we have to improve but on braking it is much better.

Q. (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) Jenson and Anthony. Not only this weekend but throughout the entire year another British driver has grabbed all the headlines. How do you guys view the whole 'Hamilton hype' thing?

JB: It's the first time I've been asked this question (laughter). He deserves the amount of hype he's been getting. He's doing a great job, leading the championship by 14 points in his first season. You can say that he's in the best car, which he has been for most of the year. But he's still beating his teammate so yeah he has done a great job and he deserves the credit.

AD: It's allowed me to get on with a nice quiet year. This is my first year and it is what I thought it was going to be at the start of the year, as soon as Lewis was announced by McLaren. So that has been quite a benefit for me to get on with a nice easy ride from you guys.

Q. (Filippo Falsaperla – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Felipe, can you give your judgement about the affair involving Ferrari and McLaren and if you can feel something strange or different working within the team?

FM: I have nothing to say about that. I am here to drive. There are many things going on but my job is to drive the car so if you need any information about that ask the team.

Q. (Filippo Falsaperla – La Gazzetta dello Sport) About the feeling?

FM: The feeling is the same. We had a very, very good race in Magny-Cours, the car was competitive. I'm really looking forward to having a good weekend here and having the same car we had in Magny-Cours. Last week was very, very good the car was very competitive and I am really looking forward to fighting for the victory.

Pcar944

I used to go to school at Stowe, we'd walk over the fields and climb over the fence to get into the track to watch whatever racing was on. Best GP of the year in my biased opinion.

A.Wayne

Kimi, Lewis, Giancarlo, Robert, Scott and Jenson all put oneover on their team-mates at the French GP, though some had to try harder than others.

Renault
Season: Fisichella 5 Kovalainen 3
Race: Fisi
The shock of the race was not the Ferrari resurgence, not the further revelations about Nigel Stepney or the fact that Alonso's gearbox bearing broke. No, it was ITV's Louise Goodman standing alongside Heiki Kovalainen on the grid. I hadn't realised what a massive woman she was. Heiki was stood alongside her like a little hobbit next to Gandalph. However when she interviewed Jenson a few moments later she seemed to be back to normal size, so Kovalainen must be tiny.

How about him, Ant Davidson, Nick Heidfeld and Takuma Sato recreating Lord of the (Nurburg)Rings.

Max could play Saruman, Benie (also hobbit-sized) Bilbo Baggins and of course Ron Dennis would be everyone's favourite choice to play Smeagol.

In the race Frodo got turned round by Jarno Trulli in the Adelaide Hairpin and that was his race over. Fisichella looked to be continuing the same fighting spirit he showed at Indy and managed to keep Alonso at bay.

Ferrari
Raikkonen 3 Massa 5
Race: Kimi
.

The grand prix proved to be a breezy 1-2 at Magny Cours. Felipe Massa couldn't have tried any harder than he did and still lost out. Raikkonen's first few metres were critical. Had he failed to get past Hamilton straight away then it would have been Massa's race. Kimi won this one, but he's not out of the woods yet.

McLaren
Alonso 2 Hamilton 6
Race: Lewis
Ron Dennis thinks that his team flattered Ferrari at Magny Cours. They did a good job of it. In race trim Ferrari looked considerably quicker than Mclaren. The only good thing about the race for the Woking team is that Raikkonen won, not Massa, and the smooth Magny Cours track surface isn't repeated anywhere else on the calendar.

Alonso expended a lot of effort for very little reward. He put in one of the bravest overtaking moves you'll see all season getting past Heidfeld and then wasted several opportunities trying the outside line around Fisichella at Adelaide.

Hamilton's disposal of Kubica was far more exact. It will be compelling viewing if Lewis qualifies in 15th or 16th place at the Turkish Grand Prix and has to fight his way through.

BMW
Kubica/Vettel 3 Heidfeld 5
Race: Robert
F1 drivers are rarely affected by racing accidents that don't hurt them. It's one thing having a high-speed accident in a beautifully-built carbon monococque, it's another when you go off track in a go-kart and have to have it pulled off you. Kubica got straight back on his horse with no ill-effects. It's not that surprising.

Heidfeld,on the other hand, has back problems that won't fully clear up till the end of the season. He's the one we should feel sorry for.

Honda
Barrichello 6 Button 2
Race: Jenson
Button began to mix it with cars he used to race against before the team sacked Geoff Willis. He drove some impressive laps, despite a (seemingly) less than ideal race strategy. He looked quicker than Barrichello, but they are still very very close in qualifying and performance terms.

Toyota
Schumacher 3 Trulli 5
Race: Jarno
For once it was Jarno who cocked up on the opening lap and was man enough to admit it. Ralf had a steady race, but steady is probably not enough at this stage of his career.

Red Bull
Webber 6 Coulthard 2
Race: Mark
Last year DC got very frustrated towards the latter half of the season because all the factory development was devoted to the 2007 car. Now we've got to the 2007 season it seems that in 2006 the engineers must have left the work experience lad in charge and gone down the pub. Like Rubens and Jenson, there is very little between the Red Bull drivers, but Mark's RB3 is holding together marginally better right now.

Williams
Rosberg 5 Wurz 3
Race: Nico
Nico's average qualifying position is 9th while Wurz's is 16th - that's an ocean apart. The Williams team obviously value Wurz's work on the car, but there comes a time when they can't accept one driver going out in Q1 while the other regularly goes through to Q3.

Toro Rosso
Speed 4 Liuzzi 4
Race: Tonio
Scott Speed responded to the "Ooh, isn't Sebastien free next weekend?" rumours and outqualified Tonio Liuzzi. Ant Davidson helped ensure that between them, any car with a Red Bull logo stamped on it has very little chance of seeing the chequered flag.

Spyker
Albers 4 Sutil 4
Race: Adrian
Sutil is beginning to make a favourable impression whereas Albers has the look of a man in his final season of F1. When Ron Dennis talks about "damage limitation," he means scraping together as many points as he can from a bad race situation. For Mike Gascoyne at Spyker it's literally limiting the damage his drivers do to their cars.

Super Aguri
Sato 5 Davidson 3
Race: Taku
Liuzzi's hard braking for Turn 1 took Davidson by surprise and the collision took the Brit out of the race. Taku kept his nose clean

Star of the Race
Hamilton 4
Massa 2
Heidfeld 1
Alonso 1

Overtaking Move of the Race
Rosberg 1
Wurz 1
Heidfeld 1
Sato 1
Fisichella 1
Alonso 1

The Golden **** award
MonacoKimi Raikkonen. It's traditional to turn in to the exit of the swimming pool when the road appears, not when there's still a load of Armco to your right. The fact that he left his car in Michael Schumacher's official parking space made it doubly embarrassing.
MontrealJarno Trulli was in the hunt for some points at the end of the Canadian GP, he exited the pitlane after his second stop, accelerated and just went straight on into the barrier. They say the best jokes are the simplest ones.
IndianapolisNico Rosberg. Mika Hakkinen once did a comedy-chucking-his-gloves-away routine at Monza much to the amusement of the tifosi. Nico's anger at his car as the Toyota engine smoked and caught fire at the end of the pitlane, including an accusatory finger, had all the hallmarks of Basil Fawlty breaking down in Torquay.
Magny-CoursWe can laugh because no-one was hurt - although Christian Albers' pride must have taken a severe lashing. The Spyker pit-stop in which he left his pit-box before the fuel rig had been removed from the car will count as one of the all-time comedy pit-stops. Funnier than Heidfeld's lost wheel nut and almost as good as the three-wheel Ferrari pit-stop at the Nurburgring for Eddie Irvine. In terms of sheer destruction it eclipsed even that.

Driver Most Likely To Be Replaced Before The End Of The Season
(last race in brackets)
1. Alex Wurz (2)
2. Ralf Schumacher (1)
3. Ant Davidson (New entry)
4. Adrian Sutil (4)
5. Scott Speed (6)
6. David Coulthard (3)
7. eiki Kovalainen (5)



Andrew Davies

Jarez Mifkin

Live timing on right now www.f1.com

A.Wayne

Practice on speed until 10.30 am .........

ltc

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/formulaone/38540/

I don't recall Alonso making so many 'mental' errors in the car last season.
Perhaps being #2 doesn't suit his personality?

A.Wayne

By Matt Beer Friday, July 6th 2007, 10:32 GMT

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton made a perfect start to his first home Grand Prix weekend by beating the Ferraris to the fastest time in the opening practice session at Silverstone.

Hamilton had been the first of the major contenders to attempt a flying lap in the overcast and gusty conditions, emerging from the pits after half an hour. He worked his way down to a 1:21.828 before spinning at the entry to the Abbey chicane. He recovered with minimal drama.

Alonso then beat his teammate with a 1:21.675, which stood for seven minutes until Kimi Raikkonen put Ferrari ahead by 0.029 seconds.

His tenure on top was fleeting, as Felipe Massa produced a 1:21.285 lap moments later.

The McLarens then responded in the final half-hour, but a potentially very quick lap by Alonso ended with a trip across the grass and gravel at Priory. He rejoined the course at Brooklands and abandoned the run.

Hamilton had better fortune, retaking first position by 0.185 seconds with fifteen minutes remaining.

Raikkonen beat Hamilton's time in the first sector on his penultimate run, but could not match it in the remaining part of the lap and had to settle for taking second from Massa.

Although the Finn improved his time again on his final lap, Hamilton remained 0.111 seconds ahead.

Behind Massa and Alonso in third and fourth, Nico Rosberg completed the top five for Williams with a late lap nine tenths of a second off the pace.

Until Rosberg's improvement, the BMWs had comfortably held the 'best of the rest' positions, with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld ending up sixth and seventh respectively.

Rosberg's teammate Alex Wurz moved to eighth near the end of the 90 minutes, with Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) and Rubens Barrichello (Honda) occupying the remaining top ten positions.

Jarno Trulli fell to 11th after a spin on the exit of Club late in the session.

Several drivers made minor errors as the wind made Silverstone's fast corners particularly tricky, but all continued except David Coulthard. The Scot spun his Red Bull into the Priory gravel with 20 minutes remaining.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.100 24
2. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:21.211 + 0.111 26
3. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:21.285 + 0.185 26
4. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.675 + 0.575 21
5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.006 + 0.906 24
6. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:22.107 + 1.007 25
7. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:22.176 + 1.076 13
8. Wurz Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.216 + 1.116 23
9. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:22.878 + 1.778 21
10. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:22.956 + 1.856 27
11. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:23.030 + 1.930 26
12. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:23.037 + 1.937 24
13. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:23.099 + 1.999 25
14. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:23.179 + 2.079 21
15. Button Honda (B) 1:23.517 + 2.417 17
16. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:23.548 + 2.448 18
17. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:23.564 + 2.464 21
18. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:23.618 + 2.518 15
19. Speed Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.854 + 2.754 20
20. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:23.954 + 2.854 25
21. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:24.154 + 3.054 23
22. Albers Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:24.172 + 3.072 30