FERRARI: KIMI WILL BOUNCE BACK

Raikkonen - backed to return to form.

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali is convinced Kimi Raikkonen will return to form in time to salvage his title campaign.

Raikkonen dropped to third in the Drivers' standings at the previous race in Valencia when an engine failure cost him a potential points-finish.

However, even if he had finished the grand prix, the Finn still would not have brought his winless streak to an end as he was only on course for a possible fifth-placed finish. Raikkonen last won a grand prix back in April at Barcelona.

This has sparked some criticism in the press of the 'Iceman' with some suggesting he has lost his motivation and that Ferrari should put their efforts behind his team-mate Felipe Massa for the title.

Domenicali, though, isn't ready to do that just yet, stating that he believes Raikkonen will return to form.

"For me it doesn't represent a problem," he told the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

"He'll react, he'll soon be strong again, he knows how to keep away from criticisms."

The team boss also took some of the blame for Raikkonen's lackluster results, stating that Ferrari need to give the reigning Champ a car that he has confidence in if they want him to win races.

"He isn't happy with the way the car enters corners," he said. "He would like it more aggressive, and this influences him. It's up to us to carry on giving him a hand."

However, with a maximum of 60 points to play for Raikkonen is by no means out of the title race as he trails Championship leader Lewis Hamilton by 13 points, prompting Domenicali to predict a tight race to the finish.

"What is about to start in two weeks' time in Belgium will be a sprint Championship over six races, so we can't give away anything anymore," he concluded.

KIMI WON’T HIT PANIC BUTTON

KIMI HAPPY DESPITE PROBLEMS

BERGER: VETTEL WILL BE MISSED

Vettel - heading to Red Bull.

Gerhard Berger concedes that losing Sebastian Vettel will be a blow to Toro Rosso as the German's performances have gone a long way towards lifting the team's flagging spirits.

While in the past others have failed to score points for the backmarker outfit, lagging at the back of the pack, Vettel has so far bagged nine points this season in results far outweighing the expected performance of the car.

Next season, though, he's off to Red Bull having already been confirmed as David Coulthard's replacement. It's a much-deserved step up the grid for the 21-year-old who has proven himself as a star of F1 during his short stay at Toro Rosso.

"Well, of course the media interest is important, but what is more important is the performance of the team - Sebastian has helped us a lot to get the right atmosphere back," Berger told the official F1 website.

"We had been really struggling with Scott Speed and Tonio Liuzzi last year, but he has proved what the team is able to do and has done it in a very nice way, with us, with the engineers, with everybody.

"That has pushed us such an immense step forward - it is really a pity to lose him. There is not a single soul in the team that is not sad to see him go at the end of the season.

"On the other hand we get so much from Red Bull. Without Red Bull, Toro Rosso would be nowhere, so it feels good that we can give something back, even if I would like to have him stay with the team."

As for who may replace Vettel at Toro Rosso, Berger admits the team has yet to even decided the potential candidates.

"The first direction that we look in is obviously to the Red Bull young driver programme and then we'll see. But we are not quite ready yet," the STR co-owner said.

"We don't really have a list in our heads at this stage. We are far from saying it's this one or that one because we are also waiting to see if something happens elsewhere - and probably then we'll get a new chance."

BERGER DOWNPLAYS SENNA REPORTS

VETTEL: I’M READY TO MOVE ON UP

VETTEL CHOSEN OVER ‘BIG NAMES’

LEWIS FINE FOR BELGIAN GP

Hamilton - fit for Belgium.

Lewis Hamilton will be fine to race in next weekend's Belgian GP despite almost missing Sunday's Valencia race.

Hamilton suffered severe next pain that almost sidelined him in Spain, resulting in him needing injections in order to compete in Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race.

However, McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh is confident the Brit won't suffer the same fate when he tests at Monza on Friday before heading to Spa for next weekend's race.

"His physical problems are unlikely to disturb his fitness programme and we expect him to make a full recovery for both the Monza test and next week's Belgian GP," Whitmarsh said.

HEIDFELD URGED TO PICK UP FORM

Heidfeld - told to improve.

Nick Heidfeld's future with BMW Sauber has been thrown into doubt.

The team's motorsport director Mario Theissen has called on the German to improve his qualifying performances in order to secure a new contract.

Heidfeld has struggled in qualifying compared to his rapid young team-mate Robert Kubica and finished outside the points at last weekend's European Grand Prix in Valencia after qualifying down in eighth place.

That result, allied to a poor 15th-placed grid slot and 10th at the flag at the previous round in Hungary, have seen the pressure increase on the former Williams, Sauber, Jordan and Prost driver.

The 31-year-old sits sixth in the drivers' standings, just 14 points behind the highly-rated Kubica despite his qualifying woes, but Theissen insists BMW cannot afford to carry any weaknesses into the 2009 campaign.

When asked if Heidfeld would be retained next season, Theissen told Autosport: "I am not sure. What we saw in Valencia was mixed again and, in the second run in qualifying two, it was almost a perfect lap.

"He was struggling before in two specific areas of the track and in that one lap he was able to do that very cleanly.

"I hope it gives him the confidence to be strong again in the races, he has been strong, I think he will be back on track."

Theissen added that Heidfeld's lack of one-lap pace has been a cause for concern, and when asked if the problem would influence the team's driver selection, said: "It has to, because if you look what you can do from P10, it is limited."

BMW are set to confirm Kubica as one of their drivers for next season in the coming days. The team want to sign the Pole to a three-year deal, although Kubica is reportedly eager to keep his options open for 2010.

FRESH DOUBT OVER HEIDFELD

FRESH DOUBT OVER HEIDFELD

HEIDFELD: KUBICA IS THE BENCHMARK

TITLE WORRIES FOR RAIKKONEN

Raikkonen's engine let him down in Valencia.

Reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen fears his bid for back-to-back drivers' titles is hanging in the balance.

Raikkonen's Ferrari suffered a blown engine 11 laps from the finish of Sunday's European Grand Prix to extend his woeful winless run to eight races.

It leaves the Finn trailing McLaren's Lewis Hamilton by 13 points, while he is seven behind team-mate Felipe Massa, who grabbed his fourth win of the season around Valencia's marina circuit.

Raikkonen knows he has to start winning again soon, otherwise he can kiss goodbye to his double dream.

"It was definitely not the weekend I was hoping for," reflected Raikkonen, who was also out-qualified by Massa for the eighth time in 12 races.

"But I do not believe, despite this negative result, I am now out of the running for the title. There are still six races to go and 60 points up for grabs.

"We have seen that the situation can change really quickly, even if I realise things are now more complicated.

"There is no doubt it won't be easy. We need to see what we can do in the next race (the Belgian Grand Prix), but we need to start wining again - otherwise there is no chance."

To compound Raikkonen's misery, he fractured the foot of mechanic Pietro Timpini after running over him as he pulled away too early from his second pit stop.

"I made a mistake and left before I should have done," lamented Raikkonen.

"Fortunately, Pietro is not too badly hurt. I wish him all the best and hope he gets better soon.

"But in any case, it would not have changed anything as then the engine broke."

That is a pressing concern for Raikkonen and Massa, after the latter suffered heartbreak in the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest three weeks ago when his engine blew three laps from home when he should have won.

Raikkonen added: "I don't know what happened.

"But we need to investigate what was wrong with the engine. Maybe it is similar to what happened with Felipe in the last race."

Reliability is a concern for Massa and his title prospects as the Brazilian said: "We need to look at what happened as I have no idea why Kimi blew an engine.

"We are working to fix the reliability as it has been an issue for us this year, especially the first race (Australia), last race and this race.

"We need to work very hard, with everybody concentrating to solve every problem we have."

Massa's victory was as easy as it should have been in Hungary, with just one moment of worry when he was investigated by the stewards after the race for an 'unsafe release' at the end of his second pit stop.

The punishment was a 10,000 euros (Ј8,000) fine and a reprimand, but it failed to take the gloss off a performance that saw him take the fastest lap to add to his pole and win.

"It's amazing," reflected a delighted Massa.

"After such a disaster in Hungary, we've come here to a great track and done a fantastic job, although not 100 per cent because of what happened with Kimi.

"But to take pole, win the race and get fastest lap, you can't ask for any more. I'm so glad and happy. It was perfect."

HEIDFELD HITS BACK

Nick Heidfeld - quickest time in testing.

Nick Heidfeld responded to his team's call for him to raise his game by posting the quickest time in testing on day two at Monza.

The BMW Sauber driver had been told his performances this season had not been good enough with the German put in the shade by the form of Polish team-mate Robert Kubica.

Heidfeld set a best lap of one minute 22.621 seconds at the Italian circuit ahead of next month's Italian Grand Prix.

Williams driver Nico Rosberg was second quickest and McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen was third.

Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel was fourth fastest ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa who had been quickest on day one.

Renault's Fernando Alonso was sixth fastest ahead of Adrian Sutil (Force India), Mark Webber (Red Bull), Jarno Trulli (Toyota), Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) and the Honda duo of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button.

HEIDFELD: NO TEAM ORDERS AT BMW

PIQUET CLAIMS TOP TIME IN TESTING

MASSA MARCHES ON

Massa's Ferrari topped the timesheets.

Fresh from his victory in the European Grand Prix, Felipe Massa continued his good form during the first day of testing at Monza on Wednesday.

Massa, who was testing Ferrari's aero package ahead of the team's home grand prix next month, set the fastest time of 1min 23.428secs. The Brazilian was also the busiest man on a hot and humid day in northern Italy, completing 101 laps.

However, McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen and Nico Rosberg from Williams were not far off his pace. In fact, the top three drivers were separated by just 0.033 seconds with Kovalainen just over a hundredth slower.

Another man who performed admirably in Valencia, Sebastian Vettel, also had an excellent day. The Toro Rosso driver was 0.230 off Rosberg's pace while Honda's Rubens Barrichello completed the top five.

It was another disappointing day for BMW's Nick Heidfeld. The German was down in seventh place.

Times:
01 F. Massa Ferrari 1:23.428 101 laps
02 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:23.439 78 laps
03 N. Rosberg Williams 1:23.461 60 laps
04 S.Vettel Toro Rosso 1:23.691 99 laps
05 R. Barrichello Honda 1:23.827 85 laps
06 M. Webber Red Bull 1:24.005 96 laps
07 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:24.075 77 laps
08 V. Liuzzi Force India 1:24.239 99 laps
09 J. Trulli Toyota 1:24.510 92 laps
10 N. Piquet Renault 1:24.546 117 laps

KOVALAINEN EDGES OUT MASSA

FERRARI FASTEST IN FIRST PRACTICE

STREET CIRCUIT PROVES A DAMP SQUIB

Raikkonen - centre of drama.

Oh dear, what a huge disappointment.

After all the hype and expectation surrounding the Valencia Street Circuit, Formula One's newest addition to the calendar served up a snooze-fest of a European Grand Prix.

The early enthusiasm was obvious given the credible job designer Hermann Tilke had achieved in winding 3.38 miles of tarmac through the city's port and marina.

At first glance the picturesque setting certainly appeared to do the sport justice, even if it lacked the glitz and glamour now so long associated with motor racing's blue riband event, Monaco.

The teams could not complain as their motorhomes overlooked the majestic marina that last year hosted the America's Cup, although the yachts were sadly all locked away and not on view.

In fact, there was surprisingly a dearth of boats - as noted by McLaren boss Ron Dennis - albeit due to the apparently extortionate rate being charged for a mooring over the weekend.

Moving away, and behind the scenes the pit garages were also unique, incorporated into a number of former dockside warehouses, adding a different flavour to the usual fare often served.

Even the hard-to-please media could find little to complain about, with the facilities in keeping with a modern-day event.

Other than a lack of signs that left everyone perplexed as to where they should be heading, the signs of a different kind were good.

Out front, and after the drivers had walked the track on Thursday, their impressions were generally positive, enjoying the fact it was wide and seemingly offered opportunities to overtake.

But then after Friday's practice sessions, the first murmurings of discontent could be heard, that maybe those passing places were few and far between, that it was visually unappealing and at times hard to differentiate one part of the circuit to another.

Ah well, perhaps it was just the drivers grumbling as they often do because the support races suggested a different story.

The safety car was deployed a number of times due to cars hitting the concrete barriers that lined the circuit, and when the racing resumed, there were plenty of overtaking manoeuvres witnessed.

But when it came round to the main event, it was hard not to nod off as we viewed the very antithesis of what Formula One should be about, that is a processional, dull-as-ditchwater race.

Thank goodness for Kimi Raikkonen because without adding further weight to the argument he has switched off this year when he ran over his own mechanic, and then with his engine blowing, there would have been precious little to report.

His Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa won at a canter from pole, with an unwell Lewis Hamilton happy to file in behind in second, with the rest a long way down the road.

In fact, the field were often so strung out, the drivers had little to occupy themselves other than taking on enough water in the 35-degree heat.

Such a race is one of the reasons why so many people are bored by the most expensive sport in the world because it so often fails to serve up what it should deliver all the time, a thrilling spectacle of an event.

We can only hope Tilke's other new creation this year, around the streets of Singapore, does not disenchant as this one did.

Before then, Formula One returns to its roots for the next two races as Spa and Monza beckon, two tracks that know how to give the paying public what they want - fast, furious, exciting racing.

These modern designs are all very well, but those guys who built circuits of yesteryear sure knew what they were doing.

************

The first Arab driver in Formula One might not be too far away.

With Abu Dhabi set to join Bahrain on the calendar next season, the cash-rich Middle East is fast becoming the sport's most burgeoning market.

And it is money propelling 21-year-old Bahraini Hamad Al Fardan who last week received considerable backing from investment firm Gulf Finance House to support his GP2 Asia drive.

Al Fardan is also backed by Gulf Air, making him the most heavily sponsored driver in the series, and with that kind of support, it might not be too long before an F1 team comes knocking.

RAIN PROVES A REAL TEST

PRACTICE WILL BE KEY - WHITMARSH

KUBICA PROVES CHAMPION QUALITIES

FERRARI CHIEF MOURNS HILL

Di Montezemolo - hails Hill.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has paid tribute to former Formula One world champion Phil Hill, who died on Thursday at the age of 81.

Hill passed away in a Salinas-Monterey Hospital on California following a short illness resulting from complications of Parkinson's disease.

Hill contested 48 grands prix between 1958 and 1966, claiming the 1961 world championship for the Scuderia. He won three F1 races, all for Ferrari, with two of those victories coming at the Italian Grand Prix.

The American also won the Le Mans 24 Hours driving for the famous Italian marque.

"I, as well as all employees of Ferrari, am extremely saddened by the news of the passing of Phil Hill, a man and a champion who gave so much to Ferrari and who has always greatly represented the company's values inside and outside the racing track," Di Montezemolo said in a statement.

"Phil raced and won many competitions both with prototype cars, like the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring, won three times each, as well as with F1 single seaters.

"With our car, Phil won the Formula One Championship title in 1961 as the first American-born to reach this result.

"Phil and I have always kept in touch throughout the years and I know I will miss his passion and love for Ferrari very much."

HILL FANCIES KIMI’S TITLE CHANCES

HILL HOPEFUL FOR HAMILTON HOME WIN

HILL PREDICTS SILVERSTONE NAILBITER

TRULLI'S SINGAPORE CONCERNS

Trulli - not sure what to expect.

Jarno Trulli has expressed concerns about safety issues ahead of Formula One's first night race in September.

The Toyota driver believes things are not looking too "comfortable" for the Singapore Grand Prix as it will take place in the middle of the rainy season.

"At the moment we still don't know what the schedule of the weekend will be," the Italian said during this weekend's European Grand Prix in Valencia.

"I believe I can talk as a GPDA [Grand Prix Drivers' Association] member but also as a race driver: we are a little bit concerned.

"We go there, we haven't tested, we don't have any idea. It's going to be a night race, it's going to be the rainy season, so it's not exactly what you really want from a safety point of view.

"It doesn't look comfortable so far."

DC CONCERNS OVER KERS

TRULLI GETTING BETTER WITH AGE

BUTTON HOPES TO GET BACK ON TRACK

NO DRIVER FAVOURED WITH US - DENNIS

Harmonious - Kovalainen (left) and Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton's boss, Ron Dennis, has denied favouring the Formula One championship leader over his McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.

Hamilton leads the current drivers standings with 70 points while Kovalainen is fifth with 43 but McLaren team principal Dennis has reasserted the policy neither driver is favoured.

Dennis has also rejected the idea of team orders at McLaren even though Hamilton appears to have the best chance of winning the drivers' title.

Dennis said: "Our policy regarding equal opportunities and team orders is well known."

Double world champion Fernando Alonso left McLaren at the end of last season after claiming the team favoured Hamilton over him, which Dennis denied.

But the team has been a much more harmonious place since Kovalainen joined, and he recently confirmed he would drive alongside Hamilton again in 2009.

Dennis told the official Formula One website: "We always aim to hire the two best drivers available, and we always then aim to give them equal opportunities to optimise their chances to win grands prix and world championships.

"Sometimes that policy has been criticised by those who believe that a policy of running a number one driver supported by a number two driver, with or without team orders, is a better strategy. Well, we don't accept that.

"We exist to win - and all our employees, including all our drivers, buy into that."

Dennis has also endorsed Kovalainen's efforts this season, which saw him take his first F1 race win in Hungary.

"Heikki is doing a fabulous job this year - as his recent victory at the Hungaroring showed only too clearly," said Dennis.

"His qualifying pace has been extremely strong all year, and his race pace is improving all the time."

Dennis praised the close working relationship Hamilton and Kovalainen enjoy, in contrast to the fractious atmosphere at McLaren last season when Alonso drove for the team.

"He's a pleasure to have in our team, and he and Lewis have a very good relationship with each other," Dennis added.

"I'd describe them as competitive and co-operative in equal measure, which is exactly what every team wants from its driver line-up.

"Heikki is doing a very good job for us this year, and he'll continue to do a very good job for us next year."

Dennis also declared his belief Hamilton's world title ambitions are best served by his current personal and team set-up.

The McLaren boss said: "Lewis is a thoroughly well brought up individual, who is both grounded and intelligent.

"His father, Anthony, is also his manager, and both of them have been part of the McLaren 'family' for a very long time.

"As such, although Lewis' global appeal is growing all the time, and understandably so, he remains as polite and as unassuming now as he's always been.

"As regards business opportunities for him, the McLaren Group numbers a workforce of 1,300 expert and experienced individuals, specialising in all sorts of disparate yet discrete disciplines.

"As a result, I feel confident that no other team has the infrastructure to offer its drivers the level of support that McLaren Mercedes does, across a wide variety of areas."

McLAREN: DENNIS IS STAYING

DENNIS HITS OUT AT REPORTS

DENNIS SHRUGS OFF TACTICAL SLIP

MASSA SETS THE PACE

Massa - quickest in testing.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa set the fastest time on the opening day of testing at Monza on Wednesday.

The Brazilian, second to Lewis Hamilton in the World Championship standings after winning the European Grand Prix last weekend, clocked a best lap of one minute 23.428 seconds.

McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen was just over a hundredth of a second slower with Nico Rosberg third fastest in his Williams.

KIMI SETS PACE IN FRANCE

HAMILTON SETS THE PACE

FRESH DOUBT OVER HEIDFELD

Heidfeld - more doubts over future.

Nick Heidfeld's future with BMW has once again been thrown into doubt after Mario Theissen urged him to up his game or risk not getting a new contract.

Heidfeld has been outdone by his lesser experienced team-mate this season with Robert Kubica the one to bag BMW's maiden pole position as well as the German outfit's first ever grand prix win.

Qualifying has proven to be a huge problem for Heidfeld, who has lost out 1 to 11 against Kubica, which in turn is affecting his race results. After 12 events he trails Kubica by 14 points in the Drivers' standings.

When asked if Heidfeld would be retained next season, team boss Theissen told Autosport: "I am not sure. What we saw in Valencia was mixed again and, in the second run in qualifying two, it was almost a perfect lap.

"He was struggling before in two specific areas of the track and in that one lap he was able to do that very cleanly.

"I hope it gives him the confidence to be strong again in the races, he has been strong, I think he will be back on track."

But while Heidfeld will need a few grands prix in which to up his game and prove himself to his team boss, Kubica will reportedly be confirmed as a 2009 BMW driver within the next few days.

FRESH DOUBT OVER HEIDFELD

HEIDFELD: KUBICA IS THE BENCHMARK

HEIDFELD HOPES FOR BETTER

FRESH DOUBT OVER HEIDFELD

Heidfeld - more doubts over future.

Nick Heidfeld's future with BMW has once again been thrown into doubt after Mario Theissen urged him to up his game or risk not getting a new contract.

Heidfeld has been outdone by his lesser experienced team-mate this season with Robert Kubica the one to bag BMW's maiden pole position as well as the German outfit's first ever grand prix win.

Qualifying has proven to be a huge problem for Heidfeld, who has lost out 1 to 11 against Kubica, which in turn is affecting his race results. After 12 events he trails Kubica by 14 points in the Drivers' standings.

When asked if Heidfeld would be retained next season, team boss Theissen told Autosport: "I am not sure. What we saw in Valencia was mixed again and, in the second run in qualifying two, it was almost a perfect lap.

"He was struggling before in two specific areas of the track and in that one lap he was able to do that very cleanly.

"I hope it gives him the confidence to be strong again in the races, he has been strong, I think he will be back on track."

But while Heidfeld will need a few grands prix in which to up his game and prove himself to his team boss, Kubica will reportedly be confirmed as a 2009 BMW driver within the next few days.

FRESH DOUBT OVER HEIDFELD

HEIDFELD: KUBICA IS THE BENCHMARK

DOMENICALI WANTS SOLUTION

Raikkonen's Ferrari blows.

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali has vowed he will leave no stone unturned in a bid to discover the reason behind the team's engine woes.

Just three weeks after Felipe Massa saw victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix disappear in a cloud of oil smoke three laps from home, Kimi Raikkonen followed suit at Valencia on Sunday when running fifth.

It was a wretched end to a miserable European Grand Prix weekend for the reigning world champion, in particular as moments earlier he had run over one of his own mechanics during a pit stop.

Domenicali knows the engine issues have to be cracked, otherwise his team could lose both the drivers' and constructors' titles currently in their possession.

"Unfortunately, yet again, we have suffered with a reliability problem, this time on Kimi's car, which lost us precious points," reflected Domenicali.

"Now we have to find out what happened in yet another engine failure, and then decide how to react.

"Clearly what happened is serious and we will have to do all in our power to make up for the ground we have lost through reliability problems in the coming races.

"Now we must continue to push to the maximum to develop the car and improve reliability in order to be as well prepared as possible for the forthcoming races.

"We still have two test sessions, at Monza and then Jerez, and a lot of hard days work in the factory."

The one consolation for Domenicali was Massa's victory, erasing the heartache suffered just three weeks previously in Budapest.

"Felipe had an extraordinary weekend," enthused Domenicali with regard to the Brazilian who claimed fastest lap on top of pole and his win.

"He was very quick in qualifying and then he drove in impeccable style, without putting a foot wrong, to take what was a very well deserved win after the disappointment of Budapest.

"I want to compliment him and the whole team who worked so hard in preparing for the event."

However, Domenicali faces not just one, but two post-race inquests given what transpired during Raikkonen's second pit stop.

Raikkonen has admitted responsibility for pulling away too early, with the fuel hose still attached to his car, which resulted in a foot fracture and sore back for Piero Timpini.

Remarkably, Domenicali revealed: "His first words were to say sorry, as though the incident was his fault.

"It is thanks to the passion, dedication and professionalism these guys show that prove how special Ferrari is."

DOMENICALI KEEPS POSITIVE OUTLOOK

‘FREE’ ENGINE CHANGE FOR RAIKKONEN

DENNIS 'ASHAMED TO BE ENGLISH'

Dennis - controversial comments.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has stated he is "ashamed to be English" after witnessing Valencia successfully stage the European Grand Prix.

Spain's third largest city made its Formula One debut at the weekend, and in many respects did not let down supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

The circuit weaved through the marina and port which last year was home to yachting's America's Cup, although as with any 'street' track, overtaking areas were at a premium.

The event was not totally faultless, and it lacked the glitz and glamour of Monaco, while there were few defining landmarks other than the bridge amid the blur of concrete walls and wire fencing which lined the circuit.

It was too much to expect such a new track to be entirely faultless, but the problems were minor, doing Valencia proud 19 months after they staged a lavish Ј2million launch of McLaren's car for the 2007 season.

Launching an unexpected attack on England's failings in hosting major sporting events, Dennis said: "I have to say something a little controversial which I'll probably regret.

"When I go back into England and I go through Heathrow airport, I'm ashamed to be English.

"Valencia is an area that is not the gateway to their country, and yet the local government showed vision to stage the America's Cup, to commit all the resources they did to turn it into a world-class venue.

"We also know how they embraced the concept of us launching our car there.

"They made available to us all the facilities that exist in the arts and science park, contributed to the venue, and we were a catalyst to the grand prix.

"To see what they've done demonstrates what you can do if you are committed as a government, local or national."

Dennis feels London could learn a lesson or two from Valencia when it comes to overwhelming support to push forward projects, and to turn run-down areas of the city into futuristic places to be proud of.

With London now counting down towards its staging of the Olympic Games in 2012, Dennis added: "Valencia is a testament to how you should do it.

"I applaud the efforts of Valencia. They've gone the right way about it, they've committed to putting in the infrastructure, to getting the resources right.

"Next year they just need to put in some more colour, the harbour needs to be full of boats, more signage and a bit more glitz, but they've got it the right way round.

"I'll be absolutely amazed if we don't go to Singapore and have the same experience next month. This is what it takes.

"It requires government support, and to me it is a textbook example of what you can do if you all point in the same direction and have the commitment.

"For me I can't understand the ridiculous squabble we are having in England over the issue of relatively small amount of money with regard to the funding of the Olympic Games.

"We should be proud we've got the Olympic Games, and we should be pushing and reflecting in attitude the efforts of all the people who went there and surpassed everybody's expectation with regard to the medals our country have won.

"Unfortunately, we seem to be the world's best at turning around and being unconstructively critical.

"I know stories will be written with my comments, but I don't care.

"I think people should speak out and say, 'You guys have got it all wrong'."

DENNIS HITS OUT AT REPORTS

McLAREN: DENNIS IS STAYING

HAMILTON HAS DOC TO THANK

Hamilton - under the weather in Spain.

Lewis Hamilton was left thanking his lucky stars for McLaren doctor Aki Hintsa after he saved his European Grand Prix weekend.

Hamilton was almost forced to pull out of the debut Valencia event after arriving with flu, and then waking up with a neck spasm on Saturday morning ahead of qualifying.

It was Hintsa, who within McLaren carries the more grandiose title of head of human performance, who managed to take away Hamilton's aches and pains and shove him in the car.

The 23-year-old responded by claiming second on the grid, allowing him to finish as runner-up to Ferrari's Felipe Massa at the end of 57 gruelling laps.

Hintsa described it as "a miracle" Hamilton made qualifying given the pain he was in, but it was ultimately the Finn who ensured he was fit to race.

"I've had a miserable weekend," bemoaned Hamilton.

"I had flu when I arrived, with hard fevers every day. I've been low on energy, and I also had quite a big problem with a spasm in my neck which almost led to me not racing this weekend.

"I woke up very early yesterday, around 5am, and I had this spasm, but fortunately I've a great doctor who was with me all the way through it.

"It was so bad I was even struggling to stand up, so I had to have injections in my neck and take plenty of painkillers.

"So I think eight points is a good effort. I thought I did a pretty decent job considering."

Hamilton felt the problem may have lay with the pillow he slept on at his hotel, which jokingly drew little sympathy from Massa and third-placed BMW Sauber star Robert Kubica.

Nevertheless, Hamilton admitted to being in pain throughout the race, suffering other problems en route.

"The track is not that physical, it was just that it was hot," said a perspiring Hamilton.

"There was not enough water in the car, and as we are in these big old suits, it was like driving in a sauna.

"It is was quite a hectic one-and-half-hour race, so I am pretty happy the way I got through."

Despite his problems the Briton managed to stretch his lead to six points in the championship, with Massa now his closest rival after Kimi Raikkonen suffered a blown engine 11 laps from home.

"The great thing is we came away with some strong points for myself and for the team," added Hamilton, who saw team-mate Heikki Kovalainen claim fourth.

That has allowed McLaren to close the gap on Ferrari to just eight points in the constructors' championship.

With six races now remaining, Hamilton said: "We are showing we have great reliability, and that is due to all the team doing a fantastic job."

The remaining points scorers were Toyota's Jarno Trulli, Sebastian Vettel for Toro Rosso, the second Toyota of Timo Glock and Williams' Nico Rosberg.

MIXED BAG FOR FERRARI

RELIABILITY THE KEY FOR McLAREN

HAMILTON HAPPY WITH McLAREN FAMILY

DENNIS HAILS McLAREN'S UNSUNG HEROES

Hamilton - second in Valencia.

Ron Dennis has praised his backroom staff at McLaren for ensuring Lewis Hamilton was able to keep his Formula One world title dream on track.

Hamilton came close to pulling out of the weekend's European Grand Prix as he was suffering with flu and, more worryingly, a neck spasm so painful that he was left almost unable to walk.

But a concoction of injections and pills, along with physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, allowed Hamilton to claim second place on the grid and runner-up in the race behind winner Felipe Massa in his Ferrari.

The key player was team doctor Aki Hintsa, a former boss of the Finnish Olympic team, and who carries the grandiose title within McLaren of head of human development.

"I think the support structure here is the best that has ever existed in Formula One," said team principal Dennis.

"They are all devoid of ego, so they are not self-promoting. They are about getting the drivers in the best possible shape at any one time.

"It demonstrated to us again how invaluable it is to have that sort of competence."

Dennis has revealed several measures were taken to ensure Hamilton was able to step into his car on Saturday ahead of qualifying, and again for the race on Sunday, allowing him to extend his lead by a single point to six.

The 23-year-old had woken at 5am with a neck problem he felt was caused by sleeping awkwardly on his pillow in the room of his opulent beach-front hotel.

"We had some concerns on Saturday morning. He was in a lot of pain, pretty sore," confirmed Dennis

"But you just do the common-sense things on those occasions, all the right things from a treatment perspective.

"We encourage our drivers not to sleep in air conditioning because it is not good for them. At the end of the day you actually sleep better.

"As we've all experienced, you get cold and it's not a good way to look after your muscles.

"Other than that he had muscle relaxers, no sleeping pills, also hydrotherapy, went to bed early, and he felt a lot better on Sunday morning."

Dennis and his team opted to keep Hamilton's problems under wraps, only announcing the issue after the race, and he used Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang as a perfect example of the reason why.

Ahead of the Olympic Games, the pressure on Liu to defend his 110m hurdles title was enormous.

However, he chose to keep the fact he was carrying an injury quiet, and so went through the sham of warming up before withdrawing in the opening heat, pulling up as he ran to the first hurdle.

"I don't think exposing any weakness is a good thing to do," added Dennis.

"It's a little like the Chinese hurdler. There was nothing to be gained beforehand in telling the world.

"When you look at what they did, I have a lot of sympathy. It was the right approach.

"Why bring the spotlight onto the person and create more pressure?"

McLAREN CHIEF HAILS HEIKKI

McLAREN: DENNIS IS STAYING

LEWIS FULLY FOCUSED ON TITLE BID

Hamilton - feels stronger.

Lewis Hamilton is confident he can cap his second season in Formula One with the world title.

The Brit believes he proved last year during his battle with Fernando Alonso that he deserves number one status.

Alonso left McLaren just one year into his contract, claiming he was playing second fiddle to Hamilton.

Hamilton insists he has nothing left to prove after seeing off the challenge of Alonso during his rookie season.

"Last year I meant business - I was there to tell the world I wasn't half a second slower than Fernando Alonso, as some people predicted," he is quoted in The Times.

"I was thinking, 'Hang on, I'm no number two, whoever you put me next to - even Michael Schumacher.' I was there to prove how good I was, which I did, but this year I want to top that. My sole focus is to win the world championship."

Hamilton, the current championship leader, says his performance during the European Grand Prix proves that he has more relaxed now.

"I don't know if you can see, but I feel a lot stronger than I was this time last year. I think it is just maturity, knowing what you need," he added.

"Last year I would have been at this race [in Valencia] and I would have just driven my heart out not really knowing, not really thinking exactly why. I just wanted to win and was not thinking how the points were going to work."

HAMILTON VOWS TO STAY FOCUSED

HAMILTON HAPPY WITH McLAREN FAMILY

RELIABILITY THE KEY FOR McLAREN

Massa won in Valencia, but trails in the title race.

The battle for this year's Formula One world title would appear to have been boiled down to two components - reliability versus speed.

McLaren and Lewis Hamilton have the reliability, while Ferrari, and in particular Felipe Massa, have the speed as the championship chase heads into the final six races of another enthralling season.

That was evident again during the course of the European Grand Prix weekend in Valencia as Massa was almost out on his own when it came to pace, with an unwell Hamilton just able to hang onto his exhaust.

As for the rest, they were nowhere, with nearest challenger Robert Kubica's BMW Sauber a yawning 37 seconds down the road in third.

Hamilton's second place behind Massa was remarkable given the fact he was suffering with flu and woke up on Saturday morning with a neck spasm so painful he almost withdrew from qualifying.

Fortunately for Hamilton the car was able to nurse him into the runner-up position, helping him increase his championship lead by a point to six.

Without wishing to tempt fate, in his 29-race Formula One career, Hamilton has yet to suffer a single mechanical issue, with only tyre problems previously proving his undoing.

In contrast, Ferrari's power is undeniable but question marks hang over the team when it comes to reliability.

For the second successive race an engine blew, with first Massa in Hungary three weeks ago, and then on Sunday team-mate and reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Engine problems in Australia at the start of the season also led to the retirement of both, and there must now be a considerable amount of head-scratching going on at the team's Maranello headquarters.

At this stage of the season, a more experienced Hamilton feels he perhaps has the advantage given the McLaren appears bullet-proof.

"As you can see, reliability is the key," insisted Hamilton.

"I'm not worried about the reliability of my car, as you can tell, because for the past 18 months we've had phenomenal reliability.

"That's obviously due to the whole package the whole team has put together and the (Mercedes) engine's great, the car is great.

"We've not really got any problems which means we can focus on developing the car rather than worrying about reliability, which is a bonus for us."

If Mercedes are able to eke a bit more speed out of their unit for the remainder of the season, especially with the next two races at power circuits Spa and Monza, it could be game, set and match.

As far as Massa is concerned, if Ferrari can give him a reliable car then it could be his title for the taking.

"We need to work very hard to fix these engine problems as it will be the key for the end of the championship," assessed Massa.

"I've already mentioned consistency is crucial, and reliability is part of being consistent.

"If you have a single problem, you're not consistent, and in being consistent you are talking about the performance, reliability and the drivers.

"All of these things are very important from now through to the end of the season."

It is why Raikkonen is feeling so disenchanted as his engine blow-out, on top of his qualifying issues, are undermining his bid for back-to-back titles.

The Finn is now 13 points adrift of Hamilton and seven behind his Brazilian team-mate following a winless run of eight races.

"It was not a nice weekend, but it is not the first time," said a forlorn Raikkonen.

"We are now in a worse situation in the championship, but if we get all the things sorted I think we still have a chance to come back.

"We just need to get things as we want and try again."

It is a big 'if' Raikkonen refers to, and at this stage you would take Hamilton, McLaren and reliability over Massa, Raikkonen, Ferrari and speed.

MASSA: NO MORE EXCUSES

RAIKKONEN’S WORRIED

MASSA: HAMILTON STILL THREAT

REACTION: TOYOTA/TORO ROSSO/WILLIAMS

Trulli - good result.

Toyota
Jarno Trulli: "That was a good result and a great performance by the team. The weekend started badly for me but it has finished really well today so I'm happy. I could drive a strong race without attacking much. I pushed very hard when I needed to while paying attention to taking care of my tyres and my brakes throughout. This shows how good we are getting and how nice it is to race with a competitive car every weekend. Toyota is doing a very good job this year and looking strong and more competitive at every circuit. The team is still pushing with the development work so I'm confident that we can maintain the form in the coming races and keep the points coming."

Timo Glock: "That was one of my hardest races ever because I have had a bad cold for the last two days. But I had a good car and the right strategy and I think P7 was the best result we could have achieved today so I'm really happy. I made up some places at the start and then just tried to do my race. It was tough in the middle of the race and in the last 10 laps I pushed as hard as I could to stay concentrated. Considering our qualifying and my condition, I am happy. It's a great result for the team to get both cars into the points for the constructors' championship."

Toro Rosso
Sebastian Vettel: "Incredible! A perfect day. It was fun but tough and hot out there. It's a nice race track. My start was not so good on the dirty side and going into Turn 1 I was right on the limit and very close to Kimi and could defend my position against Jarno for the first stint, but he had a bit more fuel on board and stayed out an extra lap and he overtook me in the pits. But we can be very very happy with this result. We made no mistakes, no mistakes all weekend and maximised our performance. The whole team can be very proud of what it has achieved and hopefully, for the next races we can be in the top ten again."

Sebastien Bourdais: "That was a very nice race, apart from the fact that I touched with Heidfeld which broke my wing, which was a real shame, as I had to do 17 laps like that, losing around 20 seconds to the group I was in. The next two stints were good quality and I had a good pace. But I am happy with the result and I think we had the right strategy. It's my best result since Australia and especially from the second stint onwards I felt much more comfortable and confident with the car and felt I could push as the track rubbered in. As for the next races, I continue to tackle them one at a time and hope that next time out in Spa I can make it into the points."

Williams
Nico Rosberg: "I'm pretty happy with that. It's good to be going home with a point today as it's been a long time since it happened. The race went quite well for me and I was giving it my all, driving what felt like qualifying laps one after the other. The result is also good for the team as it shows we are getting back on track. Once again, I would like to say that Valencia has done a great job here and the race was good fun."

Kazuki Nakajima: "I had a bad start and we have to find the reason for that. On lap one, going into turns four and five, I was just behind Alonso, but there was a bit of a battle going on in front and I couldn't avoid him going into the corner. After that, I just tried to be consistent. My pace was ok, but I was behind Barrichello and it was really difficult to overtake. Eventually I made it past him and my pace improved, but it was too late."

REACTION: TORO ROSSO AND FORCE INDIA

REACTION: RED BULL/STR/HONDA/WILLIAMS

DENNIS: LEWIS IS THE BEST

Dennis (left) with his young charge.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis' opinion might be biased, but he insists Lewis Hamilton is currently the best driver in Formula One.

Hamilton was described as a "miracle man" by team doctor Aki Hintsa after defying illness and pain to take his place in the European Grand Prix.

Flu and a neck spasm almost led to the 23-year-old pulling out of the inaugural event in Valencia ahead of qualifying on Saturday morning.

But a concoction of injections and pills, along with physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, propelled Hamilton into second on the grid and runner-up in the race behind winner Felipe Massa in his Ferrari.

The outcome means Hamilton managed to extend his lead by a single point to six in the championship standings, with Massa his nearest rival in the wake of Kimi Raikkonen's blown engine retirement.

Perhaps a true measure of Dennis' claim would be overall victory in the title race come the end of the season, rather than at a point where six races remain.

But not in the eyes of the 61-year-old who said: "It always amuses me to see these motorsport magazine evaluations of drivers.

"For me you have to take into consideration how long a driver has been in Formula One when you evaluate his performance.

"For no other reason that puts Lewis top of the heap. He is the best in Formula One at the moment.

"If you take into account how little experience he has had, that's the bit that gives him the edge.

"It doesn't mean to say he is particularly quicker than the others, or he has dominated, it's just you have to take how long they have been involved in the sport as one of the values."

For Hamilton, that is just 29 races which so far have yielded eight wins, 10 pole positions, and after Sunday, an astonishing 19 podium finishes.

Many would point to the fact he was fortunate to jump straight into a race-winning car, but Dennis dismisses such a suggestion.

"What he is driving is immaterial," insisted Dennis.

"How can you criticise him? Only a fool doesn't realise, that irrespective of age, you learn something every day.

"It is no different for a racing driver because they spend their whole life driving a racing car and they are going to learn more and more.

"With all drivers in Formula One, they are on a very steep learning curve, and the longer they are in it, the steeper it becomes.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Lewis has won more races to grands prix at his age. I doubt there has ever been a driver who has won eight of his first 29 races."

Appreciably, with experience comes maturity, and Dennis maintains Hamilton is a far more developed driver now compared to a year ago.

But then he never had any doubts with regard to Hamilton's rate of development, with one moment in particular bringing that into stark perspective.

"I still look back on Lewis' behaviour after losing the world title," reflected Dennis.

"He took it a hell of a lot better than I did, and more than many other people in the company.

"I don't think he used his inexperience as a crutch at all, so on the Sunday evening after Brazil my admiration for him went up a significant amount.

"Here was a guy who was saying he had had the best year of his life, whilst the rest of us were all doom and gloom because we hadn't won a championship."

DENNIS HITS OUT AT REPORTS

DENNIS SHRUGS OFF TACTICAL SLIP

PODIUM IN THE BAG FOR KUBICA

Kubica - plastic bag problem.

Robert Kubica was relieved to bag his first podium result for six races after a plastic carrier almost wrecked his European Grand Prix.

After failing in his bid to pass Lewis Hamilton at the start of the inaugural Valencia event from third on the grid, Kubica then feared he would have to retire soon after when he suffered instability.

It became apparent a plastic bag had lodged under the front wing of his BMW Sauber, which thankfully for the Pole disintegrated over the next few minutes.

The remainder of the race proved trouble free for Kubica, who was happy to settle for third behind winner Felipe Massa and runner-up Hamilton.

Explaining the bag situation, Kubica said: "I started pretty well, but in corner one I went over the kerb and Lewis was closing.

"In the second corner I was going to overtake Lewis, but I saw Felipe braking quite early.

"It would have been too much of a risk as I could have ended up overshooting the braking point and crashing into him.

"Over the next few laps I was consistently a bit slower than Lewis, and then suddenly I saw a white plastic bag flying across the track.

"I could not avoid it and it went under the car. I couldn't steer for two corners, which was extremely dangerous.

"Fortunately most of the bag soon flew away, but my confidence was very low over the next sector, and I lost around three seconds."

Kubica ultimately finished 37 seconds adrift of Massa, underlying the performance differential between his car and the Ferrari and McLaren, even if Heikki Kovalainen was behind him in fourth.

"Eventually I think my good qualifying result yesterday was crucial for today's result," added Kubica.

"If I had started behind Kimi and Heikki then most probably I would have finished behind them, but I managed a good lap and here I am.

"I'm trying my best, giving my maximum, but we have to be realistic and say the true pace of our car is more like today rather than in qualifying."

KUBICA HOPES FOR ‘HOME’ SUPPORT

FANTASTIC RESULT FOR US - KUBICA

MIXED BAG FOR FERRARI

Massa celebrates his victory.

'Miracle man' Lewis Hamilton moved a small step closer towards his Formula One world title dream on a bitter-sweet day for Ferrari.

The 23-year-old put his health and body on the line to qualify second on Saturday before finishing runner-up to Ferrari flier Felipe Massa at the Valencia Street Circuit, hosting its maiden race.

Hamilton almost pulled out of the European Grand Prix weekend due to a painful neck spasm that required painkilling injections, and 'flu.

It was McLaren doctor Aki Hintsa who made sure Hamilton was able to ultimately extend his championship lead from five to six points.

With six races remaining, it is now Massa who is Hamilton's closest rival after Kimi Raikkonen suffered a blown engine 11 laps from the finish.

Hintsa said: "It's a miracle Lewis made it to qualifying, and when he did, I was the happiest man in the world."

It simply underlined the fact McLaren are far from a one-man team, with Hintsa another integral and highly valuable cog of what is a well-oiled machine.

Explaining his health woes, Hamilton said: "I've had a miserable weekend.

"I had 'flu when I arrived, with hard fevers every day. I've been low on energy, and I also had quite a big problem with a spasm in my neck which almost led to me not racing this weekend.

"I woke up very early yesterday, around 5am, and I had this spasm, but fortunately I've a great doctor who was with me all the way through it.

"It was so bad I was even struggling to stand up, so I had to have injections in my neck and take plenty of painkillers.

"So I think eight points is a good effort. I thought I did a pretty decent job considering."

Dismissing the prospect of it recurring at the next race in Belgium in a fortnight's time, Hamilton confirmed: "It won't be a problem again I'm sure."

It was at that point Massa reached across to Hamilton and grabbed his neck, to which the 23-year-old smilingly grimaced and said: "Ow, it's still sore!"

He added: "It was probably something to do with my pillow, the way I was sleeping because it hurt just when I woke up."

That drew less sympathy from Massa and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, who finished third and was back on the podium for the first time since his victory in Canada in early June.

"Awwww, poor guy! So beat up," joked Massa.

Kubica then chipped in and said: "I know a driver who brings a pillow with him from home to every race."

"Is that you?" enquired Hamilton.

When Kubica replied "no," Hamilton proved his sense of humour is still razor sharp by responding: "I've heard you bring a teddy actually!"

Such comic shenanigans failed to detract from a fine performance from Hamilton given the circumstances, and in particular Massa.

The Brazilian was never troubled after making a clean, comfortable start around the picturesque marina circuit.

There was only one moment of consternation for Massa when he and Force India's Adrian Sutil ran wheel to wheel on exiting the pit lane before the title contender was forced to yield.

The race stewards immediately confirmed they would investigate the incident afterwards for what they described as an 'unsafe release' by Ferrari at the end of Massa's second stop.

The result was a 10,000 euros (Ј8000) fine and reprimand for Massa who firmly believed he had done nothing wrong.

At least the win eased the sting on his wallet, as well as erasing the pain of his own engine blowout three laps from home when firmly on course for the win in Hungary.

Raikkonen's engine failure compounded a miserable day for the Finn as minutes earlier he had run over one of his pit crew as he began to pull away at the end of his second stop, but with the fuel hose still attached to the car.

The mechanic was taken away on a stretcher to the medical centre, and later to the local hospital for tests after sustaining a foot injury and with pains in his back.

The result leaves Raikkonen 13 points behind Hamilton, with Kubica 15 off the pace, with the Briton adding: "We've had a strong weekend.

"We've scored some good points. It was a long, hot race - I didn't have enough water in the car - but I'm happy to have come through it.

"We're showing we've great reliability, and that's due to all the team doing a fantastic job."

Behind Kubica, Heikki Kovalainen finished fourth in his McLaren ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli, Sebastian Vettel for Toro Rosso, the second Toyota of Timo Glock and Williams' Nico Rosberg.

McLaren have now closed the gap to just eight points on Ferrari in the constructors' championship.

MASSA AIMS TO MAINTAIN FERRARI DOMINANCE

LEWIS WARY OF ‘STRONG’ FERRARI

TITLE NOT THREE-HORSE RACE - KUBICA

EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX CLOCKWATCH

Lap 47 - Raikkonen's race is over.

FINISH: Please join us again in two weeks for the Belgium GP

FINISH: However with Massa's pit stop still under investigation it remains to be seen whether he will hold onto the win

FINISH: Kubica is third ahead of Kovalainen, Trulli, Vettel, Glock and Rosberg

Lap 57: Massa crosses the line to win the 2008 European GP ahead of Hamilton, taking two points out of the McLaren driver's Championship lead

Lap 57: Final lap for Massa, who is on track to winning F1's inaugural Valencia GP

Lap 56: Heidfeld in ninth place is 14s behind Rosberg and poses no threat to the Williams driver's point

Lap 55: Raikkonen's retirement means Rosberg is now in the points in eighth place

Lap 54: Good race from Vettel who is P6 and on course for another points-scoring finish for Toro Rosso

Lap 53: Nakajima passes Barrichello for P15

Lap 52: Massa continues to lead in Valencia by 7.2s over Hamilton

Lap 51: Raikkonen refuses to chat to Louise Goodman, running away as she tries to get a quote

Lap 50: Ferrari have confirmed that the mechanic is on his way to the medical centre to be checked out by the doctor while the team's press officer says he would be surprised if Massa was penalised as other stops have been just as "hot" this year. He also says that Raikkonen left the pit a bit too early

Lap 49: Raikkonen has stormed out of the back of the Ferrari garage. He is not a happy chappy

Lap 48: What an afternoon for Ferrari

Lap 47: And Raikkonen's race is over. His Ferrari engine blows in spectacular fashion, pouring smoke out over the track

Lap 46: Massa's incident will only be investigated after the race while Raikkonen's mechanic is on his way to the medical centre. It was a pretty bad incident

Lap 45: Kovalainen and Raikkonen both pit. It's a pit stop race and is won by Kovalainen as Raikkonen tries to leave too early and he takes out one of his mechanics. The Finn also has the fuel hose still attached and to stop and wait while Ferrari disconnect it. Dreadful for Ferrari. Raikkonen comes out behind Trulli

Lap 44: Sutil has crashed his car into a tyre barrier

Lap 43: Trulli pits from fifth place. Heidfeld is also in for his second stop

Lap 42: Kubica pitted from third place, coming out P6

Lap 41: Vettel pit

Lap 40: Hamilton pits from the lead. He comes out in second place

Lap 40: Massa is under investigation for an unsafe release in the pit lane. Is the Brazilian about to lose a second race win in a row?

Lap 39: Rosberg pits from seventh place

Lap 38: Bourdais pits

Lap 38: Massa pits for 8.5s and comes across the Force India of Sutil in the pit lane. The two narrowly avoid a collision with Massa backing off

Lap 37: Ferrari mechanics are out

Lap 36: Another new fastest lap time from Massa. He is flying

Lap 35: Vettel, who is P7, sets his best lap time of the race

Lap 34: Massa sets a new fastest lap of the race, a 1:38.840

Lap 34: Piquet Jr pits from 11th place. He was the last driver in need of a stop

Lap 33: Coulthard pits. He is last, just behind Barrichello and Nakajima on the track

Lap 32: Barrichello and Nakajima pit

Lap 32: Massa now has an 8s lead over Hamilton

Lap 31: Glock pits leaving only Piquet Jr and Barrichello still in need of fuel

Lap 30: Button pits

Lap 29: Glock is most defintely one-stopping. As the German qualified P13 he could opt for whatever fuel strategy he wanted

Lap 28: Massa's lead is now 6.5s over Hamilton

Lap 27: Piquet Jr has a damaged front wing with a piece flapping away

Lap 26: Not much going on out on track at the moment. It's Monaco, only quicker

Lap 25: The biggest faller in the first round of stops was Bourdais who dropped from P11 to P15

Lap 24: Hamilton has fallen off Massa's pace the last two laps, dropping 1.6s in two laps

Lap 23: After the first round of stops Massa is once again leading with Hamilton second, Kubica third and Kovalainen fourth. Raikkonen failed to get ahead of Kovalainen while Trulli has taken a position off Vettel

Lap 22: And with that Heidfeld pits from fourth place. He stops for 8.5s

Lap 22: Of the top eight Heidfeld and Glock are the only two who still have to stop

Lap 21: Kovalainen pits from the lead. He's stationary for 9.7s and comes out just ahead of the BMW of Heidfeld

Lap 20: Sutil pits as well

Lap 20: Trull pits from fourth place. There is a lot of dust as the drivers stop in their pit boxes

Lap 19: And with that Kubica pits for 8.9s. Raikkonen pits as well for 9.9s. The Ferrari driver comes out behind the Toyota of Glock

Lap 19: Kubica is now leading the grand prix with Kovalainen and Massa behind him

Lap 18: Vettel pits from sixth place and comes out P9

Lap 17: Hamilton pits just two laps after Massa. Has he made up the 4 sec deficit? He's in for 8.9s and comes out behind the two Ferraris

Lap 17: Hamilton is leading in Valencia and it is all smiles for McLaren

Lap 16: Massa comes out just ahead of Raikkonen. Problems for Ferrari as a heavy Massa is now holding up Raikkonen while both Ferraris are stuck behind the McLaren of Kovalainen

Lap 15: Massa is pitting from the lead. The Brazilian is in for 9.1s and McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh is all smiles about Massa's early stop

Lap 14: Trulli has caught up to the back of Vettel's Toro Rosso as the train behind Kubica now includes four other cars

Lap 13: Massa sets a new fastest lap of the grand prix, a 1:39.167

Lap 13: Raikkonen is less than half a second behind Kovalainen but given how tight the circuit is he can't find a way through

Lap 12: Massa continues to lead here in Valencia by 4sec over Hamilton. Kubica in third place is a further 10.2s adrift

Lap 11: Coulthard passes Barrichello as the Brazilian runs wide

Lap 10: Kubica's lack of pace has allowed not only Kovalainen and Raikkonen to close up on him but also Vettel to move up to the back of Raikkonen's Ferrari. His mechanics, though, have returned to the team's garage

Lap 9: BMW mechanics are out with a new nosecone. Not sure who is coming in though

Lap 8: Kovalainen has closed right up on Kubica and almost tags the BMW driver under braking. Kubica is currently P3 ahead of Kovalainen and Riakkonen

Lap 7: Coulthard brakes late trying to get up the inside of Sutil but instead gets wacked by the Force India driver putting DC into a spin and losing pieces of bodywork as well as a few places

Lap 6: Sutil is getting a bit upset about being stuck behind his team-mate Fisichella and tells his team that he wants to pass the Roman

Lap 5: Coulthard passes Piquet Jr for 16th place. The duo are behind Sutil who has had a great start despite starting from the pit lane

Lap 4: Nakajima has rejioned the race with a new nose while Alonso has retired

Lap 3: Great opening part of the race for Vettel who is holding onto this sixth place. His team-mate Bourdais, though, has dropped out of the top ten

Lap 2: Massa is pulling away from Hamilton and after just one lap has a 1.4s lead over teh chasing McLaren

Lap 1: Problems for Alonso who is touring at the back of the pack while Nakajima lost his nose on the back of Alonso's car. Both pit for repairs

Lap 1: Massa gets a good start while Hamilton is quick to defend against Kubica. Kovalainen takes Raikkonen for third place

START: And it's go in Valencia

13H03: The grid reforms and the drivers are ready for the start of the 2008 European GP

13H01: All the drivers are starting on the harder option Bridgestone tyres except for Nico Rosberg

13H00: The formation lap gets underway

12H55: It's a hot day out in Spain with the air temperature sitting about the 30'C mark

12H50: Adrian Sutil, who had qualified P20, is starting from the pit lane as is the Honda of Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian had qualified P19

12H45: The rich, famous and powerful take a walk down the grid, waving at the fans who are really close to the track given where the grandstands are placed. The stands are packed, it's a sell-out crowd here this afternoon

12H40: The two Toro Rossos are both starting today's race in the top ten with Seb Vettel in sixth place just behind Kovalainen and Seb Bourdais P10

12H30: The pit lane is open for the cars to head to the grid. They have 15 minutes to line up on the grid slots

12H25: Kimi Raikkonen, who is P4, will also be on the dirty side, having being outpaced by BMW's Robert Kubica in qualifying. The pole

12H20: Prior to qualifying the FIA announced a change of the grid positions with pole position behind moved to the right-hand side of the grid. This means Hamilton will be starting on the dirty, less gripy side of the grid

12H15: Felipe Massa is starting the grand prix on pole position having outpaced Lewis Hamilton during Saturday's qualifying

12H05: Faster than Monaco but just as tight in places with hard braking zones today's grand prix could offer a festival of mishaps - or it could just prove to be a procession... only time will tell

12H00: Welcome to coverage of the 2008 European GP, which takes place at the new Valencia street circuit

TURKISH GP - LAP-BY-LAP REPORT

HAMILTON SETS PACE IN PRACTICE

KOVALAINEN EDGES OUT MASSA

DENNIS HITS OUT AT REPORTS

Dennis - denied stepping back.

Ron Dennis has categorically refuted claims he is to 'step back' from his role as McLaren boss at the end of the season.

Such a move has been speculated upon for some considerable time, in particular after last year's spy scandal that proved draining for the 61-year-old.

It has also been suggested if Lewis Hamilton wins the world title this season that would allow Dennis to leave on a high and current McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh to take up the reins

A Spanish newspaper quoted Dennis as saying he was considering taking a step back.

The report has left Dennis completely baffled as he on Sunday said: "I haven't spoken to any member of the press for three weeks (since the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix).

"It's just a complete fabrication, an absolute fabrication.

"I don't know where the story has come from, but I haven't spoken to anybody for weeks."

McLAREN: DENNIS IS STAYING

DENNIS WARY OF FERRARI

MASSA BACK ON TRACK

Massa - slap on the wrists.

Felipe Massa escaped the wrath of the stewards to claim a deserved European Grand Prix victory just three weeks after suffering heartbreak.

Ten points were ripped from Massa's grasp in cruel fashion when the engine in his Ferrari blew three laps from the finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest where he was on course for an easy win.

Showing strength of character, Massa put the disappointment behind him to take the chequered flag in Valencia where he had started on pole, adding the fastest lap to his weekend achievements.

The result was temporarily put in doubt when the stewards announced an investigation into an 'unsafe release' at the end of his second pit stop that saw him run wheel to wheel with Force India's Adrian Sutil.

The end result was that 'no sporting advantage was obtained,' with Massa fined 10,000 euros (Ј8000) and reprimanded.

It failed to detract from his triumph as he said: "It's amazing.

"After such a disaster in Hungary, we've come here to a great track and done a fantastic job, although not 100% because of what happened with Kimi.

"But to take pole, win the race and get fastest lap, you can't ask for any more. I'm so glad and happy. It was perfect."

But Massa conceded the last 11 laps were "very difficult" in the wake of Raikkonen's engine blowout that brought his race to an abrupt halt on lap 46.

"I was thinking about it, lap by lap, but there was nothing I could do other than just drive and keep the pace," reflected Massa, who is six points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

"We now need to work very hard ahead of the next race to fix our reliability if we are to fight for the championship.

"We have to make sure everybody is concentrated to resolve every single problem we have."

Despite his slap on the wrist from the stewards, Massa felt it was Sutil who was in the wrong, adding: "It looked bad from his side.

"It was a shame to fight with him in the pit lane, and with the wall looming, I had to back off and not take any risks.

"But I was the lead car, he was the lapped car, so I expected him to back off. He didn't and it was quite an error."

As for reigning world champion Raikkonen, he fears there will be no repeat of last season's title triumph unless Ferrari crack their latest reliability issues.

"It wasn't the best weekend," added Raikkonen, who is 13 points adrift of Hamilton after an eight-race winless run.

"I am not worried about not winning the race, but losing the points we could have got is not very good.

"Hopefully we will get things as we want and we can still fight for the championship.

"There are still many races to go and it can change so quickly, but there is no doubt it won't be easy.

"We need to see what we can do in the next race, but we need to start winning again - otherwise there is no chance."

To add to Raikkonen's woes, he ran over a pit crew member as he began to pull away from his second stop, albeit with the fuel hose still attached to the car.

The mechanic is currently undergoing tests in a local hospital for a foot injury and back pains.

Holding his hands up, Raikkonen added: "It was my fault. I left the pits a bit too early and ran over the guy who was re-fuelling.

"We need to look and see what really happened."

MASSA AIMS TO MAINTAIN FERRARI DOMINANCE

MASSA FINDS PASSPORT TO VICTORY

REACTION: FERRARI/McLAREN/BMW

Hamilton - happy with second.

Ferrari
Felipe Massa: "It's fantastic having won this race, especially after the disappointment of Budapest. The team did an amazing job in preparing for this Grand Prix and the benefits of that could be seen right from the very first day. Yesterday, I got pole and today the win, with the race fastest lap as the icing on the cake. You cannot ask for more especially at my one hundredth grand prix with every single one of them powered by a Ferrari engine. I got a good start and I pushed to the maximum right from the early laps. In the second part of the race, the car was exceptional, but also in the final stint, when I had the softer tyres, I could do the lap times easily. This is an important moment in my career and I must continue to work in this way. I am sorry for what happened to Kimi: we have to look very carefully at our reliability. I am confident the team knows which countermeasures to take to react to this issue, as it has always done in the past."

Kimi Raikkonen: "Not much to say after a day like this. It was definitely not the weekend I was hoping for but I do not believe that, despite this negative result, I am now out of the running for the title. There are still six races to go and sixty points up for grabs. We have seen that the situation change really quickly, even if I realize things are now more complicated. Today, I lost a place at the start and I was stuck in traffic for all of the first stint. Then, when I had a clear track ahead of me, I was able to push and was doing good lap times. At the second pit stop, I made a mistake and left before I should have done. Fortunately, Pietro (Timpini) is not too badly hurt. I wish him all the best and hope he gets better soon. In any case, it would not have changed anything as then the engine broke. Now we must concentrate on preparing for the next rounds and on improving our qualifying performance."

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton: "I can't complain with second place today. This was a strong weekend for us despite my having a few problems health-wise, but we pulled through. The track was pretty difficult to overtake on, but I maintained the gap - our lap times showed that our overall pace was good, which was encouraging. Heikki and I scored 13 points today, which is very positive for the team, so I'd describe it as a satisfactory weekend for us."

Heikki Kovalainen: "My start was good, and I was consequently able to overtake Kimi before the first corner. However, I'm not really happy with how the race went for me after that, because I had grip problems with the prime tyres in the first and second stints - whereas with the option tyres in the last stint I had much better grip and traction. As a result I could close the gap to Robert Kubica a little. At least I scored five points, but a podium would have been much nicer. Having said that, it's good that the team scored a lot of points with Lewis's second place and my fourth place."

BMW
Robert Kubica: "I started pretty well but in corner 1 I went over the kerb and Lewis was closing. In the second corner I was going to overtake Lewis, but I saw Felipe braking quite early. It would have been too much of a risk, as I could end up overshooting the braking point and crashing into him. Over the next few laps I was consistently a bit slower than Lewis. Suddenly I saw a white plastic bag flying across the track, but could not avoid it and it went under the car. I couldn't steer for two corners, which was extremely dangerous. Fortunately most of the bag soon flew away, but my confidence was very low over the next sector, and I lost around three seconds. In the end I finished third. Eventually I think my good qualifying result yesterday was crucial for today's result."

Nick Heidfeld: "This was one of the worst races ever for me. To finish ninth in a car which is obviously good enough for third is a disaster. After qualifying I was pretty confident because we realised we could go well. But in the race I had big problems with the harder tyres during the first two stints, and it was only better at the end with the softer compound. I lost one position after the start and later in the race I couldn't gain any. The pace wasn't there."

REACTION: McLAREN and WILLIAMS

REACTION: McLAREN, TOYOTA, FERRARI

REACTION: McLAREN/BMW/FERRARI

KUBICA FASTEST IN FINAL PRACTICE

Kubica - fastest in practice.

Qualifying for the European Grand Prix may well turn out to be a tale of the unexpected if a remarkable final practice session is anything to go by.

The Valencia Street Circuit with its long straights and sharp turns that force the drivers into a number of hard-braking manoeuvres, is clearly proving a tricky one to master.

In the final hour-long run, most had to use the sweeping run-off areas to good effect, notably Lewis Hamilton on two occasions after setting the fastest time in the first sector.

His mistakes compromised those laps, and a further error late on when he spun through turn four in his McLaren led to the current championship leader finishing a relatively lowly seventh.

With four minutes remaining Hamilton posted the fastest lap of the two days with a one minute 39.314secs, but a hectic finish saw him relegated significantly down the order.

In the end it was BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica who cracked a track that weaves through the marina and port of Spain's third largest city, and one that certainly is doing Formula One justice on its debut.

The Pole, who has slipped down the standings since his maiden win in Canada over two months ago to now trail Hamilton by 13 points, set a blistering time of 1min 38.754secs for the 5.440km circuit.

Kubica was joined by Williams' Nico Rosberg in posting a sub-99 second lap - the only two to do so - with the German just 0.123secs down.

To underline just how topsy-turvy qualifying may prove to be, the Toro Rosso of Sebastien Bourdais was third and the second Williams of Kazuki Nakajima fourth.

Even allowing for the fact the quartet were running on low fuel, it was an unusual top order, with Ferrari's Felipe Massa down in fifth and Sebastian Vettel in his Toro Rosso sixth ahead of Hamilton.

It should also prove to be a close battle as from Nakajima to Nick Heidfeld in his BMW Sauber in eighth, a mere 0.65secs was all that separated five drivers.

David Coulthard finally found some form for Red Bull to wind up ninth, with Renault's Nelson Piquet 10th, followed by Mark Webber and the Honda of Jenson Button.

Rubens Barrichello, who complained yesterday of his team heading in the wrong direction with set up, again struggled as he was 19th and last of those who posted a time.

Jarno Trulli could only manage two installation laps in a Toyota that had gearbox issues.

MASSA FASTEST IN PRACTICE

HAMILTON TOP DOG IN CANADA

MASSA ON POLE FOR VALENCIA

Massa celebrates.

Felipe Massa will start from pole position around the new Valencia Street Circuit for Sunday's European Grand Prix.

Normal service was resumed in the closing 10-minute blast that is Q3 after Formula One's 'minnows' had threatened a major surprise in the first two sessions as Sebastian Vettel and Jarno Trulli shone.

But Massa took the honours with a lap of one minute 38.989 seconds to edge current championship leader Lewis Hamilton into second by 0.210secs, with BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica back on the pace with third.

With a determined Massa ahead of him, Hamilton knows he will have his hands full.

"It will be a close fight again with Ferrari, but as you saw in sector one (on the track), Felipe destroyed everyone," remarked Hamilton.

"They're going to be the car to beat, but we're going to push as hard as we can to do so.

"We've done a great job so far. Our approach has been as good as ever.

"We've come here with a strong package, and at least we're close to the Ferraris.

"I'm quite happy with the job we've done today, and being on the front row puts us in a good position to fight for a win, so I'm very, very happy.

"It's just important we get a good start. I'll aim to challenge Felipe, but if I don't get close enough then I will just try to keep my position."

That might be as good as it gets if Massa storms away from the start as he did at the Hungaroring when he blitzed past Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen from third on the grid to lead at the first corner.

But after controlling the race, daylight robbery followed, and it still gnaws away at Massa even now.

"To have that problem with three laps to go and with the win in my pocket, it was so bad," reflected Massa.

"The summer break didn't help with my frustration because when you have such a bad race, you want to race again to try and get rid of that frustration.

"But sometimes frustration can be good. It can motivate you even more, and that is why I was in contact with my team to motivate them because we suffered together.

"Now I am exactly where I want to be. You always want to be top, especially after such a bad result and how it happened.

"We have a great car, which we have shown in so many races this year, and as we did in the last race, but unfortunately sometimes things can happen.

"We have shown again here we are competitive, and that's the most important thing. The team have done a great job, and now let's go for the win."

Hamilton at least has his closest title rival in reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen behind him in fourth, with Kubica separating the Briton from the Finn in third.

It is the eighth time in 12 races this year Raikkonen has been out- qualified by Massa, a problem he was determined to correct coming into this race, but one which still clearly remains an issue.

That has at least played into Hamilton's hands, with the 23-year-old adding: "I'm generally very happy.

"It's a good starting position, and so a great opportunity with me being on the front row."

Kubica, 13 points behind Hamilton and eager to prove he is still in with a shout of the title, was back in the top three for the first time since his victory in Canada.

"After some unhappy races of late the pace of the car here is not as bad as it was before, although we're still down a little compared to Ferrari and McLaren," assessed Kubica.

"Hopefully we won't make the same mistakes in tomorrow's race as we did in Hungary with the tyre pressures."

Behind Heikki Kovalainen in fifth, Vettel starts a career -high sixth for Toro Rosso, with Toyota's Trulli seventh and Nick Heidfeld eighth in his BMW Sauber.

To complete a stunning day for Toro Rosso, Sebastien Bourdais made it into the top 10 for the first time in his debut F1 season.

But it was a torrid session for Jenson Button and David Coulthard as the two Britons will start 16th and 17th in their Honda and Red Bull respectively.

RAIKKONEN EYES VALENCIA GLORY

HAMILTON ON POLE AS McLAREN DOMINATE

MASSA FINDS PASSPORT TO VICTORY

BRAWN DELAYS LINE-UP PLANS

Brawn - delayed announcement.

Honda boss Ross Brawn is to delay announcing his driver line-up for next year until late this season after conceding Fernando Alonso holds the key to the market.

Brawn has made no secret of his admiration for Alonso, earlier this month remarking the Spaniard is "one of the top drivers in Formula One."

Brawn added: "I think every team apart from one (McLaren) would welcome him. We are no different, but whether it happens, who knows?"

Brawn, though, is refusing to back up Rubens Barrichello's claim this week Honda have already started negotiations with Alonso.

Veteran Barrichello knows his job is on the line should Honda lure Alonso from Renault, in particular with Jenson Button stating he is relaxed about his future.

But the 36-year-old now faces an anxious wait because when asked as to when Honda would confirm their drivers for 2009, Brawn replied:

"It's not for some time. It's not immediate."

As last year, double world champion Alonso is making everybody play a waiting game as he decides where he would like to drive.

A performance-related clause in his Renault contract allows him to leave should the team not come up to scratch.

At present Renault are sixth in the the constructors' championship, with Alonso a lowly eighth in the drivers' standings with 18 points ahead of today's European Grand Prix on home soil in Valencia.

With the race the 12th of 18 on the calendar, generally at this stage of the year the majority of teams have confirmed who will occupy the race seats for the following season.

So far, only McLaren and Red Bull have done so, with the reason a simple one according to Brawn.

"I guess it's the fact Fernando is on the market, in the nicest possible way," added Brawn.

"His options at Renault are dependent on certain results that have not been achieved, and everyone knows that.

"When Fernando makes his decision on what he wants to do then a lot of things will slot into place."

HONDA FOCUS ON CAR

BRAWN BACKS FALTERING HAMILTON

REACTION: RENAULT/RED BULL/HONDA/FI

Alonso - race compromised.

Renault
Nelson Piquet Jr: "The first lap was rough as I was in the middle of the pack and lost several positions. After that I tried to fight back, but my front wing was damaged and it was difficult to overtake. It's a shame that we couldn't get into the top ten, but I hope we can have a better race in Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix in a couple of weeks time."

Fernando Alonso: "After qualifying yesterday, I knew that me weekend was going to be difficult. At the start I was touched by Nakajima and I lost my rear wing. My mechanics did everything to try and allow me to continue, but my race was already compromised. I am extremely disappointed because I was hoping to have a special race in my second home Grand Prix and for the supporters who came here this weekend to support me. I now want to concentrate on the rest to the season and the next race in Spa."

Red Bull
Mark Webber: "We just weren't quick enough. We were hoping for a few safety cars to come out during the race, so ran a one stop strategy, but it didn't happen. It was a difficult race pace wise and we've got a lot of analysis to do."

David Coulthard: "I was hit from behind on the first lap. I came back and passed a couple of cars, but when I tried to pass one of the Force India's, I aborted the manoeuvre and made contact with them, so sorry to them for that. That damaged my barge board and the side of the car, so after that the balance and downforce were very poor."

Honda
Jenson Button: "I had a good start to the race and gained three places to 13th but that was the highlight of my race really. We made things difficult for ourselves by qualifying so far back on the grid after we had expected to perform a lot better. I was heavily fuelled compared to most others and running long on a one-stop strategy, but I was stuck behind Heidfeld when he had already pitted which cost me some time as I didn't have the pace to overtake him. We ran the option tyre for the second stint, which was initially fine but then the rears went away quite badly due to the rear brakes overheating."

Rubens Barrichello: "After qualifying, we took the opportunity to start from the pit lane and work on the car to try and resolve the issues that we had yesterday. We changed the brakes completely so the car was very different to drive but it did improve a little bit during the race. We need to get to the bottom of the brake problems that we have had all weekend as these cost me a lot of time and positions. It was a poor weekend overall."

Force India
Giancarlo Fisichella: "It was a difficult race with the very hot conditions, but overall I think it was a good performance. The strategy wasn't bad, but we did expect a safety car after seeing the other support races, but there weren't any incidents so it didn't come. Our pace was good, it wasn't far off the others, and we made a step forward with the gearbox. We now have to keep focussed and keep moving forward."

Adrian Sutil: "The first stint was OK as I was closing the gap to the rest of the field and then I could pass a few cars in the hairpin. It was a shame that I couldn't pass Giancarlo quickly enough to take full advantage of the two stop strategy and lost a little time. Once I passed him it was getting better but it was still difficult to pass more cars. Then under braking I lost the rear and tried to avoid a crash, but the barrier was too close and that was it."

REACTION: RENAULT, BMW, RED BULL

REACTION: TOYOTA AND HONDA

REACTION: RENAULT, RED BULL AND WILLIAMS

RAIKKONEN EYES VALENCIA GLORY

Raikkonen - is looking for victory.

Kimi Raikkonen firmly believes he can end his seven-race victory drought despite another poor qualifying show by his high standards.

Raikkonen starts from fourth on the grid for Sunday's European Grand Prix at the Valencia Street Circuit after being out-qualified by Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa for the eighth time this year.

Massa claimed his fourth pole position of the season, and 13th of his career, after finishing half a second quicker than Raikkonen who has found the one-lap showdown a mystery of late.

The Finn had hoped to crack his qualifying issues, but again finds himself with his championship rivals ahead of him, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton starting from second and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica in third.

"Fourth place is not what I was looking for, but it's definitely not the end of the world," insisted Raikkonen, who trails Hamilton by five points in the championship standings.

"I could have been higher up the grid, but on my last run in Q3 I locked the wheels at a few points and lost valuable time.

"It was nothing dramatic, but at this circuit a small error is very costly.

"I still think I can be in the fight for the win, especially if I manage to get a good start.

"We have a good car, which should be especially competitive in the race."

VALENCIA STILL A PUZZLE FOR HAMILTON

RAIKKONEN GEARING UP FOR TIGHT FINISH

HAMILTON EYES CONSISTENCY

ALONSO LEADS SILENCE FOR VICTIMS

Alonso - led tribute.

Fernando Alonso led a minute's silence in memory of the 153 victims of the Spanish airline disaster in Madrid on Wednesday.

The two-time world champion yesterday confirmed he would speak with his fellow Formula One drivers in the hope of staging a meaningful tribute.

Spain is currently in the middle of a national three-day period of mourning in the wake of the incident when a plane crashed at Madrid airport as it attempted a second take-off for Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.

Just 19 passengers and six crew members survived the country's worst aviation tragedy since 1983, and in the eyes of Alonso it has cast a shadow over this weekend's European Grand Prix in Valencia.

That culminated in the 27-year-old organising what unfolded at noon as all the drivers, team personnel and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone paid their respects.

The likes of Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren boss Ron Dennis, along with the team's Spanish test driver Pedro de la Rosa, all wore black armbands.

A bell in the nearby clock tower that had signalled the start of the silence, again chimed to note the end, following which horns blared from an array of yachts housed in the marina.

ALONSO CALLS FOR MINUTE’S SILENCE

ALONSO GEARING UP FOR HOME RACE

RAIKKONEN TOPS THE CHARTS

Raikkonen - topped the timesheets.

Kimi Raikkonen ended Friday's practice sessions in Valencia fastest overall as the Finn clocked a 1:39.477 during the day's second practice session.

Raikkonen edged out Renault Spanish driver Fernando Alonso by 0.02s while Jenson Button was third quickest a further 0.049s off the pace.

With track temperature reaching a sweltering 40C, the weekend's second practice session began. Giancarlo Fisichella was the first out and crossed the start/finish line to set the first lap time of the afternoon.

He was quickly joined by Seb Bourdais, Kazuki Nakajima, Nick Heidfeld and Timo Glock of of whom went quicker.

The group, though, were dropped by the arrival of Fernando Alonso, who took the P1 slot with a 1:42.950 while Fisichella improved to second place and Robert Kubica went P3.

With more drivers heading out the timesheets continued to roll with Bourdais the next to go quickest, team-mate Seb Vettel slotting in behind him.

Hamilton put an end to the Toro Rosso 1-2, taking second place before moving ahead by over half a second over Bourdais. Massa went P3 on his first timed lap. Force India's Adrian Sutil put his car up into fourth place with an impressive 1:41.7.

Kimi Raikkonen went second quickest and Heidfeld fourth as everyone barring the two Red Bulls set lap times half an hour into the session. The Finn went on to take the P1 slot away from Hamilton while Nico Rosberg moved up into second place,

Raikkonen, though, was dethroned by Felipe Massa as the Brazilian, who is determined to make up for the lost 10 points from his engine failure in Hungary, clocked a 1:39.976.

Kubica improved to third place ahead of Rosberg and Hamilton while Sutil, Fisichella and Vettel completed the top eight at the halfway stage of practice.

Rosberg, on a hot lap, spun his Williams, almost collecting the Red Bull of Mark Webber. However, the German was able to collect the car and continued on his way.

Nakajima moved up to sixth place as both Williams slotted into the top eight with Timo Glock slotting in behind him. Kovalainen made his way into the top eight, going third behind the Ferraris.

Raikkonen returned to the top of the timesheets with a 1:39.679 while at the other end Nelson Piquet Jr spun his Renault and then improved to 18th place on the following lap.

Hamilton climbed to third place, making it an all Ferrari / McLaren lock-out of the top four places.

Alonso joined the list of spinners at Turn Two, which has seen most of the action at Valencia today.

The laps time stagnated in the final twenty minutes after Massa took the P1 slot and it wasn't until Alonso took over five minutes from the end that the top eight saw any changes.

With all 20 drivers out on track Button moved up to second place only to be dropped moments later when Raikkonen went P1 with a 1:39.477.

Times
01 K. Rдikkцnen Ferrari 1:39.477 30 laps
02 F. Alonso Renault 1:39.497 39 laps
03 J. Button Honda 1:39.546 35 laps
04 F. Massa Ferrari 1:39.678 31 laps
05 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:39.712 31 laps
06 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:39.954 30 laps
07 T. Glock Toyota 1:39.967 32 laps
08 R. Kubica BMW 1:40.149 35 laps
09 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:40.439 32 laps
10 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:40.500 23 laps
11 M. Webber Red Bull 1:40.585 24 laps
12 N. Rosberg Williams 1:40.607 34 laps
13 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:40.696 23 laps
14 K. Nakajima Williams 1:40.742 34 laps
15 J. Trulli Toyota 1:40.877 32 laps
16 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:40.982 36 laps
17 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:40.999 32 laps
18 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:41.246 38 laps
19 R. Barrichello Honda 1:41.377 31 laps

FERRARI FASTEST IN FIRST PRACTICE

HAMILTON SETS PACE IN PRACTICE

RAIKKONEN PUTS FERRARI IN CHARGE

TITLE NOT THREE-HORSE RACE - KUBICA

Kubica - still in the race.

Robert Kubica has dismissed Kimi Raikkonen's claim the Formula One world title race has now become a three-horse affair.

Earlier this week reigning world champion Raikkonen suggested the championship was between himself, Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa and current leader Lewis Hamilton, with eight points separating the trio.

Since his maiden victory in Canada which propelled him to the top of the standings, Kubica has endured a lean run of late, picking up just seven points from his last four races.

It means the Pole is now 13 points adrift of Hamilton heading into this Sunday's European Grand Prix at the newly-built street circuit around Valencia's marina.

Although BMW Sauber have failed to match the pace of development set by McLaren and Ferrari in recent weeks, Kubica is refusing to rule himself out just yet.

"I'm trying, as always, to do the maximum I can, to score as many points as possible," responded Kubica.

"Lately, we've been behind Ferrari and McLaren compared to where we were at the beginning of the season.

"So the job has become harder, especially as Toyota have recently been quicker than us, whilst Renault have also been very close.

"If I had the quickest car then I would say yes, I am still in it, because everything can all change very quickly.

"I hope things will improve this weekend, and if not then it will be difficult.

"But whilst there is a chance then I will try. If it doesn't work out then I'll still be happy because I will have achieved my goals and targets this season.

"From a driver point of view, you know if you can do any more or not.

"If you are pushing your skills and car performance to the limit, you can do no more, and that's the most important thing for me."

Kubica, though, knows he is fighting a losing battle if his team continue to make the kind of mistakes he feels have compromised his performance of late.

Refuting suggestions the team had headed down the wrong route in terms of development, he added: "It was not as if we had different ways to go.

"If we developed x, the others went forward more. Additionally in the last two or three races we've had some bad luck, whilst we've also made crucial mistakes.

"Such as in Hungary with the tyre pressures, which unfortunately happened in all three sets, so that was an operational mistake.

"In qualifying I was just a tenth (of a second) slower than Massa, so you cannot say our car is slower than others.

"But lately we have made more mistakes than at the beginning of the season, whilst they have moved forward and we have struggled more."

KUBICA COOL ON CHANCES

KUBICA: I’M STILL THE OUTSIDER

HAMILTON REMAINING GROUNDED

Hamilton - five points clear.

Lewis Hamilton is adamant his world title bid is stronger this year as he is no longer floating away with the fairies.

Hamilton may have set all kinds of rookie records during his debut season, including a run of nine successive podium finishes, but it ultimately ended in heartache.

The British sensation missed out on the world title by a point to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen at the end of the final race in Brazil.

Although it will long remain an astonishing campaign, on reflection the 23-year-old McLaren star knows there were times when he was far from grounded as the occasion got the better of him.

Asked as to what he feels makes him a stronger title contender this year, with him currently five points clear of Raikkonen at the top of the standings, Hamilton replied: "The knowledge.

"Last year I was on cloud nine the whole year. I remember last year coming back after the summer break and I was still floating.

"This weekend I have my feet on the ground. I've not done anything crazy over the last two weeks, just relaxed.

"I know what I have to do, and that is to hit this race hard.''

Hamilton has already stated this week consistency will be the key to any title triumph as all the frontrunners have made mistakes to date.

An error-free end to the season akin to his start last year, when he enjoyed his podium run, will go a long way to seeing him crowned F1 king.

"I was looking at my results from last year and for the first nine or 12 races it was quite unreal,'' added Hamilton.

"Who knows, we might have that another year, but I think this year everyone has pretty much had the same sort of run, especially us guys at the front.

"We are all pushing very, very hard. It's a closer season than it was last year.

"All the teams are perhaps pushing even more to the edge and that's where you really see mistakes starting to happen.

"This year there are lots of opportunities to make mistakes and there are also lots of unknowns - new circuits, lots of different things with the car.''

One of those new circuits will be savoured for the first time today with the first two practice sessions for the European Grand Prix that takes place around Valencia's marina.

Hamilton certainly gained a good first impression from a track walk yesterday, although it proved an uncomfortable one as temperatures hit 35 degrees centigrade.

"It was roasting. I was sweating my arse off just walking around,'' smiled Hamilton.

"But they (the organisers) have done a really good job. It doesn't remind me of any circuit I have seen.

"It is just completely different to any circuit I have ever been to.

"People are saying it is like Monaco, but it's nothing like Monaco. It's three times faster.''

Yesterday, though, ended on a sour note for Hamilton as he was fined 5,000 euros (Ј4,000) by world governing body the FIA after turning up 90 seconds late for the main press conference.

BRAWN BACKS FALTERING HAMILTON

HAMILTON STAYING ON THE OFFENSIVE

HAMILTON SHOW IMPRESSES STEWART

VETTEL SHINES AT NEW TRACK

Vettel - set fastest time.

The circuit is undoubtedly new, and so it was perhaps appropriate a new name stood at the top of the standings at the end of first practice for Sunday's European Grand Prix.

Valencia on Friday unveiled its showcase track that snakes its way for 5.440km around the Spanish's city port and marina.

It may bear the name Valencia Street Circuit, but it is far from a street course when you think of a venue as prestigious and historic as Monaco.

The Principality uses ordinary public roads that are closed off for the few days Formula One is in town.

In contrast, Valencia's circuit is predominantly purpose built, with wide run-off areas to catch any mistakes, and there were many as the drivers acclimatised themselves to the virgin territory.

Nevertheless, it is still remarkably eye-catching, notably crossing a swing bridge that when in every day use opens and closes to allow yachts and ships to enter and exit.

At one point, the fastest section where cars hit speeds of 315kph, there is the unusual sight of seeing them heading in one direction, whilst the other side of a large concrete barrier there is a dual carriageway with ordinary road vehicles travelling in the other.

So on a hot day, with temperatures hitting 29 degrees centigrade at 10am, it was left to Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel to make a name for himself.

In the dying moments of the 90-minute session, the young German knocked Felipe Massa off top spot, setting a fastest time of one minute 40.496 seconds.

In preparations the teams had anticipated a lap time of one minute 37 seconds, so Vettel's best was around 3.5secs beyond the target.

It would be fair to assume Vettel was running a low-fuel option late on, along with team-mate Sebastien Bourdais as the Frenchman finished fourth.

Sprinkled amongst the Toro Rosso duo were a host a familiar names as Massa was second and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton third, 0.326secs down on Vettel, with the current championship leader spinning late on.

After Bourdais came Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, fresh from his maiden win in Hungary just under three weeks ago, with BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica sixth, followed by reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari.

The top 10 was completed by Williams duo Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg who sandwiched the ninth-placed Fernando Alonso in his Renault.

Alonso's team-mate Nelson Piquet completed the most laps with 32, but was still down in 15th, whilst it was a difficult morning for Jenson Button and David Coulthard.

The two Britons struggled to get to grips with the track and were down in 17th and 19th respectively for Honda and Red Bull, 1.964 and 2.816secs off of Vettel's pace.

Remarkably, Mark Webber brought up the rear in his Red Bull, just over three seconds down.

Times
01 S. Vettel Toro Rosso 1:40.496 29 laps
02 F. Massa Ferrari 1:40.654 27 laps
03 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:40.822 21 laps
04 S. Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:41.099 31 laps
05 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:41.163 23 laps
06 R. Kubica BMW 1:41.281 24 laps
07 K. Rдikkцnen Ferrari 1:41.317 27 laps
08 K. Nakajima Williams 1:41.329 26 laps
09 F. Alonso Renault 1:41.385 31 laps
10 N. Rosberg Williams 1:41.706 22 laps
11 R. Barrichello Honda 1:41.830 27 laps
12 J. Trulli Toyota 1:41.930 27 laps
13 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:41.951 23 laps
14 T. Glock Toyota 1:42.036 27 laps
15 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:42.107 32 laps
16 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:42.453 23 laps
17 J. Button Honda 1:42.460 29 laps
18 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:43.075 25 laps
19 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:43.312 23 laps
20 M. Webber Red Bull 1:43.524 24 laps

VETTEL: I’M READY TO MOVE ON UP

LEWIS SETS EARLY PACE

VALENCIA STILL A PUZZLE FOR HAMILTON

Hamilton - feeling good.

Lewis Hamilton will continue to piece together his Valencia Street Circuit jigsaw puzzle on Saturday as he bids to strengthen his Formula One world championship lead.

Hamilton ended the first two 90-minute practice sessions ahead of Sunday's European Grand Prix with the fifth-best time of the day behind reigning world champion and title rival Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari.

The Finn set a time of one minute 39.477 seconds for the 5.440km track that winds its way through the marina of Spain's third-largest city, with Hamilton 0.235 seconds adrift.

There was one spin from the McLaren star in the morning, but then the 23-year-old was not alone in making a mistake as virtually all the drivers did so at some stage during the day as they attempted to get to grips with what is virgin territory.

Hamilton, who leads Raikkonen by five points in the standings, said: "It's quite a nice track, a bit slippery, but I enjoyed it.

"It was quite unusual at the beginning because everything was so new, even though I'd walked the circuit.

"When you're in the car the corners come up a lot quicker than you anticipate.

"I just took time to get used to that, taking notes of braking points, bumps and how much kerb I could use.

"The two long straights give you time to cool your tyres, then there are slower corners which demand you get your braking right.

"It is tricky, but not hard to memorise. I've taken things step by step, trying to improve the car's balance.

"All the time I was out there I was learning new things about the track.

"It's just a matter of finding all the pieces and putting the puzzle together."

Hamilton will look to improve further in Saturday's final hour-long practice session ahead of qualifying.

"I feel good," added Hamilton.

"We've had a good day, apart from one little spin, and I think we've started on the right foot.

"We've slowly increased our pace and got though the testing programme."

HAMILTON: CONSISTENCY THE KEY

HAMILTON KEEPS EYE ON WEATHER

HAMILTON EYES CONSISTENCY

MALLYA HOPES TO BREAK DUCK

Mallya's cars have yet to score.

Vijay Mallya has not given up hope Force India will break their points duck in Formula One this season.

After 11 races neither Giancarlo Fisichella nor Adrian Sutil have yet to score a point, leaving Force India as the only team with a zero against their name.

But ahead of this weekend's European Grand Prix at the newly-built street circuit around Valencia's marina, Indian billionaire and co-owner Mallya is looking for that to change.

Despite the fact his team will now primarily be concentrating on next year's car, he said: "2009 is a big opportunity.

"But there are still points up for grabs this year and we need to look to maximise them now.

"What Force India has proved is that we look competitive in race conditions and, under the right circumstances, can pick up points if the chances come our way.

"We've performed well on street courses too, and with two in the final part, this could be a good opportunity for us.

"We need to look for 100 per cent reliability to ensure that whenever these chances come our way we are really able to take advantage.

"If we take our eye off the ball we could miss out on getting some good finishes.

"That said, work for 2009 will step up immensely towards the end of the season so we can make sure we are ready."

Like everyone else in Formula One, Mallya is highly impressed with the sport's latest venue.

Although it may not rival Monaco for glamour, the setting is superb and at least affords Mallya another chance to show off his multi-million pound yacht Indian Empress, currently moored at the end of one of the jetties.

"I think Valencia is a great venue for a race, like a little Monaco," added Mallya.

"It should be some sight to see the cars going past the marina and the boats, very reminiscent of the Principality.

"I think it will be a great event for the team, fans and sponsors."

MALLYA: FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH

MALLYA SEES BRIGHT FUTURE

SUTIL HEARTACHE SHARED BY MALLYA

WHAT NEXT FOR BUTTON?

Will Button stay at Honda?

I have to admit I feel sorry for Jenson Button.

Not because of his playboy lifestyle or massive salary, and not because he gets to live the schoolboy dream of being a racing car driver.

It is simply because he has been usurped by Lewis Hamilton.

When Button burst onto the scene everyone was talking him up as potentially the next Formula One world champion from Britain, the man to follow in the wheel tracks of Damon Hill and Nigel Mansell.

But circumstances have somewhat conspired against the Honda driver, and unfortunately for Button he has not been in the right place at the right time.

Honda has built a reputation as the most committed of Japanese manufacturers when it comes to racing, a team with virtually a bottomless pit when it comes to funding.

So scrapping it out in the lower reaches of the Formula One pack is nothing short of embarrassing for Button and his bosses, and that leaves the fast man from Frome with a dilemma.

Does he continue to pick up his very big salary and accept his lot, or does he push for a move to a more competitive team?

That's a question I am sure is occupying the minds of not only the man himself, but also the people who advise him.

But the people who matter most when it comes to deciding if Button will ever get close to a world title are potentially some of his on-track rivals.

The likes of Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso will have more of a say in where Button ends up than the British driver himself.

That's because what happens with Raikkonen and Alonso will also determine the fate of everyone else in the F1 paddock.

With a world title on his resume there is nothing for Raikkonen to prove and his recent dip in form, while team-mate Felipe Massa has taken the title race to Hamilton, has led many to speculate he is considering turning his back on F1.

It is expected Raikkonen will at least see out his contract, which has another year to run, so seemingly putting Alonso's plans of a move to the Maranello marque on hold.

A fly in the ointment for Button is that Honda are trying to prise Alonso away from Renault, the team who made him a two-time world champion, but where he has endured a miserable return this year.

That is despite his claims he is far happier now compared to last season when he was embroiled in a torrid season at McLaren.

Should Honda persuade Alonso to sign - even if only for a season should a vacancy then arise at Ferrari courtesy of Raikkonen's exit - then who goes? Button or team-mate Rubens Barrichello?

The Briton surely possesses the greater potential as the younger man compared to the veteran Brazilian, but then on-track to date this year there has been little to choose between them.

Honda boss Ross Brawn and chief executive Nick Fry certainly face an intriguing dilemma as to whom they would retain should they convince Alonso his future is with them.

If that comes to pass, it is inconceivable there will be no place for Button, but if so, where would that leave him ahead of next season? Without a drive? Surely not.

But hey, stranger things have happened in F1, and then I really would feel sorry for Button.

WHAT NEXT FOR BUTTON?

BUTTON HAS GOOD MEMORIES OF BUDAPEST

PRACTICE WILL BE KEY - WHITMARSH

Hamilton - returns to action after three-week break.

Martin Whitmarsh believes the old phrase 'discretion is the better part of valour' will serve McLaren well this weekend.

Valencia's newly-designed street circuit, with the Mediterranean and harbour serving as a dramatic backdrop, makes its Formula One debut on Sunday in the guise of the European Grand Prix.

As no F1 driver or car has yet to snake its way around the 5.440km track, the temptation would be to go all guns blazing in practice on Friday and rack up as many laps as quickly as possible.

But McLaren chief executive Whitmarsh said: "In terms of car set-up, we need to remember that, like Monaco, the track will be green and dusty on the opening day of practice.

"That sometimes tempts you into playing with set-up more than you would like, so you need to resist that temptation and let the track come to the car.

"The most important thing is to be thorough, methodical and iterative.

"Although we arrive at a new race track having undertaken a huge amount of research and armed with an enormous amount of data, the reality is it's really only the starting point for our engineering team.

"We begin practice the way we would at any other circuit, but in this instance, we need to pay particular attention both to driver feedback and the data generated from the car.

"The important thing is not to react too hastily - it's vital you don't end up going down the wrong path, because you only have a limited amount of time to tune the set-up before qualifying."

But as a street track, there are also inherent dangers - as singled out by Whitmarsh, who added: "Anybody who's studied onboard footage of the circuit will be mindful of the proximity of the concrete barriers in certain areas.

"Clearly, we'll be packing plenty of spares - but hoping we won't need to use them!"

After a three-week break, there is a feeling Valencia is a perfect way to rekindle the season - with much anticipation surrounding the title race, currently led by Lewis Hamilton.

"Spain has become a tremendously important market for Formula One over the past five years," remarked Whitmarsh.

"The addition of a second Spanish race rightly reflects the sport's success and popularity in the market.

"Everything we've seen about the city and the organisation of this event leads me to believe it will be a fantastic success and set a new standard for Formula One.

"More importantly, it marks a return to city racing, something we will also witness in Singapore and next year in Abu Dhabi.

"That's something that really engages the people and fans far more than at a purpose-built circuit out of town.

"This is an important time for the growth of the sport and everybody at McLaren will be hoping the weekend is a fantastic success - both for the team itself and the sport as a whole."

WHITMARSH LOOKS TO HELP HEIKKI GROW

WHITMARSH BACKS HAMILTON

ALONSO CALLS FOR MINUTE'S SILENCE

Alonso - wants a minute's silence.

Fernando Alonso is hoping to conduct a minute's silence with his fellow drivers in the wake of Wednesday's Spanish air disaster.

The country began a three-day national period of mourning after 153 people were killed at Madrid airport as a Spanair holiday flight attempted a second take-off for Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.

Just 19 passengers and six crew survived Spain's worst aviation tragedy since 1983, and in the eyes of Alonso it has cast a shadow over this weekend's European Grand Prix in Valencia.

Spain's third largest city is meant to be savouring its debut on the Formula One calendar, but the sense of loss was apparent, with the Spanish flag flying at half mast over the paddock.

Two-time world champion Alonso will tomorrow speak with the other 19 drivers at the customary Friday briefing in an attempt to gain support for Formula One to show its own mark of respect.

It is hard to imagine any opposition to the proposal, and providing world governing body, the FIA, give their blessing, it would likely be conducted in the pit lane ahead of qualifying on Saturday, and in front of an expected 110,000 crowd.

If the minute's silence does take place, it would be the first time since the death of Princess Diana in 1997 Formula One had mourned anybody's passing in such a way.

"What happened yesterday sours this weekend for me," said Renault star Alonso when questioned on the devastating incident.

"It changes the weekend for us (the fans) and for me. What happened was a tragedy.

"All the Spanish people are shocked, and I am too. It's probably the saddest approach to a weekend I've had.

"We will see tomorrow if we manage to slowly get into the weekend.

"Obviously life continues, but it's now a different weekend for me compared to what it should be.

"As a mark of respect I will wear a black armband, and I will talk with the drivers to see if we can do something tomorrow.

"Maybe a one minute's silence in the pit lane. I hope the drivers would all agree to that."

Certainly championship contenders Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa expressed their wholehearted support for Alonso's suggestion.

McLaren ace Hamilton, who holds a five-point lead over Ferrari's reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen, with Massa a further three adrift, said: "I would definitely look forward to doing that.

"I just want to send out my heartfelt thoughts and best wishes to all the families and all the people in Spain.

"It's a tragedy, and I was really sad to hear it happened because we're in a beautiful country, a beautiful city.

"I just hope it doesn't stall our weekend, that we are able to move on and do the country proud."

Massa knows how Alonso is currently feeling as he experienced a similar situation last July when a plane crash landed at Congonhas airport in his home city of Sao Paulo, killing nearly 200.

"Last year we had a similar accident in Brazil, and it was a disaster, so sad," reflected Massa.

"As Lewis said, I give my 100% support to the (Spanish) people.

"Although we are here for sport, there are so many important things apart from sport which are the lives of these people.

"It's a very sad moment, and I think all of us need to do everything we can to help them."

ALONSO GEARING UP FOR HOME RACE

ALONSO GIVES RENAULT HOME BOOST

HEIKKI NOT PLANNING TO HELP HAMILTON

Kovalainen - says Hamilton doesn't need help.

Heikki Kovalainen is refusing to support McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the Briton's bid to become Formula One world champion.

With seven races remaining, Hamilton goes into Sunday's European Grand Prix around the marina of Valencia with a five-point lead over Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, and eight to Felipe Massa.

It is hard to imagine anyone beyond the top three staking a claim on the crown, with BMW Sauber duo Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld 13 and 21 points off the pace respectively.

As for Kovalainen, despite his maiden victory in Hungary just under three weeks ago, he is 24 points adrift, leaving his title chances on a knife-edge.

Such a gap suggests the Finn has precious little chance of winning the championship, and that ideally he should aid Hamilton's quest.

But the 26-year-old has other ideas as he said: "The desire to win more grands prix is 100 per cent.

"With regard to helping Lewis, I don't think he needs any help to be honest.

"He is strong enough to win it himself. Certainly I'm not planning to help him. If I have a chance to win another race then I will go for it.

"I'm still trying to improve my position in the championship, and that's also the quest of the team, so I don't need to help anyone."

Kovalainen did come to Hamilton's aid in the German Grand Prix last month, moving to one side to allow the 23-year-old by en route to victory.

On that occasion, though, Hamilton was two to three seconds per lap quicker and it would have been futile for Kovalainen to block.

Kovalainen, though, is adamant there will be no resting on laurels as he is determined to continue his winning ways.

"In the previous few races I had targeted victory and I felt I was ready to achieve that. To do so was a great feeling," reflected Kovalainen.

"Now it's back to basics, to start all over again to try and repeat it because we need to raise the bar further."

Kovalainen, though, does not believe he has shaken a monkey off his back with the win, adding: "I wasn't stressed about it.

"It was going to happen, and it was just a matter of time. I don't feel it has made a big difference in terms of me feeling easier.

"But I do certainly feel stronger in every area since the start of the season, that I'm driving better, easier behind the car.

"I'm also working well with the engineers. The whole package has come a long way. I just need to carry on with this trend."

Hamilton, meanwhile, has been fined 5,000 euros (Ј4,000) by world governing body, the FIA, after turning up 90 seconds late for the main press conference.

McLAREN CHIEF HAILS HEIKKI

PATIENT KOVALAINEN PLAYING WAITING GAME

WHAT NEXT FOR BUTTON?

Button - what does the future hold?

I have to admit I feel sorry for Jenson Button.

Not because of his playboy lifestyle or massive salary, and not because he gets to live the schoolboy dream of being a racing car driver.

It is simply because he has been usurped by Lewis Hamilton.

When Button burst onto the scene everyone was talking him up as potentially the next Formula One world champion from Britain, the man to follow in the wheel tracks of Damon Hill and Nigel Mansell.

But circumstances have somewhat conspired against the Honda driver, and unfortunately for Button he has not been in the right place at the right time.

Honda has built a reputation as the most committed of Japanese manufacturers when it comes to racing, a team with virtually a bottomless pit when it comes to funding.

So scrapping it out in the lower reaches of the Formula One pack is nothing short of embarrassing for Button and his bosses, and that leaves the fast man from Frome with a dilemma.

Does he continue to pick up his very big salary and accept his lot, or does he push for a move to a more competitive team?

That's a question I am sure is occupying the minds of not only the man himself, but also the people who advise him.

But the people who matter most when it comes to deciding if Button will ever get close to a world title are potentially some of his on-track rivals.

The likes of Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso will have more of a say in where Button ends up than the British driver himself.

That's because what happens with Raikkonen and Alonso will also determine the fate of everyone else in the F1 paddock.

With a world title on his resume there is nothing for Raikkonen to prove and his recent dip in form, while team-mate Felipe Massa has taken the title race to Hamilton, has led many to speculate he is considering turning his back on F1.

It is expected Raikkonen will at least see out his contract, which has another year to run, so seemingly putting Alonso's plans of a move to the Maranello marque on hold.

A fly in the ointment for Button is that Honda are trying to prise Alonso away from Renault, the team who made him a two-time world champion, but where he has endured a miserable return this year.

That is despite his claims he is far happier now compared to last season when he was embroiled in a torrid season at McLaren.

Should Honda persuade Alonso to sign - even if only for a season should a vacancy then arise at Ferrari courtesy of Raikkonen's exit - then who goes? Button or team-mate Rubens Barrichello?

The Briton surely possesses the greater potential as the younger man compared to the veteran Brazilian, but then on-track to date this year there has been little to choose between them.

Honda boss Ross Brawn and chief executive Nick Fry certainly face an intriguing dilemma as to whom they would retain should they convince Alonso his future is with them.

If that comes to pass, it is inconceivable there will be no place for Button, but if so, where would that leave him ahead of next season? Without a drive? Surely not.

But hey, stranger things have happened in F1, and then I really would feel sorry for Button.

************

What chance Formula One making it into a future Olympics?

Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Timo Glock, Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen battling it out for medals around a street circuit.

If BMX and beach volleyball can make into world sport's biggest spectacular, then why not F1?

WHAT NEXT FOR BUTTON?

BUTTON HOPES TO GET BACK ON TRACK

HAMILTON EYES CONSISTENCY

Hamilton - consistency the key.

Lewis Hamilton claims consistency over the closing races will be key to winning this year's Formula One world title.

Following a three-week summer break, the F1 circus pitches up on virgin territory in Valencia for Sunday's European Grand Prix.

Circuit organisers have created a new street track which winds its way around the Juan Carlos I marina that was last year home to the 32nd America's Cup yacht race.

Unlike in Monaco, where it is notoriously slow and almost impossible to pass, the 25-corner, 5.440km circuit in Valencia is fast - with a top speed of 200mph achievable - and features overtaking opportunities.

With seven of the 18 grands prix remaining, 23-year-old Hamilton is aware one asset above all others will serve him well if he is to erase the heartache of last year's agonising near miss.

"Looking back at the season so far, it feels like a different championship compared to last year as 2007 was very intense and consistency was incredibly important," said the British driver.

"This year, everybody's results have been more varied and every driver who has won a race has also failed to score on at least two other occasions.

"That's made getting strong results even more important, but I think we'll see consistency becoming crucial as we head towards the end of the season.

"But I'm wary of making predictions - the race in Hungary showed just how unpredictable Formula One can be, and that's one of the reasons why it's such a fascinating sport."

Hamilton finished fifth in Hungary, with victory going to his McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen ahead of second-placed Timo Glock who claimed his first podium finish.

As a Formula One wheel has yet to burn rubber on the Valencia track, it is anybody's guess as to who will triumph this weekend.

Hamilton is naturally hoping he is the man on the top step of the podium, a win that would see him stretch his current five-point championship lead.

"Clearly, I am still in a good position to challenge for the world championship, and that remains my aim," he said.

"We still feel confident about our chances - we know our rivals will be strong, but we've worked hard to improve the car and are confident we'll be competitive this weekend.

"The most important thing is to finish consistently in the points."

Hamilton has at least enjoyed the last couple of weeks away from the spotlight, allowing him to focus on the final stretch of races ahead.

"I spend quite a lot of time between the races analysing the data and keeping fit," added Hamilton.

"But the summer break gave me the opportunity to get away from that and focus on just recharging my batteries."

Not that preparations have been any different in the build-up to this race, although there was one incident of minor note that took place in Malaga earlier this week.

Leaving a hotel with his girlfriend, singer Nicole Scherzinger, and other friends, thieves stole a washbag belonging to one of the party from a waiting car.

Hamilton was not involved in a direct way and is simply focusing on the job ahead this weekend.

"We've done some preparation back at the McLaren Technology Centre ahead of this race," remarked Hamilton.

"But our main focus will still be the three free practice sessions ahead of qualifying.

"I'll be working closely with my engineers to make sure we start the weekend with a good baseline and work hard to strengthen it as we go through the weekend.

"I always enjoy visiting new tracks and I'm looking forward to getting into the cockpit on Friday morning - it looks like being an amazing track."

HAMILTON: CONSISTENCY THE KEY

HAMILTON SEEKS CONSISTENCY

CONSISTENCY KEY TO TITLE, SAYS MASSA

RAIKKONEN GEARING UP FOR TIGHT FINISH

Raikkonen - ready to roll.

Kimi Raikkonen is convinced this season's Formula One world title race will "go to the wire", just as it did last year.

World champion Raikkonen won his championship in dramatic circumstances last October in Brazil, pipping Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by a solitary point.

Ten months on, there is little to choose between McLaren ace Hamilton and Ferrari rivals Raikkonen and Felipe Massa - who are five and eight points adrift.

After a three-week holiday and heading into Sunday's European Grand Prix at the newly-constructed street circuit in Valencia, Raikkonen said: "The break is over, and it's time to start the final sprint of the season.

"The most challenging time is here - with every single race becoming more and more important, and every point more and more valuable.

"The less points there are, the more valuable they are. But again, this season has shown you should never give up.

"There have been some races where everything has gone badly, but for one reason or another I've got more points than my toughest competitors.

"You never know how it goes in F1, and at least my season now looks better after the last race in Hungary than it did before.

"We have not lost anything but we need to consistently get points, because I feel the championship will go to the wire - so maximising each point will be the deciding factor.

"With Ferrari and McLaren very close in performance, and with seven races remaining, any one of the first three drivers can still win the title.

"All I care about is having one more point than anyone else after the last race in Brazil, because my only target is the championship. Everything else is a minor detail."

The Valencia street track will at least serve as a leveller - because no driver has set a wheel upon it.

Raikkonen is confident he will quickly be able to find his feet, adding: "I've only seen in-car video footage, and it is very quick for a street circuit.

"Valencia is much quicker than Monaco, and there looks to be one or two places where overtaking looks possible.

"But I cannot remember a new track I have not learned very quickly, so track time will be important.

"A clean weekend with no problems will help. I need to get a good balance in the car over one lap, so will be working hard in that department.

"Obviously we need the best possible result, and the team has put a lot of effort into getting things right for the whole weekend."

But as Raikkonen knows, the best-laid plans can quickly be ruined in the blink of an eye - as in Canada earlier this season when Hamilton ran into the back of the Finn in the pit lane.

It is clearly an incident that still rankles with him.

"As in Canada, you probably need some luck in this race," he said.

"I just hope luck won't stab me in the back, like it did in Montreal.

"But you never know what can happen in a race, so it is useless to worry too much beforehand. We will just fight and go for it."

ALONSO GEARING UP FOR HOME RACE

HAMILTON ANTICIPATES TIGHT FINISH

KIMI LOOKS FOR FLYING START

Raikkonen - hoping for fast start.

After getting in all sorts of trouble in the latter part of the first half of the season, Kimi Raikkonen hopes things will run smoothly once racing returns at the European Grand Prix this weekend.

Although the Finn is second in the Drivers' Championship, he struggled in qualifying during several races in Europe while engine woes, an accident with main rival Lewis Hamilton in Canada and a broken exhaust pipe in France also didn't help his cause.

The World Champion believes his willingness to fight to the death is the main reason why he is just five points behind Hamilton in the Standings.

"Again this season shows that you should never give up," he told the official Ferrari website.

"There were some races, where things didn't go well, but for one reason or the other I was able to collect some precious points. My position after Hungary is better than before the race.

"We haven't lost anything, but we need to get better results, consistently. I think that the outcome of the Championship will be very tight, with Ferrari and McLaren very close together in terms of performance and three drivers in a position to win the Title.

"I need to have at least one point more than my competitors after the last race of the season: this is the sole aim, the rest is details."

Raikkonen hopes to make a big impression in Valencia on Friday and keep up the good form right through the weekend.

"We have to start well at Valencia, where it's more important than in other places to drive with continuity from Friday on," he added.

"I hope I'll have a trouble-free weekend to try to set up the car the best way possible, especially for the qualifying lap. The qualifying will be extremely important, although I think that there are some possibilities on the track to overtake.

"If it's hot that will help Ferrari. Like at Montreal you also need a bit of luck and I hope that it will not end for me as it did in Canada.

"We just have to fight until the end and try to win."

KIMI HAPPY DESPITE PROBLEMS

KIMI STARVED OF SUCCESS

REACTION: McLAREN, TOYOTA, FERRARI

GLOCK: WE MUST START AGAIN

Glock - building on success.

Timo Glock is hoping to build on his Hungarian podium when he heads to Valencia this weekend for the European GP.

Three weeks ago the Toyota driver clinched his first ever F1 podium at the Hungaroring and despite having the summer break in which to calm down admits he's still riding the wave of success.

"I'm still smiling after Hungary. That was an incredible result and a fantastic feeling; I hope it will be the first of many podiums in Formula 1," he said.

"The important thing was that we showed just how competitive we are at the moment and moved further ahead in fourth place in the Constructors' Championship.

"There is a great atmosphere in the team and we are all working hard together to move forward, which is why it was so satisfying to get on the podium in Hungary."

However, this coming weekend Glock will have to put his Hungarian result behind him and focus his attention on the European GP, which takes place at the new Valencia street circuit.

"Valencia is a new race and we must start again," he conceded.

"I did plenty of street races when I was racing in Champ Cars and in that season almost all the tracks were new to me so I have learnt to adapt quickly.

"It looks like an interesting circuit and it's quite long so it should be a good show.

"We will have plenty of work to do on Friday to adjust the car to the track but we are in good form at the moment so I am optimistic for this weekend."

GLOCK WILL RACE ON

BUTTON LOOKING FORWARD TO VALENCIA

GLOCK HOPES TIME HAS COME

ALONSO GEARING UP FOR HOME RACE

Alonso - preparing for Valencia.

Fernando Alonso is looking forward to an "interesting challenging" when the F1 circus stops in Valencia this weekend.

With the three-week summer break now a thing of the past, Alonso and his rivals are gearing up for the next race on the calendar, the European GP.

The event takes place at the new Valencia circuit, a street track where Alonso is looking for a good result given that it's the second of the two Spanish races.

"It will be interesting for me and also for the team, who have been working hard in preparation for this race for the last couple of months," he said.

"As a new circuit, I think it gives the drivers a chance to show what they can do, but I am not under any illusions as I expect all the drivers to be quick.

"We must do our best to find our reference points quicker than the others in order to spring a surprise.

"It's true that I like street circuits: they are always an interesting challenge and the sensation of speed from inside the cockpit is incredible.

"I will do my best to improve the set-up of the car with my engineers over the weekend so that we can aim for a strong result. Whatever happens, I will give my maximum for this second grand prix in Spain."

ALONSO: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

ALONSO REVEALS FRENCH FANCY

ALONSO HOPING, NOT EXPECTING

HAMILTON ROBBED IN SPAIN

Hamilton - thieves dropped the rucksack.

Lewis Hamilton was robbed outside a Spanish hotel this past weekend as he and girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger checked out.

The duo, who were in town while Scherzinger performed a concert in the city, left the five-star Malaga Palacio hotel on Sunday.

As they checked out, though, two men snatched a rucksack and a leather holdall containing an iPod from the boot of the couple's Mercedes, forcing their bodyguards to give chase.

However, an onlooker told The People that "the thieves dropped the rucksack but got away."

BADOER REIGNS IN SPAIN

MASSA: HAMILTON STILL THREAT

BUTTON LOOKING FORWARD TO VALENCIA

Button - excited.

Jenson Button is expecting the new Valencia circuit to slot in between the slowest of the slow and the fastest of the fast in terms of speed.

Valencia will make it's F1 debut next weekend when the teams head to the Spanish port for the European GP. And even though the drivers have yet to run on the track, Button reckons Honda's simulator should given an accurate feel for the track.

"My first thoughts are that it's a circuit that we haven't raced at before and it's got barriers all around it!" said the Brit.

"I think the whole of Formula One is very excited about going to Valencia. It's a beautiful city and it will be great to be racing around the streets there.

"We have a simulator at our UK base, as do most teams, and spending a lot of time on that has been vital in terms of learning the circuit.

"With a simulator, you're not getting the complete feeling of the car but you are gaining understanding of the distances and the braking points, so it's very useful."

As for the track's speed, the Honda driver says it should fall somewhere in the middle of the F1 spectrum, not as fast as the likes of Monza but not as slow as Monaco.

"We have some very fast circuits like Monza, Spa and Silverstone on the calendar and then the slower circuits like Monaco and Hungary, and we're expecting Valencia to be somewhere in the middle," he said.

"It's also got the added excitement of being surrounded by barriers which really focuses your mind and demands that you give full concentration around every single lap."

BARRICHELLO MAKES PLEA

ALONSO: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

BARRICHELLO MAKES PLEA

Barrichello - wants level playing field.

Rubens Barrichello is hoping for a more level playing field when the F1 circus makes its debut at the new Valencia circuit next weekend.

This year's European GP is taking place at one of F1's new venues, the Valencia circuit which runs through the streets of the port city.

"The challenge of learning a new circuit is always exciting, particularly when it is an unusual venue such as the new street circuit in Valencia," said Barrichello.

"Despite preparing as much as we can in advance of the race, our track walk with the engineers on Thursday and the practice sessions on Friday will be absolutely key to learning the track and assessing the grip levels."

The Brazilian is hoping the track will allow for a more level playing field as he aims to put his Honda in the points.

"A new track always opens up the field and gives an opportunity for the driver to make an impact as our feedback will be very important in achieving the correct set-up." he said.

"We have prepared well and I am looking forward to the weekend and the potential to score some points.

"We can expect the race weekend to be very hot which will add to the physical challenge for the drivers, car and team.

"I'm a big fan of Valencia as a city; it's a beautiful location, and hopefully the race will bring a lot of new fans to Formula One."

ECCLESTONE PLEA TO MOSLEY

BARRICHELLO FUTURE IN THE BALANCE

ALONSO: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

HAMILTON: CONSISTENCY THE KEY

Hamilton - consistency the key.

Lewis Hamilton says he needs a consistent run of points-scoring finishes in the latter part of the season if he wants to win this year's World title.

In the build-up to the Valencia GP, which takes place after the three-week summer break, Hamilton is sitting in the lead of the standings, five points ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and a further three in front of Felipe Massa.

And with a total of 70 points still to play for, the battle in on between McLaren and Ferrari to see just who can produce the more consistent results and walk away with this year's crown.

"Looking back at the season so far, it feels like a different Championship compared to last year: 2007 was very intense and consistency was incredibly important," Hamilton said.

"This year, everybody's results have been more varied and every driver who has won a race has also failed to score on at least two other occasions.

"That's made getting strong results even more important, but I think we'll see consistency becoming crucial as we head towards the end of the season."

The Brit, though, is refusing to make any predictions about the outcome of this year's Championship having already witnessed how easily a team can gain or lose the advantage.

"I'm wary of making predictions - the race in Hungary showed just how unpredictable Formula 1 can be, and that's one of the reasons why it's such a fascinating sport," he continued.

"Clearly, though, I am still in a good position to challenge for the World Championship and that remains my aim.

"We still feel confident about our chances - we know our rivals will be strong, but we've worked hard to improve the car and are confident we'll be competitive this weekend.

"The most important thing is to finish consistently in the points."

The first race where he needs to score is next weekend's European GP, which takes place at the Valencia circuit. And as the track is new to the F1 calendar, Hamilton concedes getting a good start in the practice sessions will be vital.

"Our main focus will still be the three free practice sessions ahead of qualifying," the 23-year-old said.

"I'll be working closely with my engineers to make sure we start the weekend with a good baseline and work hard to strengthen it as we go through the weekend.

"I enjoy visiting new racetracks and I'm looking forward to getting into the cockpit on Friday morning. It looks like being an amazing track."

CONSISTENCY KEY TO TITLE, SAYS MASSA

HAMILTON SEEKS CONSISTENCY

RED BULL TARGET FOURTH

Webber - told to aim for fourth.

The Red Bull team are gearing up for a final push in this year's campaign, bidding to finish fourth in the Constructors' Championship.

In the standings, currently being led by Toyota, Red Bull are locked in a five-way battle for fourth place with only seven races still to be run this season.

Toyota are in fourth with 35 points, following their podium finish in the Hungarian GP, 11 ahead of Red Bull in sixth.

Mark Webber says Red Bull are determined to take the fourth place with the position in the Constructors' Championship earning a team an estimated $20million.

"It is significant and it would be nice to get it," the Australian told Autosport.

"(Team boss) Dietrich Mateschitz is very keen on it and there's always pressure.

"We've been told what we've got to try to achieve, but I don't think he's going to sack 200 people if we finish fifth."

RED BULL EYE FOURTH

WEBBER WON’T RULE OUT RED BULL EXIT

LEWIS WARY OF FERRARI THREAT

Hamilton - wary of Ferrari threat.

Lewis Hamilton reckons Ferrari's fight back in the Hungarian GP should be seen as a warning to McLaren to up the ante.

Having dominated the British and German grands prix, Hamilton headed to the Hungaroring full of confidence and in the lead of the Drivers' Championship.

However, the McLaren driver was quickly brought down by Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who pulled off an aggressive overtaking move to take the lead of the race.

The Brazilian was on course for the victory, which would have handed him the lead in the Drivers' standings, before an engine failure three laps from the checkered flag put an end to his charge.

Massa's retirement proved to be Hamilton's blessing as it allowed the McLaren man to extend his lead in the Championship to five points ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.

But with seven races still to be run Hamilton says McLaren need to heed the warning issued by Ferrari in Hungary and up the pace if they hope to win this year's titles.

"In a way, the result in Hungary was a very important lesson for the team: it showed us in no uncertain terms that we cannot afford to be complacent and need to work hard throughout the summer break to make sure we can hit back strongly in Valencia," Hamilton told his website.

"You can never underestimate a team like Ferrari, and we know they'll be pushing just as hard as us to gain an advantage for the remainder of the year.

"Who knows, if we'd had an easier race in Hungary, maybe it would have come back and bitten us later in the season, so I feel confident that we won't be taking anything for granted.

"I know that everybody in Woking, Stuttgart and Brixworth will be working flat-out to make sure we can be strong in all the remaining races."

LEWIS WARY OF ‘STRONG’ FERRARI

DENNIS WARY OF FERRARI

MASSA WARY OF McLAREN

FORMER BOSS EXPLAINS FERRARI FOIBLES

Fiorio - former Ferrari chief.

Former Ferrari sporting director Cesare Fiorio claims the Scuderia's implosion has come about due to the fallibility of their drivers and their management's inability to implement sound strategies.

After a solid start to the season, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa have managed just three podiums and one victory in their last 12 combined starts.

That leaves the Ferrari duo five and eight points respectively adrift of an in-form Lewis Hamilton in the Championship standings.

And Fiorio, who Ferrari's chief from 1989 to 1991, reckons the Maranello-based team's season has been hampered by mistakes from the pitwall and in the cockpit.

He told Motorsport Aktuell: "I suspect the Ferrari is still the best car but it is being spoiled by errors from the command post and by the drivers."

And Fioro suggests that if the Italian marque must back one of their drivers if they want to stay in the title race.

He concluded: "Ferrari need to decide on who to put the money on - Massa or Raikkonen."

FERRARI CHIEF REJECTS ‘CRISIS’ TALK

RAIKKONEN TO SEE OUT FERRARI DEAL

DENNIS WARY OF FERRARI

MEXICO KEEN TO HOST GP IN 2010

Ecclestone - mulling over changes.

Mexico have ambitions of hosting a Formula 1 Grand Prix when the calendar is expanded in 2010.

Jose Abed, a vice-president with the FIA, claims Bernie Ecclestone is mulling over handing the North American nation an opportunity to host motorsport's biggest show.

Ecclestone is expected to include two extra races in the season after next with the likes of Russia, Egypt and Mexico all vying for a spot on the calendar.

"Those changes will be made by 2010 and, if it happens, Mexico will have to work hard to have a proper track," Abed told Sportsya.

"Even so, we must wait for Bernie Ecclestone's decision to include Mexico."

The 68-year-old administrator was a part of the group that ran the Mexican GP in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Back then the Mexico City's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez hosted the race, but three other cities are reportedly keen on taking the race.

They are Puebla, Cancun and Tijuana and Abed is aware that investment is required for a race in Mexico to become a reality.

"We are able to do it, because the authorities are willing to make the relevant investments and everyone has a chance," he said

We just have to afford it since a Formula One track is worth more than $50million," added Abed.

FRENCH GP SET TO STAY ON CALENDAR

AUSTRALIA TALKS CONTINUE

ROSBERG STAYS WITH WILLIAMS

Rosberg - staying with Williams.

Nico Rosberg has confirmed he will remain at Williams in 2009, however, his long-term future has yet to be decided.

Although Williams have often stated that Rosberg is not for sale, the German has been tipped to switch allegiance to either BMW or McLaren in the future.

That move, though, won't be happening at the end of this year as the 23-year-old has confirmed he is contracted to Williams for the 2009 season. However, he admits that campaign could be his last with the Grove outfit.

"The future is here. Well, next year. Then we'll see," Rosberg told GPWeek.

"I feel very comfortable at the team. Of course I feel good. I've been with the team a long time, I get on with everybody so it's very nice. Just the car isn't fast enough."

And a faster car is what Rosberg will need if he hopes to follow in his father Keke's footsteps by winning a Drivers' Championship title.

Asked whether he believed Williams could provide him with what he needs to win a title, the German said: "I don't really want to answer that at the moment.

"We have other things to worry about and we need to get back in the right direction."

Rosberg is currently 13th in the Drivers' Championship having bagged eight points, including a podium finish in the season-opening Australian GP.

ROSBERG STAYS UPBEAT

WILLIAMS REMAINS UPBEAT

ALONSO: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Alonso - Friday practice is vital.

Fernando Alonso concedes a solid performance in Friday's practice at Valencia is vital if he hopes to get a good result when F1 pays it's first visit to the Spanish port.

Valencia is the first of two new circuits that the F1 drivers will have to learn this season and given how new the venue is it means the teams have yet to put together a simulation of a lap of the track.

Alonso, though, has seen what it looks like thanks to a friend's in-car video as well as watching a recent Formula 3 race on TV. However, it won't be until Friday's first practice that the double World Champion will really get a feel for the circuit.

"We don't have any simulator with that kind of possibility (for learning a circuit)," he told SpeedTV.

"In my case it's only the videos, some pictures. I had a friend at that race (the recent F3 and GT meeting) who did one lap with a normal road car, with a video camera in the front, just to know the circuit."

This means it will be vital for himself and his rivals to put in as much mileage as possible during Friday's two one-and-a-half hour practice sessions.

"For sure until you run with an F1 car there it's not very useful, anything you do, because you will change completely your opinion and your feelings.

"We will need to maximise the Friday practice when we arrive there, because it will be the only way to improve.

"The circuit seems very, very well prepared. There's obviously some work to do before F1 arrives, but it's not like a normal street track.

"It's something more, it seems wide, it seems like an American type of street circuit.

"I think it will be a nice and interesting grand prix. Not only the race, but also the atmosphere will be quite different.

"For sure I'm looking forward to the grand prix."

David Coulthard is another driver eagerly awaiting the August 24th grand prix. "I've seen some in-car footage of the track and it looks very open for a street course - there's some run-off in some corners, it's quite flowing in places and it's mostly fairly wide," he told ITV.

"Aesthetically it looks more like an American-style street circuit than Monaco or Macau because of the use of concrete walls rather than Armco.

"But it's only really when you touch it, feel it and scratch it as you walk round on the Thursday and then drive it for the first time in Friday practice that you get a true idea of what a new circuit is like.

"Sony PlayStation doesn't really cut it; you have to get out there and lay some rubber down."

MASSA FASTEST IN PRACTICE

ALONSO GIVES RENAULT HOME BOOST

SILVERSTONE SELL-OUT

MALLYA SEES BRIGHT FUTURE

Mallya - sees bright future.

Vijay Mallya is confident Force India will proved to be a much improved team in their second season in Formula One next year.

This year's campaign has been Mallya first as team owner of the Force India outfit, formerly known as Spyker, and it although it has yielded some signs of improvement the team has still often found themselves at the back of the pack.

However, given the new technical regulations being introduced next season, Mallya is confident that his outfit will thrive when the playing field is leveled just that little bit.

"Force India have clearly demonstrated that we have caught up and improved. One realises how tough Formula One really is and it reinforces the challenge that I have before me for 2009 to be really competitive," he told the official F1 website.

"I'm not only catching up from last season, but from the last three seasons. And we have caught up, even though F1 has become so competitive, which is good.

"I am quite optimistic, however, that my experience so far has pointed us in the right direction. I now know precisely what I'm up against, so I can plan better.

"Maybe I learned the hard way, but it's good to learn. So 2009 will be much more competitive for the Force India team."

As for the team's 2009 line-up, Mallya hinted that he could retain both Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil despite neither scoring a single point so far this season.

"I have two good drivers. The experience of Giancarlo is invaluable and Adrian has lots of talent - I think he is improving race by race, becoming more consistent," he said.

"I am quite happy with them and, more importantly, they have a great attitude that will help me to face the challenges of tomorrow.

"I think they will be very satisfied driving the 2009 car, which I am sure will be a significant improvement and a big surprise."

MALLYA: FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH

SUTIL HEARTACHE SHARED BY MALLYA

HEIDFELD: WE WANT RACES

Heidfeld - wants more races.

Nick Heidfeld has called for the F1 schedule to be altered to include more grands prix and less testing.

While last year's championship saw the drivers compete in 17 races, this year they are racing in 18 thanks to the inclusion of two new events, Valencia and Singapore and the axing of the US Grand Prix.

Next year's campaign, though, is set to have a total of 19 races with India joining the F1 fraternity.

One driver who has welcomed the extended calendar is BMW's Heidfeld, who reckons F1 should be more about the races and less about the testing.

"I'm looking forward to having more races as is planned for the future," he told the team's website.

"Though I wouldn't mind missing one or two tests. Actually the tests have been reduced quite a lot over the last two or three years, but I hope we have more races because there is not one that I don't like."

He added: "I'm looking forward to going to India and the other interesting new places currently being discussed."

The 31-year-old also admitted that he would like to see the Indianapolis Motor Speedway return to the F1 calendar in the future.

"I think it's a pity because for me Formula 1, being a world championship, should race everywhere in the world. But I think there's a good chance we will go to the States in the future," he said.

HEIDFELD: KUBICA IS THE BENCHMARK

HEIDFELD RELAXED ABOUT THE FUTURE

WEBBER HAS KERS FEARS

Webber - worried over new system.

Mark Webber admits he's has serious concerns about the new KERS system following BMW's failure to establish why a mechanic was shocked.

During last months Jerez test a BMW mechanic was taken to hospital after he was shocked by a car fitted with the Kinetic Energy Recovery System.

It was the second incident involving the system in a month after Red Bull's factory had to be evacuated as the result of smoking pouring from a battery.

However, the BMW incident was by far the more serious and a huge concern to Webber as the team has failed to establish the cause of the shock.

"There is a report coming from BMW about what happened there, but the rumour is they haven't a clue why it happened. They have no idea - and that is a worry," Webber told Autosport.

"You only need to think about what would happen if someone gets shocked into the fast lane of the pit lane.

"It is like a plane crash when you don't get the evidence."

Force India tech boss Mike Gascoyne, though, has downplayed Webber's fears. "It's flavour of the month but the simple fact is teams will get on top of it," he said.

"If you look at the electronic systems, they are fairly standard technology which is why people are going for them rather than some of the more involved mechanical type systems that do pose a lot of problems.

"The fact is, we will get on top of them quickly. As soon as one person does, the nature of Formula One means everyone else has to. Things like the incident with BMW, I'm sure they are working to understand it, but I don't think that'll cause problems. It should be straightforward.

"Certainly the electronic KERS we're looking at is a fully sealed unit. All the high-tension cables are within a sealed unit. It's difficult to see how you can have a problem."

SHOCK FOR SAUBER MECHANIC

DC CONCERNS OVER KERS

HONDA HOPE TO BE EURO STARS

Brawn - expects improvement.

Honda believe the mid-season break will allow them to fine-tune upgrades to the RA108 for the European Grand Prix in Valencia.

Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello struggled to keep up with the chasing back for most part of the season, but they've improved in recent races after new aerodynamic developments and a revised suspension were fitted to their cars.

Team principal Ross Brawn hopes the team will continue to improve once they've done more testing during the break.

"When you are looking at the improvements we are talking about with the suspension, they are difficult to quantify," he said.

"If you get the dampers working a bit better you know it is better, but how much lap time or how much consistency does that really mean? It is difficult to quantify, so it will be interesting to see how it all works.

"This system has not been fully optimised because we haven't done enough rig testing on it. In the August break we have got some time on rigs to really scan it properly and tune it properly for Valencia."

While he believes they are making progress, Brawn admits they were limited with the final design of the new suspension.

"It is still a fairly heavy compromise in terms of what we have had to achieve within the constraints of the gearbox," he said.

"If that suspension philosophy was designed from scratch it would not be as heavy as it has turned out to be, as we have had to compromise.

"It does not achieve as much as it potentially could have done, because unfortunately we were limited by the existing gearbox and other constraints. But it is a step in the right direction - although there is a limit to what we can do with this car unfortunately."

BUTTON HAS GOOD MEMORIES OF BUDAPEST

MY CONSCIENCE IS CLEAR - FRY

RAIKKONEN BACKS YOUTH

RAIKKONEN'S WORRIED

Raikkonen - worried.

Kimi Raikkonen fears his championship chances could suffer unless he and Ferrari resolve his qualifying quandary.

Raikkonen has so far been outqualified by team-mate Felipe Massa 7-4, and in particular in the last two grands prix in Germany and Hungary has started a lowly sixth on the grid.

The Finn knows the situation has to change if he is to have any hope of overhauling Lewis Hamilton at the top of the championship standings and retaining his world title.

"We have the speed in the race, but if I can't get qualifying right we are going to end up at every race in the situation I've faced in the last two races," assessed Raikkonen.

"We need to sort it out and get back to the front so we can fight for the wins, otherwise we are just following people, and when you do that you can't use the speed.

"The car seems to be working well. We just need to find a good set- up again, to fix a few problems and then we can be back in the hunt for wins."

Despite his problems and the fact he has not won for seven races, the 28-year-old only trails Hamilton by five points.

Fortune was certainly on his side at the Hungaroring yesterday as his two main title rivals encountered trouble.

Hamilton suffered a puncture that resulted in him finishing fifth, whilst Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa was cruising to victory when his engine blew three laps from the finish.

Appreciating the luck, Raikkonen added: "It's been a bit difficult for me in the last few races, but we are still in the championship.

"Despite my problems, finishing third yesterday and scoring more points than the guys in front of me in the championship was not too bad a result. I will take it any way I can get it.

"We will see how we can sort things out for the next race and see if we can be stronger and fight for the victory.

"There are still many races to go, we're there in the championship, so I'm not too worried about things."

KIMI HAPPY DESPITE PROBLEMS

RAIKKONEN SHOWS APPROACH OF CHAMPION

ALONSO REMAINS DEFIANT

Alonso - looking for boost.

Fernando Alonso concedes he's going to need a "super performance" in the latter part of this year's Championship if he wants to prove he's still the best in F1.

Driving for Renault, Alonso has no chance of winning this year's Drivers' Championship title as the Anglo/French squad doesn't have a car capable of beating the McLarens and Ferraris.

However, the double World Champion believes he can still prove he's the best in F1 even without winning the title, although in order to do so he going to need to put in a performance that is better than the car.

"I'll keep fighting for a podium or even a victory this year because that will prove that I'm still here," Alonso told F1 Racing magazine.

"I want to prove to everybody that I'm still the best so I need a super performance to do that, which means a podium or a win.

"And I'll be trying to do it in the second part of the season."

And even though race wins haven't been forthcoming in the first part of this year's campaign, Alonso insists he's motivation hasn't waned compared to previous seasons when victories were the norm.

"There was a bit of frustration when I saw that I wouldn't win races or get on the podium," he admitted. "But it's still a challenge to beat our main opponents and thats the motivation to keep doing my best."

KOVALAINEN REMAINS DEFIANT

ALONSO REVEALS FRENCH FANCY

ALONSO VALUES RENAULT HAPPINESS

HEIKKI: DEAL WAS NEVER IN DOUBT

Kovalainen - new deal at McLaren.

Heikki Kovalainen insists he never once doubted McLaren would extend his contract despite failing to match Lewis Hamilton's results this season.

While Hamilton led McLaren's Championship charge from the start, Kovalainen struggled to match his team-mate's performances only finally getting his break-through maiden victory in Hungary last weekend.

The Finn's P1 came just 72 hours after McLaren put an end to rumours that Kovalainen could be dropped, handing him a one-year extension on his current deal.

But while some may have questioned Kovalainen's future at Woking, he says he never doubted that McLaren would keep him on.

"It doesn't change anything for me," he told Setanta Ireland. "I've always known the situation with my contract.

"There was obviously a lot of talk going around but I'm very happy with this team.

"When I began (with McLaren), the target was to extend this contract, and I'm very happy to stay here."

However, asked whether he had been happy during his year at Renault, which saw him publicly lambasted by his team boss Flavio Briatore on more than one occasion, Kovalainen refused to rise to the bait.

"I have no regrets with my previous team and I have nothing to say on that, it has all passed," he said.

"I learned a lot - we had good times, we had bad times - but at the moment I am very happy with McLaren. The atmosphere here is very good.

"Now we can just focus on racing and getting good results, we don't need to talk about contracts.

"The bottom line is that we are targeting a long-term relationship. We're both very happy with each other and the focus is now to get the results I think we deserve."

McLAREN FAITH IN HEIKKI

RAIKKONEN TO SEE OUT FERRARI DEAL

McLAREN CHIEF HAILS HEIKKI

MASSA: NO MORE EXCUSES

Massa - trying to put nightmare behind him.

Felipe Massa insists Ferrari have run out of excuses following the latest trauma to blight his season.

Massa has described the engine blow-out three laps from home in the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday when he was cruising to victory as "a nightmare".

Instead of leading the Formula One world title race, the Brazilian trails McLaren's Lewis Hamilton by eight points with seven grands prix remaining.

Massa, who has returned to Sao Paulo for the summer break to get over his abject disappointment, feels his team cannot afford to make any more mistakes.

"The team did some great work over the whole weekend in terms of strategy and eliminating the problems we had in England and Germany," he said.

"We've worked hard to make the car competitive again and this is a good thing for the upcoming races.

"But we've got to resolve the remaining problems. We have to be as competitive as at Budapest, but we need to improve our reliability.

"We can't repeat certain mistakes. We don't have any more excuses."

Massa, 27, explained: "I have tried to forget the race in Budapest, but that's quite difficult.

"I don't want to forget it because in a certain way it was one of the best races I have ever had in Formula One, but it didn't end as the others, with a win.

"It was a shame because I really think me and the team deserved the success. We had a perfect race at a very important moment of the championship.

"Unfortunately we couldn't bring home the 10 points we had in our hands, which was really frustrating, but these things sometimes happen in motor sports. In the end it was not my day.

"When the engine failed I had a strange feeling. It was like a nightmare and I wanted to wake up.

"It was an incredible disappointment. This sport can be really cruel.

"But looking at the standings at least I can stay calm because not even Lewis won, however we can't throw away points like that.

"We lost 10, but the positive aspect is we've demonstrated we're strong.

‘CRUEL’ BLOW FOR MASSA

CONSISTENCY KEY TO TITLE, SAYS MASSA

MASSA PLAYS DOWN LEAD

HEIDFELD: KUBICA IS THE BENCHMARK

Nick Heidfeld - staying positive.

Nick Heidfeld is refusing to let team-mate Robert Kubica's superiority year get to him, rather stating it's a good benchmark against which to judge himself.

Eleven races into this year's Championship Kubica has the advantage over his more experienced team-mate, having out-scored Heidfeld by 49 points to 41.

However, it's in qualifying where the Pole has really had the advantage with Heidfeld only once finishing ahead of him on a Saturday afternoon.

Heidfeld, though, isn't too fazed by this, conceding that although he's had his problems in qualifying he has still stayed within reach of his team-mate during grands prix.

"At certain times this season I had my problems when it came to getting the maximum out of the car," Heidfeld told the team's website.

"But it is beneficial having the data and knowing that Robert gets on very well with it. It is also good seeing that in the races my performances have quite often been similar to Robert's.

"I would call him a good benchmark, at the moment."

HEIDFELD: NO TEAM ORDERS AT BMW

HEIDFELD HOPES FOR BETTER

HEIDFELD RELAXED ABOUT THE FUTURE

WILLIAMS REMAINS UPBEAT

Rosberg - confident of revival.

Nico Rosberg is confident his Williams team will soon be back on the pace as they close in on solving their recent performance issues.

After a strong start to the campaign that saw Rosberg bag a podium finish in the season-opening Australian GP, Williams continued to score points with six top-eight finishes in the opening six races.

However, after Monaco the Grove team's results began to plummet.

Qualifying quickly became an issue with both Rosberg and team-mate Kazuki Nakajima battling to make it through to Q1 and on occasions even failing to get past the first segment.

As for grands prix, the Williams duo quickly found themselves lapping at the back of the midfield field, which has ultimately seen Williams dropped down the order to seventh in the Constructors' Championship.

Rosberg, though, is confident the team can fight back in the latter stage of this year's campaign, reckoning that Williams are on the verge of solving their problems.

"We've got the bottom of one of the problems, yes," the German told Autosport.

"We have an explanation for it, especially when you consider that in the winter we were level with Red Bull and Toyota, and it's just gone down.

"But we know where one of the main areas is and actually I have learned something in Hungary, which was just a small step in another direction, to give us an idea if it's the right thing. I ran it in qualifying and it's quite positive."

He added: "The problem is in F1 it takes time. You have to design it, then you have to produce it, test it, put it on the car. We won't see it in the immediate future - it's going to take a few weeks."

ROSBERG STAYS UPBEAT

WILLIAMS BACKS RUSSIAN F1 HOPES

McLAREN: DENNIS IS STAYING

Dennis - reported to be leaving.

McLaren have denied reports that Ron Dennis could step down as team principal at the end of this season.

According to a report in Auto Motor Und Sport, Dennis will retire at the end of the season should the team succeed in their goal of winning the Drivers' Championship title.

McLaren, though, have refuted the report, saying Dennis has no plans to quit.

"Recent articles suggesting that Ron is considering stepping back, or that he will step back if the World Championship is won by McLaren this year, have been based around a very old quote," a McLaren team spokesman told Autosport.

"Ron has made it clear on numerous occasions that he has made no decision as to if and when he may or may not step aside. Ron's, and the team's, focus remains on winning every grand prix we start - and that applies to this season, next season, the season after that, and so on.

"As a result, we are maintaining development of our 2009 car, at undiminished levels, while continually improving our 2008 car, race by race, test by test, in the normal way."

DENNIS WARY OF FERRARI

NOVAK APOLOGISES FOR McLAREN SLUR

DENNIS SHRUGS OFF TACTICAL SLIP

GLOCK ESCAPE A SIGN OF THE TIMES

Glock - miraculous escape.

From a hospital bed to a maiden podium in two weeks, the story is one which Timo Glock will be able to recount until his final breath.

The fact Glock walked away from the mangled wreckage of his Toyota at the German Grand Prix underlines the immeasurable improvement with regard to safety in recent years.

It was an accident that certainly appeared frightening at the time as Glock hurtled backwards into a concrete wall following a rear suspension failure on his car as he emerged out of the final turn.

The force of the impact knocked the air out of his lungs, and when he eventually clambered out of the cockpit of a battered monocoque that had come to rest on the opposing side of the Hockenheim track, he did so nursing only his back.

The shunt was certainly less horrific than the one involving Robert Kubica at the Canadian Grand Prix last year.

On that occasion the Pole sustained nothing more than concussion when many thought, as they witnessed his BMW Sauber shatter into pieces after he too hurtled head long into concrete, he had been seriously injured, or worse.

With Glock, it was again one of those which had it had taken place over a decade or so ago there would more than likely have been a significantly different outcome.

Not that it would have claimed Glock's life, but without doubt he would not have been spraying champagne following a surprise second-placed finish in Sunday's subsequent grand prix in Hungary.

Before the race Glock had laughed off his smash, with the 26-year-old insisting it appeared worse than it felt, which was lucky for him to say.

Mercifully for Glock he should be thankful he is driving in an era when not only Formula One, but other motor sport series, benefit from an array of life-saving aids.

The deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna during the same weekend of the ill-fated 1994 San Marino Grand Prix were a turning point for the sport.

It is undeniably a shame such a tragic loss of life forced the hand of world governing body the FIA, but sadly there are times when it takes a traumatic event to shake the old system to its roots and so bring about change.

The monocoque - the protective shell that encases a driver when he sits in his race seat - have been strengthened to such a phenomenal degree they are almost bullet proof.

The HANS (head and neck safety) device was brought into F1 in 2001 after years of pioneering research by Robert Hubbard, a professor of biomechanical engineering at Michigan State University in Ohio.

The system, which is secured to the helmet, prevents the head from whipping around throughout an accident and causing a basilar skull fracture, an injury that caused Ratzenberger's death.

Without question, the device also came to Glock's aid in Germany.

While it is hard to quantify what might have transpired without it, it at least guaranteed a happier story unfolded in Hungary, one he will never forget.

************

No matter where you travel around the world you always have to be on your guard.

Take the example of team mechanic - who perhaps not surprisingly wished to remain nameless - who was returning to his hotel in Budapest in a taxi last week. Nothing wrong with that you may think.

However, after passing his hotel, and despite plaintive cries to 'stop', the taxi driver proceeded to drive on and park down a quiet street.

That was where the mechanic was greeted by two thugs who marched him to a cash machine and ordered him to withdraw 100,000 forints (Ј340).

Just goes to show, even such an unassuming event can result in the most dire of consequences.

************

When asked where he was heading on holiday for the current F1 summer break, McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen replied it would be to the place of his birth in Finland.

"In my family I make the decisions where I go. I don't know what my girlfriend will do, but it is my holiday," remarked Kovalainen.

A smiling Fernando Alonso was quick to point out to Kovalainen that give it two years and it would be his girlfriend calling the shots.

Bearing in mind the issues that plagued Alonso during a torrid time at McLaren last season, Kovalainen jokingly hit back with "this is a team order in my team".

Ouch! As put downs go, Alonso must have winced inside at that one.

GLOCK WILL RACE ON

HAMILTON ON POLE AS McLAREN DOMINATE

GLOCK HOPES TIME HAS COME

LEWIS WARY OF 'STRONG' FERRARI

Hamilton - leads the way.

Lewis Hamilton is delighted with his position in the drivers' championship but is well aware Ferrari remain a serious threat to his title hopes.

Having been destroyed by Hamilton in the wet in Britain and Germany, Ferrari fought back in Hungary last weekend where Felipe Massa pulled off the overtaking move of the race to take the lead off the McLaren driver.

And had it not been for his engine failure three laps before the end of the 70-lap race, Massa would have clinched not only the victory but also the lead in the standings.

But as it stands Hamilton's fifth-placed finish, despite a puncture, extended his lead in the championship by one point over Kimi Raikkonen, bringing the gap to five, while Massa languishes eight points off the pace.

However, the Brit concedes he could have a tough challenge holding onto the lead as the Ferraris have rebounded from their earlier disappointing pace.

"They were strong," Hamilton told Autosport. "If we had been out in front then it perhaps would have been a little bit different.

"But Hungary showed they had some really strong pace, which we already knew they had. It's just you guys (the media) seem to think there's a huge difference."

He added: "I think I drove well. I didn't make any mistakes. I just had a puncture. I brought the car home as safe as possible and scored as many points as I could, so there's not much more you can ask for.

"It's just unfortunate I was the one to get a puncture, and it was a case of 'oh no, not again.' I had it three times last year, or whatever it was, and that's what really lost me the Championship.

"It can be very, very costly, but Kimi didn't win, and it actually helps Heikki (Kovalainen) won and (Timo) Glock was second. They are taking points off everyone else, so I'm quite happy.

"My lead is bigger now and you would never have thought that with all that has gone on this year."

DENNIS WARY OF FERRARI

MIXED EMOTIONS FOR HAMILTON

HAMILTON WARY OF KUBICA

HAMILTON LEARNS VALUABLE LESSON

Hamilton - extended lead by a point.

Lewis Hamilton feels McLaren were handed a sharp reminder on Sunday that there is no room for complacency in Formula One.

Hamilton went into the Hungarian Grand Prix as hot favourite to win his third successive race after dominating practice and qualifying.

But the 23-year-old was surprisingly left lagging behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa during a race in which a punctured tyre saw him trail home fifth.

Hamilton, though, still managed to extend his championship lead by a point to five due to Massa's Ferrari engine agonisingly blowing three laps from home.

But Ferrari's sudden resurgence in form on race day hit home for Hamilton, who said: "In a way, the result in Hungary was a very important lesson for the team.

"It showed us in no uncertain terms we cannot afford to be complacent and need to work hard throughout the summer break to make sure we can hit back strongly in Valencia.

"You can never under-estimate a team like Ferrari, and we know they'll be pushing just as hard as us to gain an advantage for the remainder of the year.

"Who knows, if we'd had an easier race in Hungary, maybe it would have come back and bitten us later in the season, so I feel confident we won't be taking anything for granted.

"I know everybody will be working flat out to make sure we can be strong in all the remaining races."

Hamilton is currently recuperating from a demanding start to the season before taking on a rigorous training regime to ensure he is fit for the title push over the final seven races.

The first of those sees Valencia make its F1 debut on August 24 as a circuit has been designed around the Spanish city's port area.

Hamilton feels the venue could become one of the highlights of the season.

"I've had a look at some onboard footage of the track and will be working with the team over the break to prepare for the event," added Hamilton.

"From the footage, the track looks amazing. I love street circuits, but this one looks extremely fast and unforgiving in some places.

"As a driver, it's always fun to go to a new circuit. I really enjoy driving at new places and feel confident I can pick up new circuits quickly.

"It looks like being an amazing event."

HAMILTON LEARNS HARSH LESSON

HAMILTON LEARNS FROM ROAD RAGE

HAMILTON LEARNS FROM FINNS

THEISSEN VOWS TO ERASE PROBLEMS

Mario Theissen - looking for solution.

BMW Sauber boss Mario Theissen has vowed to get to the bottom of his team's 'disappearing act' at Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Theissen departed Budapest at a loss to comprehend why the cars so badly under-performed at the Hungaroring, relegating BMW Sauber to third in the constructors' championship.

Although title-contender Robert Kubica qualified fourth, the Pole collected the team's sole point in Hungary as he finished a lowly eighth.

After being hampered in qualifying and starting from 15th, Nick Heidfeld at least managed to claw his way up to 10th.

But in the space of two short months, BMW Sauber have slipped from race winners to also rans, allowing Ferrari and McLaren to resume their customary scrap for the titles.

A worried Theissen said: "Our performance on Friday was reasonable, the performance on Saturday in qualifying was good to very good, but our performance in the race was completely different.

"It looked like we weren't there, that the race went on without us.

"At no point did Robert or Nick come close to the lap times they did in qualifying, and I have to admit I don't know the reason yet.

"What we certainly will look into is the equation of car, set-up, tyres and track conditions.

"If you look at Robert's qualifying time he should have been able to fight at the front, but in reality, in certain phases of the race, he was the slowest car on the track.

"What happened in the race was completely unexpected."

Dismissing suggestions the Hungaroring is not a BMW track, Theissen told formula1.com: "In the last two years we've been on the podium.

"So there must be another explanation behind this disappointing performance. We were not just slow, we were also inconsistent.

"Like at Ferrari, we also witnessed one car was doing much better than the other. There was something out there we did not understand."

Although BMW Sauber are 21 points adrift of constructors' leaders Ferrari and 10 behind McLaren, Theissen is not about to give up on a season that appears to be fading fast.

"Based on the performance and points yield of the Budapest weekend, you'd say we could not regain second place," Theissen added.

"But naturally we will not twiddle our thumbs, as we still have developments in the pipeline - aerodynamic as well as mechanical.

"We will definitely not stop the development of this year's car because of one unsatisfactory result."

THEISSEN: WE’LL KEEP PUSHING

THEISSEN BEAMS AT ‘FANTASTIC’ RESULT

PARTY’S OVER AT BMW

BERGER DOWNPLAYS SENNA REPORTS

Senna - linked with Toro Rosso.

Gerhard Berger has once again downplayed reports that Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Ayrton, is on his way to Toro Rosso next season.

That had been suggestions Senna, who is competing in this year's GP2 series, is being courted by Toro Rosso as a replacement for Sebastian Vettel, who is on his way to Red Bull next season.

However Berger has downplayed the reports, saying that although he was a good friend of Ayrton Senna, he will not let his personal relationship with his nephew affect the decisions about his team.

"I run a team in partnership with Red Bull, and shouldn't mix personal things with business," Berger told The Guardian.

"But if Bruno is clearly the best candidate, then we'll discuss it anyway. If he's GP2 champion, it doesn't matter what his name is."

Senna, though, is refusing to let talk of a future in F1 distract him from his goal of winning this year's GP2 title. He is currently second in the championship.

"It's good if people in F1 are starting to talk about me," the Brazilian said. "But I have unfinished business in GP2.

"I think an F1 race seat would be more valuable to me than a back-up role next year, because I still have a lot to learn and you can't replicate all of that in testing."

ULTIMATE LINE UP TORO MOVE

BERGER BACKS MOSLEY

HAMILTON TO GET FIGHTING FIT

Hamilton - focusing on training.

Lewis Hamilton will push himself physically through Formula One's summer break to ensure he has the stamina for the title fight.

After 11 races of the season, the sport now enjoys a short sojourn before the F1 circus pitches up in Valencia for the European Grand Prix in three weeks' time.

For the drivers, it is a chance to rest up, clear their minds and recharge the batteries as they are free from testing or sponsorship commitments.

Hamilton will initially take a couple of days off, but then it will be a case of focusing on his training regime as he is determined to remain the self-styled fittest driver in F1.

"I'll have some time to recover from this race and the first half of the season," said the McLaren star who currently holds a five-point lead after Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.

"We've no commitments outside of the racing world, so we can just focus on our training, our fitness to make sure we are ready for the second half of the season.

"There's still a long way to go, so I'm going to make sure I work very hard and that physically I am well prepared.

"I want to make sure we keep up with the performance we have."

It was a point emphasised by team boss Ron Dennis who said: "Lewis is very fit anyway.

"But he has definitely set himself up for a more intense training programme for the next three weeks."

Dennis acknowledges Hamilton would perhaps prefer no break at all, which will be the case for next year's calendar.

He added: "When a driver is doing well all he wants to do is get in the car and race.

"That's understandable, but he'd be the first to recognise this break is absolutely essential for the team, mechanics and all the people who travel.

"They don't get the right amount of time with their families, and this gives them an opportunity to have at least one week where they are not at the office or workshops.

"It's a key ingredient of keeping people motivated and happy when you are addressing the calendar, which makes next year's difficult for them.

"We will have to accommodate that by rotating people. They will not be expected to go right through the season.

"Lewis will have his wish next year - he'll be racing every other week at least."

Hamilton was denied at least second place, and potentially a third successive race victory given Felipe Massa's engine blow out on his Ferrari three laps from home, by a puncture on lap 41.

The 23-year-old eventually finished fifth, but with Massa's demise he managed to marginally extend his title lead, with Kimi Raikkonen now his closest challenger.

The chequered flag was instead taken for the first time by Heikki Kovalainen, the Finn becoming F1's 100th winner.

Although fortuitous as Kovalainen was clearly third best behind Hamilton and Massa, it capped a superb week after confirmation on Thursday he is to remain with the team for next season.

"Heikki is going to benefit from knowing he has a secure position next year," added Dennis.

"It was the right time to tell him, to show him we have belief in his abilities because clearly he is super quick, no question about that."

Kovalainen has undoubtedly had his fair share of rotten luck this year, however Dennis feels he could arguably do with catching up with Hamilton in the fitness stakes.

"He is still not quite where we want him to be," said Dennis.

"But we knew it would take time because that was the assessment Aki Hintsa (Head of Human Performance) made at the start of the season

"But when he gets into full physical condition then he's going to be an outstanding driver."

Dennis certainly believes in Kovalainen, whose win came in his 28th career race, compared to McLaren's former double world champion Mika Hakkinen who had to wait until his 95th to break his duck.

"Heikki has a long way to go in his career," added Dennis.

"We believe he's only going to improve, whilst like Lewis he is a tremendous team player, and that gets the absolute best out of our team."

HAMILTON COMES OUT FIGHTING

DENNIS SHRUGS OFF TACTICAL SLIP

ALONSO: I'M BETTER OFF AT RENAULT

Alonso - happy where he is.

Fernando Alonso insists he is better off fighting for mid-table points with Renault than being a peripheral figure at McLaren.

Alonso returned to the French squad who helped him to two World Championships after an acrimonious year at the Woking-based team.

The Spaniard was demoted to the number two driver at McLaren at the expense of then rookie Lewis Hamilton.

In an interview with Cadena Ser radio Alonso said he preferred to be fourth with Renault than being down the pecking order at the British squad.

"Yeah, yeah. I don't think I would have been second with McLaren," he said.

"I'm (saying that) based on the last few races of the past season, when I was finishing fourth and fifth.

"And that's not what I expected. This year I'm still finishing fourth and fifth but with a team who really want me to achieve that result."

The 27-year-old also believes he had to leave McLaren as he wouldn't have been able to fight for the Drivers' Championship with them.

"Yes, I'm convinced, yes," he added. "Because of the situation I lived towards the end of the season. I saw there was no way to get a good result, to get things on the right track.

"I didn't have the atmosphere that I like to be able to work. And I know it would have been difficult to fight (for the World Championship)."

Whilst he is happy to be driving for Renault, the Spaniard believes they will find struggle to close the gap on top teams next season.

"Honestly I think it's difficult, because although there are going to be completely new rules... Next year there could be changes, but I've never seen a car that's fighting at the back one year then sweep the field the next.

"It's always step by step. So it's hard to close the gap, whether it's the aerodynamics, the engine, or the tyres. Whatever our problems are, we'd have to work very hard to close that gap."

ALONSO’S RENAULT FUTURE STILL UNCERTAIN

ALONSO VALUES RENAULT HAPPINESS

ALONSO GIVES RENAULT HOME BOOST

DENNIS WARY OF FERRARI

Ron Dennis - pleased with the lead.

While he wasn't that impressed by Ferrari during the Hungary Grand Prix, McLaren team boss Ron Dennis insists it will be close battle between the two teams for the world title.

Ferrari were on course for victory at the Hungaroring when Felipe Massa's engine blew up three laps before the finish while his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen eventually settled for third behind McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen and Toyota's Timo Glock.

Dennis admits he wasn't that impressed with the Scuderia in Hungary despite Massa's pace early on.

He said: "I don't think they were particularly (good). Massa had a good race but Kimi wasn't particularly strong.

"Really the outcome of the first corner was that people could see Massa in the lead and who was in second place. But we switched into fuel strategy mode, to make sure that we stopped second to him in order that we could do a long second stint and overtake him at the final stop.

"The slightly flat spotted tyre and the puncture put paid to that strategy but I think that Lewis had the pace to win."

Dennis, though, is refusing to get too carried away as he believes Ferrari are capable of striking back at any time.

"Confidence is a weakness, you've just got to take every race as it is. I don't think there's any doubt that we're in for a very competitive world championship and it's going to be a close race between ourselves and Ferrari.

"I'm very pleased with how our own developments have helped to get us ahead of Ferrari though."

MASSA WARY OF McLAREN

HAMILTON WARY OF KUBICA

HAMILTON ON POLE AS McLAREN DOMINATE

Kovalainen and Hamilton celebrate.

An on-fire Lewis Hamilton led a McLaren one-two in qualifying for the first time this year ahead of tomorrow's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Hamilton dominated the session at the Hungaroring, clinching his fourth pole position of the season and 10th of his career after a lap of one minute 20.899 seconds.

The 23-year-old is joined on the front row by McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, the Finn matching the best performance of his career.

On the hottest day of the European season so far, with temperatures hitting 31 degrees centigrade, Hamilton was undoubtedly the coolest customer.

Of the previous nine times he has started from pole, Hamilton has won six races, and he is now on course to become the first Briton to clinch a hat-trick of successive wins since Damon Hill at the start of the 1996 season.

Of the last 10 races at this circuit, the man on pole has won six times, with Hamilton claiming one of those on his debut here last year.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa could only manage third, whilst BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica finally found a degree of qualifying form again, with the pole starting from fourth.

Toyota's Timo Glock, who just two weeks ago was involved in a horror smash in the German Grand Prix, starts a career-high fifth in his Toyota.

An out-of-sorts Kimi Raikkonen starts sixth in his Ferrari, with Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet seventh and 10th for Renault, sandwiching Red Bull's Mark Webber and Jarno Trulli for Toyota.

Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel missed out on the top 10 by a mere 0.013secs so will start 11th - a respectable position given he missed most of practice yesterday with a hydraulic problem.

Jenson Button conjured his best qualifying performance for five races, on a track where he won two years ago, and is 12th on the grid in his Honda.

Fellow Briton David Coulthard is 13th for Red Bull, followed by Sebastien Bourdais in his Toro Rosso and Williams' Nico Rosberg who failed to post a time in Q2 due to his own hydraulics issue.

Nick Heidfeld will start from a season-low 16th just at a time when he was starting to think he had conquered his qualifying problems.

However, the BMW Sauber driver appeared to be baulked in the dying moments of his final hot lap in Q1 which could result in a protest from his team.

For the third time in four races Kazuki Nakajima failed to make it into Q2 in his Williams and will start 17th.

As for Honda's Rubens Barrichello, who started the year with a run of seven grands prix qualifying for Q2, it is now four consecutive races he has failed to escape from Q1 as the Brazilian is 18th.

The Force India duo of Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil are again at the back of the grid, with the veteran edging his young German team-mate into the final position.

A happy Hamilton said: "It's about time Heikki and I started one and two, so I'm very pleased.

"The car was great, but you can never be too comfortable, although I feel safe in the position I'm in.

"We're both on great strategies for the race to push for the win, and I aim to do that.

"It would be great to have a one-two in the race. The team deserve it, and I feel Heikki and I do too. We've been working hard for it."

Kovalainen, who on Thursday was confirmed as a McLaren driver for next year, said: "The car has been feeling strong the last few races.

"We have been improving the package more and more, which is a great effort from the team, and tomorrow should be quite an interesting race."

In contrast to Hamilton, a grumpy looking Massa remarked: "I was not happy with any of my laps in Q3.

"I just couldn't do a great lap as I managed in Q1 and Q2, but we are still pretty strong. We are there and I feel I can push these guys (Hamilton and Kovalainen)."

LEWIS: THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS

RAIKKONEN CLAIMS FRENCH POLE

KOVALAINEN CELEBRATES VICTORY

Kovalainen - ready to party.

Heikki Kovalainen could end up with a considerable hangover if he accepts Kimi Raikkonen's offer of a night out to celebrate his first Formula One grand prix victory.

Just three days after being handed a new contract with McLaren for the 2009 season, Kovalainen underlined his potential with a lucky, but deserved success in Hungary, becoming the 100th F1 winner.

However, given Raikkonen's renowned love of vodka and reputation for partying, Kovalainen may yet regret asking his fellow Finn for a suggestion on how to mark his maiden success.

"I will take him out!" replied Raikkonen with a grin.

Kovalainen, though, would appear to prefer a quieter celebration as he said: "I haven't been to my real home in north Finland for a long time, so I think I will go there at the end of the week.

"I will celebrate the day with my people in Suomussalmi village where I'm from.

"I've a little karting race organised on Saturday which has become a tradition for the last five or six years, but now it will be a very special event having won this race.

"It will be nice to go and see my people there, my family, but then it will be back to business, although I will even try to get something out of the break."

Formula One may head into its summer holiday, but Kovalainen knows behind the scenes there will be no let up as all at McLaren will be determined to build on three successive wins.

"I'll spend a bit of time in Woking talking to the engineers and preparing for the next race [European Grand Prix, Valencia]," added Kovalainen.

"This win doesn't turn my world completely upside down, even if there was a two-month break now.

"I'm happy about it, but this is just part of the goal I set myself because now the next goal is to repeat this, and then after that to do it again.

"We just need to keep up our concentration all the time."

Fortune played a part, but then after the rotten luck Kovalainen has endured on occasions this season, the 26-year-old was overdue a rub of the green.

Running third behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa and team-mate Lewis Hamilton, the latter first suffered a sidewall puncture to the left-front tyre of his McLaren on lap 41.

Then just three laps from home, Ferrari suffered an engine failure for the first time since the Japanese Grand Prix of 2006, denying Massa the win.

A respectful Kovalainen added: "Of course I feel a little sorry for Felipe, and even for Lewis, because they both drove a great race.

"But I know how they feel because I've had similar moments myself this year, quite a few times

"After Saturday I've been in a position to fight for the victory, but something has always gone wrong, something hasn't functioned perfectly.

"So to stand on the top step of the podium and to hear the Finnish anthem playing for me was fantastic. It was a great moment.

"It is something I have been targeting for many, many years now."

Timo Glock took a surprise second in his Toyota ahead of Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso in his Renault, with Hamilton fifth.

The 23-year-old now has a five-point lead over Raikkonen and eight on Massa, with Robert Kubica 23 points down after he could only manage a lowly eighth in his BMW Sauber.

MASSA FINDS PASSPORT TO VICTORY

McLAREN CHIEF HAILS HEIKKI

REACTION: McLAREN, TOYOTA, FERRARI

Kovalainen - victory in Hungary.

Heikki Kovalainen, Timo Glock and Kimi Raikkonen all made it onto the podium in Hungary in a surprising looking top-three.

McLaren
Heikki Kovalainen: There have been races this year where I've been in a position to challenge for victory but had something go wrong for me. Halfway through this race, things started working for me and I started pushing Felipe hard - and it worked. I feel sorry for Felipe because he drove a great race, but my car felt good and I knew I could push for the victory. This is a great moment for me, something I've been targeting for many years. Hopefully, this victory will be the first of many."

Lewis Hamilton: Congratulations to Heikki for his first and very well deserved grand prix win. The race could have been better for me. My start was okay, but Felipe's was better and he managed to overtake me. I managed to maintain the gap during the first stint and felt comfortable in the second stint because I was matching his times but was going to be running longer to the final stops. I feel I could have had a go at passing him, but the damaged tyre halted my progress. I don't yet know what happened. But at least I scored four points and maintained my lead in the Championship, so this result is not too bad for me."

Toyota
Timo Glock: What an incredible feeling. I couldn't believe it when I saw Felipe's engine go and I was P2. To get such a good result in my first year is fantastic so a huge thank you to all the team, including the engineers, mechanics and everyone at the factory. I knew from qualifying that we had good speed and we've looked strong all weekend. Today I made a good start and gained a place into the first corner. I had a really good car and everything went perfectly until the last stint on the soft tyres. I was struggling a lot and soon I had Kimi behind me. But I knew from last year here in GP2, when I was stuck in the midfield in a really good car, how hard it is to pass here. So when I saw him in the mirrors I knew I couldn't afford any mistakes. This result more than makes up for Hockenheim and now we must keep picking up regular points until the end of the season."

Jarno Trulli: This is a very good result for us and to pick up ten points is great for the constructors' championship. I'm glad for Timo because he has had a very good weekend and fully deserves this result. This could have been better for me too, despite my problems in qualifying. I was quick today but I couldn't push because I only had one lap that was clear of traffic in the whole afternoon. I gained one position early on but overtaking is practically impossible here. Around the second stops I was also stuck behind Lewis, holding me up further. Still, I'm delighted that we are showing such strong form and I just hope we can carry on in good shape and with such good results."

Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen: Still to be released

Felipe Massa: Still to be released

KUBICA IN NEED OF SPEED

REACTION: TOYOTA AND HONDA

REACTION: FERRARI, RENAULT, TOYOTA, WILLIAMS

KOVALAINEN CLAIMS DRAMATIC WIN

Kovalainen celebrates victory.

Heikki Kovalainen became the 100th winner in Formula One history with the first victory of his career to cap a surprising Hungarian Grand Prix.

The triumph was totally unexpected as Felipe Massa was on course to comfortably take the chequered flag, only for the engine in his Ferrari to blow just three laps from the finish.

The bitter blow for Massa means Lewis Hamilton now has a five-point lead in the title race from reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen as the young Briton could only finish fifth due to another tyre problem.

When Kovalainen crossed the line, team boss Ron Dennis told him over the radio: "Welcome to the world of winning. The first of many. Well done."

In hindsight it should have been a straightforward afternoon for Hamilton as he came into the race enjoying undoubted domination of his sport.

Successive wins in Britain and Germany had propelled him into a four-point lead - and he appeared on course to become the first British driver since Damon Hill in 1996 to make it a hat-trick.

In practice, Hamilton had blitzed the field, and then in qualifying he was head and shoulders above the rest.

Starting from the 10th pole position of his career, and with Kovalainen alongside him on the front row, the McLaren duo should have repeated such a one-two in the race.

Even one of the Bridgestone chiefs had mentioned Hamilton was far more balanced on his tyres these days than Ferrari, and that was part of the reason as to his recent success.

But Formula One always throws up the unexpected, and at a tight, twisty Hungaroring where overtaking is virtually impossible, the sport conjured more surprise moments.

Once the five red lights disappeared, Massa initially blazed past the first McLaren of Kovalainen before reeling in Hamilton.

Around the outside of turn one, Massa made his manoeuvre stick, even though his British rival attempted to push him wide.

Following Hamilton's brilliant move on Massa in Germany, that must have tasted like sweet revenge for the Brazilian.

Perhaps even more remarkably, there was virtually no response from Hamilton as Massa eked out a tenth of a second here, a tenth there and by the first round of pit stops the advantage was 3.5secs.

Even on fresh rubber Hamilton failed to make any impression on a Ferrari that had notably struggled at Hockenheim a fortnight ago.

Again Massa eased away, slowly but surely, and by lap 40 the lead had grown to 40 seconds, and then came the second surprise.

Those Bridgestone tyres that had apparently been working so well for Hamilton suddenly failed him, in particular the front left.

Hamilton lost pressure, forcing him to brake heavily into turn two, and from that point it resulted in a slow tour back into the pits, occasionally running wide as he struggled to corner.

It is not the first time Hamilton has had problems with his tyres, and he has become renowned for being hard on his rubber.

In this instance the issue did not appear to be of his own making, which is likely to result in an investigation from Bridgestone.

Inevitably, Hamilton lost valuable time on his in-lap, with his only saving grave the fact his stop occurred naturally in the second window.

However, once the dust had settled on the second round of stops, Hamilton had dropped to sixth, and he must have thought that with it would go his lead of the world championship.

But then came Massa's engine blow-out, robbing him of 10 points and with it the lead of this current remarkable season.

In another sensation, Toyota's Timo Glock took second just two weeks after his horror shunt at Hockenheim, with Raikkonen third and Renault's Fernando Alonso fourth, followed by Hamilton.

The remaining points-scoring positions were taken up by Nelson Piquet in his Renault, Toyota's Jarno Trulli and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, whose own title challenge continues to falter.

Given the conditions, the fact there was little overtaking of note was of no great surprise, although there were pit stop incidents.

Sebastien Bourdais, Kazuki Nakajima and Rubens Barrichello for Toro Rosso, Williams and Honda respectively, all endured re-fuelling flash fires.

These days a pit crew member is on hand with an extinguisher, and for Bourdais - who twice encountered the problem - and Barrichello, their cars were quickly sprayed with foam.

But with the fuel rigs supplied by the FIA, the teams are likely to demand answers from the sport's governing body.

HEIKKI HAS SYMPATHY FOR MASSA

KOVALAINEN CELEBRATES VICTORY

KOVALAINEN EDGES OUT MASSA

FERRARI DETERMINED TO HIT BACK

Domenicali - promised revival.

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali has promised "grit and determination" from his team as they look to eradicate the issues blighting their season.

A month ago Ferrari endured a wretched weekend at a wet Silverstone as Felipe Massa spun five times, whilst Kimi Raikkonen suffered at the hands of a woeful tyre choice by the team.

In Germany a fortnight later, it was a lack of pace that appeared to undermine the performance of the Prancing Horse, who were blown away by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

Although practice and qualifying in Hungary failed to suggest they had cured their ills, Massa turned the form guide on its head with a stunning start before comfortably controlling the race.

But then three laps from home Massa was robbed of victory with an engine blow-out, the team's first since the Japanese Grand Prix of 2006.

Although Hamilton suffered a puncture, he still finished fifth to increase his title-race lead to five points over Raikkonen - who came home third - and eight to Massa.

Ferrari also have McLaren hot on their heels in the constructors' championship as the gap has been cut to 11 points.

"We showed the worth of our team and drivers, but we lacked the total reliability which is absolutely vital," assessed Domenicali.

"Felipe drove possibly the best race of his career and we are very disappointed at what happened to him just a handful of kilometres from the end.

"He made an amazing start, attacking at the right moment and then he was comfortably managing his race in the final stages, heading for a well-deserved victory.

"We now have to react to this negative moment in our usual way - with grit, determination and with everyone playing their part.

"We have three weeks of hard work ahead of us to be as prepared as possible for the European Grand Prix."

Massa, as you would expect, was naturally dejected as he said: "It was a near-perfect race, one of my best - but it's one of the most frustrating races in my career.

"As you saw, everything was perfect - then you know what happened, and it did so without warning, without the slightest indication.

"Unfortunately, racing can be a cruel sport, but these things can happen.

"Now we must not give up, but instead react quickly because there are seven races to go and 70 points up for grabs, which means there is plenty of time to make up ground.

"Our rivals are strong, but we have shown we are at their level."

For Hamilton, the 23-year-old suffered mixed emotions at the end, suffering his own frustration with his latest tyre problem, but aware Massa's misfortune had played into his hands.

"It was not as bad as it could have been, and not as good either," said Hamilton.

"I think I drove well. I didn't make any mistakes, it's just that I had a puncture.

"When I was then told about what happened to Massa, I didn't think much of it other than it was an extra place for me, which is good.

"My lead is bigger now, and you would never have thought that with all that has gone on this year."

MASSA DETERMINED TO MOVE ON

FERRARI CHIEF REJECTS ‘CRISIS’ TALK

'CRUEL' BLOW FOR MASSA

Massa - cruel ending for Massa.

Felipe Massa was left to reflect on the occasional cruelty of motor-racing after being robbed of victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Following a superb start when the Brazilian left the all-McLaren front row of Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen trailing, Massa then cruised around the Hungaroring for 67 laps.

The Brazilian's pace was surprising given Ferrari's poor performance in Germany a fortnight ago and Hamilton's recent domination.

But then just three laps and eight miles from home, the engine on Massa's car blew down the home straight - the first failure of its kind on one of the Prancing Horse cars for almost two years.

With it went 10 points and the potential lead of the championship, much to Massa's obvious bitter disappointment.

"It was a near-perfect race, one of my best - but it's one of the most frustrating races in my career," said a dejected Massa.

"My race was focused on the start because it was the only place we could have passed them (McLaren) to give us the opportunity to win.

"That's why I took a lot of risk, but it worked, and then we showed very good pace afterwards.

"When Lewis had a problem I knew straightaway and reduced the RPM on the engine to save everything I could for the end of the race.

"I was 23 seconds ahead of Heikki. I knew what I had to do.

"I was not in trouble, the tyres were not in trouble, I was just saving the car for the end of the race, but maybe it was not enough.

"As you saw, everything was perfect - then you know what happened, and it did so without warning, without the slightest indication.

"Unfortunately, racing can be a cruel sport."

Massa now trails Hamilton by eight points as the Briton was fifth due to a puncture sustained on lap 41, while he is three points behind team-mate Kimi Raikkonen who came home third.

With seven races remaining, Massa knows a topsy-turvy season to date is likely to throw up many more twists and turns.

"We gave it our all, but these things can happen," added Massa.

"Now we must not give up, but instead we must react quickly.

"There are seven races to go and 70 points up for grabs, which means there is plenty of time to make up ground.

"Our rivals are strong, but we have shown we are at their level."

FERRARI DETERMINED TO HIT BACK

HILL FANCIES KIMI’S TITLE CHANCES

HILL FANCIES KIMI'S TITLE CHANCES

Hill - backing Raikkonen.

Damon Hill is ready to back Kimi Raikkonen to repeat his Formula One world title triumph.

Hill would have put good money on Lewis Hamilton to realise his dream of championship glory this season ahead of a Hungarian Grand Prix won by his McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.

Although Hamilton managed to marginally stretch his lead to five points, with seven races remaining it is Ferrari star Raikkonen who now gets the nod from retired former champion Hill.

The Finn has remarkably not won for seven races, yet somehow still finds himself within touching distance of Hamilton as no driver is able to take a stranglehold on the campaign.

Hill said: "Last season was remarkable and it is the same for this season.

"It is just so tight, with good drivers in both teams - Ferrari and McLaren.

"Right now they are all in with a shout, which is very good for the sport because you don't want it to become predictable and you don't want number one drivers in a team.

"But at this stage you just cannot call where the title is going to go. It could be any one of four.

"I wouldn't even discount Heikki, even though he knows he has pace to find on Lewis.

"But he will be boosted by winning a grand prix, so the ingredients are there, with all four looking more like seasoned drivers which is helping.

"If you had asked me before the race, though, who I would put money on, I would have said Lewis, but I have to say I would want my bet back.

"I'd be saying, 'Wait a moment, that Ferrari looks strong', so as an outside bet, I'd put my money on Raikkonen."

The race should have brought Hamilton a third successive victory, becoming the first Briton to do so since Hill in his title-winning year of 1996.

But Hamilton was blown away by Felipe Massa at the start before a sidewall puncture on lap 41 at the Hungaroring ultimately resulted in him finishing fifth.

"It is so much more competitive than when I was driving in my championship year with Williams," assessed Hill.

"You really do have a much more difficult task to win three grands prix on the trot than you did back then."

Hill also had a word of sympathy for Massa who had driven the race of his life according to Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali, only for his engine to blow three laps from home when cruising to victory.

"He made a great start, it was a great move - it was a Senna-esque overtaking manoeuvre," extolled Hill.

"But then he had such bad luck, and it can be quite difficult to pick yourself up from that.

"There is a huge gulf from something that is there on paper and what is real.

"To get within three laps, having a commanding lead, and then to have the engine blow like that after having driven such a great race is quite cruel."

HILL HOPEFUL FOR HAMILTON HOME WIN

RAIKKONEN SEARCHING FOR RIGHT SET-UP

REACTION: HONDA, WILLIAMS, FINDIA, STR

Barrichello - didn't enjoy the race.

There were no points in Hungary for either Honda, Williams, Force India or Toro Rosso with the latter failing to even see the finish line.

Honda
Jenson Button: "Looking at the weekend as a whole, we have made good progress and can take a lot away from here. Unfortunately the race was frustrating. I made it tough for myself with a poor start, which dropped me down to P14 after the first couple of corners. I got boxed in at Turn 1 and had a lot of wheelspin out of the corner, which allowed a few people to get past on the outside. I was able to get past Rubens on lap three, which was fun, but after that I quickly came up to the back of Heidfeld. He was very strong on the last two corners so I had no chance to overtake on the track and he was on a one-stop strategy. However in clean air, our pace was good, so this weekend is a definite step forward and I am reasonably happy with the outcome."

Rubens Barrichello: "After a good start where I made up four positions on the opening lap, unfortunately it wasn't a very exciting race for me. We decided to start with used front and new rear tyres which proved to be a problem as the car was out of balance for the first stint. Then at my first pitstop we were unlucky to have the problem with the rig which resulted in a small fire and a long delay whilst we got fuel into the car using the second rig. After that, my race was effectively over as the number of blue flags made it impossible to make progress. We decided to drop the revs on the engine and do some testing with the tyres as we had overheating problems over the weekend and it was good to collect some data on this. For me the actual race was one to forget really."

Williams
Kazuki Nakajima: "Obviously it was a very difficult race for us. We converted my strategy to a one stopper, which was the right thing to do, so thanks to the team for that. After that though, I was running heavy and struggling on the option tyres so had to fight for pace. I then made contact with Fisichella and lost a position. Fortunately, I was able to regain it when he had to make his final stop. That was all we could do today so we need to look into what happened and try to improve for the next race."

Nico Rosberg: "My first lap wasn't great. I was in the wrong place and lost a few positions. Then, during my first pit-stop, something went wrong with the fuel rig which cost me a couple of decisive seconds and put me behind Fisichella. My strategy was over then. In terms of the heat I didn't have a problem with it; we've definitely had worse races this year."

Force India
Giancarlo Fisichella: It was a tough race as we were fighting quite a lot. We were quite heavy at the beginning of the race but the pace really wasn't too bad and I could keep up with the others in front of me. In fact the two Williams were only two laps heavier than me when I was just behind them, but I was keeping the same pace. Even at the end of the race in the last few laps I could do a 1min 22.6, which is a good lap time. In terms of strategy we did well, that was the maximum we could get from this race, we just need a step forward for the next few races."

Adrian Sutil: My start was normal, I was on the outside going into turn one but then I had to go a little bit wide and dropped back a place. Then the problems started on the third lap when my brakes started to overheat, particularly the rear ones, and I had to move my brake balance forward. From that point on I had problems, with lots of locking on the front and understeer and it was difficult to handle the car. Considering this, my race pace was not bad in the first stint, but then in the second stint I was held up by the group in front when I was quite light and lost some time there. In the final stint I had a puncture on the front right under braking and then the brakes gave up and my race was over. Overall, I am disappointed because we've worked hard for the whole weekend and then after three laps we have a problem so I couldn't show the performance I wanted to."

Toro Rosso
Sebastien Bourdais: There have been two sides to this weekend: it got off to a good start and then I had some problems in qualifying. The race also started quite well, as I had a good pace. Then it all went to hell at the first pit stop, as the guys had to use the fire extinguisher and I got a lot of foam on my visor. It happened again at the second stop and this time I had foam inside and outside my visor and couldn't see a thing so had to make another stop to get it cleaned. By this stage, we had lost so much time, there was nothing else to do and I preferred to make the extra stop as the lack of visibility was dangerous."

Sebastian Vettel: I didn't have a very good pit stop and that caused the engine to overheat and that messed up some parts and I had no choice but to retire. It's a shame as I had a good pace from the car this afternoon. I made a mistake in running wide at the last corner on the first lap and lost a lot of places. I was stuck behind Barrichello and it was impossible to overtake. This hasn't been a good weekend and that goes back to Friday when I suffered reliability problems and then came the disappointment this afternoon."

REACTION: TOYOTA AND HONDA

REACTION: RENAULT, RED BULL AND WILLIAMS

HEIKKI HAS SYMPATHY FOR MASSA

Kovalainen - delighted with triumph.

Heikki Kovalainen celebrated the first grand prix victory of his career with the profound words from McLaren team boss Ron Dennis who proclaimed: "Welcome to the world of winning!"

For a driver who has often endured wretched luck this season, the phrase 'what goes around comes around' could not be more apt come the end of a surprising race in Hungary.

Kovalainen may be Formula One's 100th winner in its history, but it came about more by luck than by design.

In sweltering heat at the Hungaroring, Kovalainen's team-mate Lewis Hamilton suffered more tyre trouble and was propelled down the field when running second.

And then, three laps from home, a Ferrari engine blew for the first time in almost two years, robbing Felipe Massa of victory.

For once this year Kovalainen benefited from another's misfortune, and although he did not crow about it, it clearly meant a great deal.

"Of course I feel a little sorry for Felipe, and even for Lewis, because they both drove a great race," said a respectful Kovalainen after the 28th race of his F1 career.

"But I know how they feel because I've had similar moments myself this year, quite a few times.

"After Saturday I've been in a position to fight for the victory, but something has always gone wrong, something hasn't functioned perfectly.

"Today, Massa and Lewis were both very fast at the beginning of the race, but halfway through I felt it was starting to work for me a little better.

"At the end I just tried to pressure Massa and hope something would happen, and obviously it looked like he had a mechanical failure.

"So it all worked fine for me and I am very, very happy about it.

"To stand on the top step of the podium and to hear the Finnish anthem playing for me was fantastic. It was a great moment.

"It is something I have been targeting for many, many years now since I started to get an idea about the possibility of becoming a Formula One driver.

"I have spent a lot of time trying to achieve this goal, so to do so is very pleasing.

"Hopefully this is the first of many. We just need to keep focused, have a little break and then try to repeat this at the next round."

Hamilton had dominated practice, and the expectation was he would become the first driver since Damon Hill in 1996 to win three consecutive races following his victories in Britain and Germany.

But he was beaten away from the line by Massa who executed a superb move around the outside of the Briton into turn one to leap from third to first.

From that moment Massa was comfortable, even more so when Hamilton sustained what was understood to be a sidewall puncture to his left front tyre on lap 41 which was under investigation by Bridgestone.

Once the second round of pit stops had passed, Hamilton was running sixth and on course to lose his world championship lead to Massa.

But then came the unexpected on lap 67 as Massa's Ferrari engine gave way down the start-finish straight, handing Kovalainen his win and helping Hamilton extend his title-race lead to five points.

"We did a perfect job, and then the engine just gave way," said a dejected Massa, who now trails Hamilton by eight points.

"It was a very strange feeling in the car, the engine breaking in such a very big way.

"Unfortunately this is part of our sport. We need to look forward and to the next race."

On Hamilton's part, there was a mixture of disappointment and relief with regard to how his race ebbed and flowed.

"It was not as bad as it could have been, and not as good either," reflected Hamilton.

"It's just unfortunate I was the one to get a puncture, and it was a case of 'Oh no, not again'.

"But my lead is bigger now and you would never have thought that with all that has gone on this year."

A fortnight after his horror shunt in Germany, Toyota's Timo Glock claimed his maiden podium with second place, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.

Reigning world champion Raikkonen, who had started from sixth, finished third and is now five points behind Hamilton who also had Renault's Fernando Alonso ahead of him in fourth.

The remaining points-scoring positions were taken up by Nelson Piquet in his Renault, Toyota's Jarno Trulli and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, whose own title challenge continues to falter.

In the constructors' championship, Ferrari's lead was cut to 11 points over McLaren who have leapfrogged BMW Sauber into second.

MIXED EMOTIONS FOR HAMILTON

MASSA FINDS PASSPORT TO VICTORY

MASSA: HAMILTON STILL THREAT

REACTION: RENAULT, BMW, RED BULL

Alonso - Renault moving in the right direction.

There were top ten finishes in Hungary for Renault, BMW and Red Bull although the latter narrowly missed out on the points.

Renault
Fernando Alonso: We fought hard today and we were on the pace with a car that was working well, which is encouraging for the rest of the championship. We scored some important points which is satisfying, even though we could have maybe been on the podium. We must now continue working hard, but today's result shows that we are moving in the right direction."

Nelson Piquet Jr: I am happy with my result this weekend. I scored some valuable points which is promising for the rest of the season. I made a good start, but unfortunately I made a small mistake on the first lap, which meant that I lost the two positions that I had made up. It shows that at this level you cannot afford to make the smallest error. I am continuing to learn and I am determined to continue building on this progress when we go to Valencia at the end of the month."

BMW
Robert Kubica: This was a difficult race. We were very slow and I was struggling with the overall grip of the car. I had massive oversteer and could not really push. I was trying hard to keep the car on the track. Anyway, one point is better than nothing."

Nick Heidfeld: My start wasn't perfect but okay. As I had hoped, I was able to overtake three cars on the first lap. But later it became more difficult than expected to race with the heavy car. We went for a one stop strategy, so my car was almost full of fuel at the start and I also had to take care of the tyres. I couldn't match the pace of the cars in front of me. Now we have to analyse today's lack of race pace. Normally this is one of our strengths!"

Red Bull
Mark Webber: "We weren't quick enough. We didn't do a good enough job in qualifying yesterday, which hurt us in the race. We struggled to find pace - and it was hard to stay with the Toyotas and Renaults, who we're fighting in the Championship. Let's hope it's this track though and that we can bounce back in Valencia."

David Coulthard: "Unfortunately I got some traffic before my last stop, which allowed Nick (Heidfeld) to pass me; otherwise I couldn't do anymore today. The car has a lot of oversteer and rear sliding. Now we'll just focus on the next race and see that we can do there."

REACTION: RENAULT, RED BULL AND WILLIAMS

REACTION: FORCE INDIA and RENAULT

COULTHARD DELIGHTED TO BE BACK IN POINTS

MIXED EMOTIONS FOR HAMILTON

Hamilton - could only finish fifth in Hungary.

Lewis Hamilton experienced a mixture of emotions in the wake of a rollercoaster ride of a Hungarian Grand Prix.

It was a race Hamilton began with a four-point lead in the drivers' standings, and after dominating practice and qualifying he appeared poised to extend that considerably.

But at the start Hamilton was superbly out-manoeuvred by Ferrari's Felipe Massa into turn one at the Hungaroring and as the Brazilian then controlled the race, his lead was set to be cut to two points.

On lap 41, the 23-year-old was staring at the prospect of trailing Massa by three points when he sustained a sidewall puncture to the left-front tyre, dropping him from second to sixth.

But then, just three laps from home, there was one final twist when the engine on Massa's Ferrari blew, robbing him of a victory that instead went to Heikki Kovalainen.

In the end, Hamilton's championship lead was improved to five points with seven races remaining.

"It was not as bad as it could have been, and not as good either," said Hamilton after a strange turn of events.

"I think I drove well. I didn't make any mistakes, it's just that I had a puncture.

"I brought the car home as safe as possible, scored as many points as I could, so there's not much more you can ask for.

"It's just unfortunate I was the one to get a puncture, and it was a case of 'Oh no, not again'.

"I had it three times last year, or whatever, and that's what lost me the championship.

"It can be very, very costly, but the fact Kimi didn't win, Heikki did and (Timo) Glock was second means I'm quite happy because they have taken points off everyone else.

"Above all it's been a great day for Heikki. I know what it feels like to get your first grand prix win. It's a very special day for him."

Of great surprise to many observers was Massa's power off the line in contrast to the lack of it Ferrari suffered with a fortnight ago at the German Grand Prix.

Hamilton was far from caught unawares, but vowed there will be no repeat this season of what unfolded at turn one.

"I had one of my best ever starts, but Felipe had an even better one," Hamilton explained.

"I covered my ground on the inside. He locked up and then turned, so I thought we were going to touch, so I slowed down even more.

"He pulled it off, and I lost a place - and it won't happen again.

"Ferrari were strong, although if we had been out in front then it perhaps would have been a little different.

"But they showed some really strong pace, which we knew they had. It's just you guys (the media) seem to think there is a huge difference.

"When I was then told about what happened to Massa, I didn't think much of it other than it was an extra place for me, which is good.

"My lead is bigger now, and you would never have thought that with all that has gone on this year."

LEWIS - BY FAR MY BEST WIN

HAMILTON HITS MONTE CARLO JACKPOT

KUBICA MAINTAINS TITLE AMBITIONS

Kubica (left) trails Hamilton by 10 points at present.

Robert Kubica is refusing to throw in the towel on his Formula One world-title dream.

Since Kubica's victory at the Canadian Grand Prix which saw him take over the lead at the top of the drivers' standings, the BMW Sauber star has struggled.

A fifth place in France was followed by the Pole sliding off into the gravel and out of a wet British Grand Prix before an off-the-pace display in Germany 11 days ago.

It means he trails leader Lewis Hamilton by 10 points, with his challenge seemingly fading fast after BMW Sauber failed to match McLaren in particular in terms of development.

But a defiant Kubica said: "While there is a mathematical chance to win you have to try to give your maximum because things can change quickly.

"After the first race in Australia, Hamilton had 10 points and I had zero, but then after seven races I was leading so you cannot give up."

Kubica, who made his debut in the Hungarian Grand Prix two years ago, believes he can still fight with McLaren and Ferrari.

"After the first four or five races of the season the gap was stable, and we are still more or less there," assessed Kubica.

"In Hockenheim, Hamilton and (Felipe) Massa were much quicker, but as for the rest, like Kimi (Raikkonen) and Heikki (Kovalainen), we had a very similar race.

"I've just been unlucky in the last two grands prix, especially at Hockenheim because until the safety car came out I was doing well, running in fourth.

"But then the safety car changed things completely, with some cars behind jumping to the front, so I'm hoping for better luck this weekend."

One of the problems for Kubica is that team-mate Nick Heidfeld has suddenly cut out his qualifying errors and is now posing more of a threat.

The German has closed the gap to Kubica to seven points, yet the 23 -year-old said: "I'm not surprised.

"It's not a help or hindrance he is scoring points. There is no difference. It doesn't haven't an influence on my driving.

"It's better for the team, but then all the teams are trying to put their drivers in the best position."

Kubica is likely to have the support of up to 40,000 Polish fans on Sunday, which he hopes will prove an asset.

"Hungary is kind of my home grand prix because it is the closest to Poland," added Kubica.

"In previous years I've had big support from them, so I'm looking forward to a good race, good atmosphere and good weather."

KUBICA COOL ON CHANCES

FANTASTIC RESULT FOR US - KUBICA

McLAREN SEEK MORE FROM KOVALAINEN

Kovalainen - full of potential.

Martin Whitmarsh has revealed McLaren are still working with Heikki Kovalainen "to extract his full potential".

Kovalainen has endured his fair share of problems this season but has still been in a position to improve on a record that has seen him finish on the podium just once from the 10 grands prix so far.

McLaren F1 CEO Whitmarsh is adamant Kovalainen, who is currently 30 points behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' standings, is "a brilliant young racing driver".

But Whitmarsh knows there is more to come from the Finn, with the team doing all they can to help him fulfil his rich promise.

"His pass of Robert Kubica at Hockenheim [at the German Grand Prix] reminded anybody who needed reminding that he has all the speed and skill to be battling at the front," said Whitmarsh.

"But there's no magic in Formula One and we still need to work with Heikki to extract his full potential.

"At Hockenheim he didn't get the best out of himself or the package and we need to work on how we fine-tune the car's set-up and how Heikki is involved in that process.

"He was at the McLaren Technology Centre last week to carry out his pre-race programme.

"He is working hard with his engineers to find a set-up that allows him to maintain his speed throughout a race without suffering from some of the rear-end nervousness he has encountered recently."

The tight, twisty nature of the Hungaroring circuit will hardly do Kovalainen any favours if he has recently been struggling with the rear of his car.

But Whitmarsh is convinced the team will again be strong as they look to maintain their form which has resulted in Hamilton winning the last two races in Britain and Germany.

"The two circuits on the calendar that resemble the characteristics of the Hungaroring are Montreal and Monte Carlo," added Whitmarsh.

"The reality is that we were reasonably competitive at both those circuits.

"While it has been true to say one of the key strengths of our car is its pace in high-speed corners, we've done a lot of work to the package to strengthen its weak spots.

"At Silverstone we were comfortable with our pace through the last sector, and at Hockenheim, we were comfortably quickest through the stadium section of the track, which is tight and reliant on good mechanical grip.

"We won in Hungary last season and travel to Budapest confident that we have strengthened the weaknesses of our package.

"Nonetheless, we are fully prepared for a battle with our rivals, whom we can never under-estimate."

WHITMARSH LOOKS TO HELP HEIKKI GROW

McLAREN CHIEF HAILS HEIKKI

ALONSO VALUES RENAULT HAPPINESS

Alonso - taken a swipe at McLaren.

Fernando Alonso has taken a swipe at former employers McLaren and clearly still harbours a degree of bitterness towards the team.

Alonso feels if he had remained at McLaren his life would have been a miserable one, fearing he would be driving with little support and playing second fiddle to Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso and McLaren went their separate ways at the end of last season, a move instigated by what unfolded at the Hungarian Grand Prix a year ago.

On that occasion, the Spaniard effectively held McLaren boss Ron Dennis to ransom by demanding number one status over Hamilton or he would reveal all relating to the spy scandal.

It signalled Alonso's eventual downfall and a return to Renault, the team that made him a two-time world champion in 2005 and 2006.

The move has not exactly gone to plan as Alonso has struggled in an uncompetitive car, taking only 13 points from 10 races and yet to appear on the podium.

But a year on from arguably the worst weekend of his career, Alonso remarked: "I'm much happier this year for sure.

"Last year I had a possibility to fight for the championship again, and it was okay.

"I knew this year it would not be possible any more, but if I was racing for McLaren at this moment maybe I would be in the position I am now - without the possibility to win.

"At least I am happy to be with Renault, with the full support of the team and knowing everybody is working night and day to give me the best car possible."

When pointedly asked whether he had patched up his differences with Dennis, Alonso shied away from a definitive answer.

"Everyone makes his choices and he was very clear on his philosophy and way to run the team and to compete like that," added Alonso.

"As a professional I'm not like that and we chose different ways.

"It's all okay with everybody. You just need to make choices. He made that choice, and I made mine."

Alonso, who turned 27 on Tuesday, may be happier within himself now he is no longer with McLaren, but he concedes to frustration behind the wheel of his Renault.

"There is a little bit of that when you do a perfect race, but you finish sixth or seventh and there is nothing more you can do," added Alonso.

"It is not what I have been used to for the last three or four years when I have been on pole and on the podium.

"But it is part of the job, the sport is like that. You go up and down. Every year is a new challenge with new difficulties.

"Now it is difficult. We need to recover a little bit of confidence and build a winning team again.

"We are in that phase, but I am not worried. I am just 27 years old and I still have many years to come.

"Even Michael Schumacher, the guy with more titles (seven), spent four years at Ferrari not winning.

"So I need to be patient, and I need to work harder than ever now to win again as soon as possible."

It means Alonso is currently fighting over the scraps, with Renault in a three-way battle with Toyota and Red Bull for fourth place in the constructors' championship.

"The goal for the rest of the season is very clear - to try to be fourth," confirmed Alonso.

"Now we are sixth, but only two points from Toyota and one from Red Bull.

"The last race in Germany when we scored eight points (from Nelson Piquet) was a big step for us in terms of confidence and motivation to keep pushing.

"It didn't change too much within the team, but now we are closer to our goal."

Alonso might talk a good game, but there is no escaping the fact his future is unclear, primarily because he refuses to nail his colours to the mast.

When asked again, he replied: "I have a contract with Renault for the long term.

"But at the end of every season you need to look at what the possibilities are.

"Now is not the time to think about it, but in September, October I will have a think and we will decide."

ALONSO WORRIED BY LACK OF POINTS

ALONSO REVEALS FRENCH FANCY

ALONSO OUT TO SPRING A SURPRISE

LEWIS: THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS

Hamilton celebrates taking pole.

Lewis Hamilton sent out a chilling warning to his Formula One title rivals on Saturday by revealing: "Right now I'm at my best."

An on-fire Hamilton clinched the 10th pole of his career to lead a McLaren one-two in qualifying for the first time this season ahead of Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.

There appears to be no stopping Hamilton at present following his back-to-back victories in the British and German races in the last few weeks.

And given the statistics, it is hard to imagine anything other than the 23-year-old becoming the first British driver since Damon Hill in 1996 to make it a hat-trick of successive wins.

Hamilton has won six of the nine races he has previously started on pole, while at a tight Hungaroring track where it is hard to pass, six of the last 10 races have been won from top spot on the grid.

Following what has been a dominant weekend so far, Hamilton is now odds-on to increase the four-point lead he holds over Felipe Massa at the top of the championship. The Ferrari driver will start from third on Sunday.

"Every time I get in the car I learn something new and I feel more and more comfortable and more at home," remarked Hamilton

"I can definitely say that right now I'm at my best, and this is as comfortable as I have ever been, knowing where the car is and with things going on in my life.

"I feel pretty much on top of things, but I have no doubts I have room to improve, and I will carry on doing that."

It was all so different six weeks ago when Hamilton departed Magny-Cours in France after failing to score a point for the second race in succession for the first time in his career.

But even then he felt McLaren were on the cusp, admitting he is far from stunned at the turnaround in form and fortune that has since evolved

"I had a couple of dodgy races, but we still had great speed, both in Montreal and Magny-Cours," added Hamilton

"So it's no surprise, and there have been no miracles. It's just that we worked very hard to take steps forward.

"Over the past month we've done a great job in improving the car, and I'm very proud of the team for that.

"I feel great in the car, there's a good atmosphere and harmony in the team, and now we've qualified one-two.

"It puts us in a great position to challenge for the win, but I've no doubts it will be a tough race tomorrow."

The one-two is actually McLaren's first since last season's Italian Grand Prix in September, with Hamilton naturally hoping he and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen replicate that on Sunday.

"It's a great day to have me and Heikki one two. It's about time we did that for the team, and I'm very, very happy," added Hamilton.

"But you can never be too comfortable, although I feel safe given the position we're in.

"We both have very good strategies to push on and try for the win, and we couldn't be in a better position to do that.

"I'll just make sure my preparations are right, and hopefully we'll have a strong race.

"It would be great to have a one-two for the team. They deserve it, and as Heikki and I have both been pushing very hard, we deserve it."

In terms of extending his championship lead, Hamilton has the ideal buffer in Kovalainen, although the Finn has other ideas as he has his sights set on a maiden win.

"I will attack tomorrow as much as I can at the start and we will see how it works out," insisted Kovalainen.

"Ideally I can push Lewis and keep Felipe behind me. I will fight with Lewis, try to pass him, and of course he will try to defend.

"But we will respect each other because at the end of the day we are employed by the team, and we will try to do our best for the team.

"Like you saw at Silverstone we do race, but we also know where the limit is, and that's like it is for all the guys at the top of the Formula One.

"You can push people hard and race hard, and there's nothing wrong with that."

BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, currently 10 points behind Hamilton, rediscovered his qualifying form and will start fourth, ahead of a career best fifth from Toyota's Timo Glock.

Reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen continues to struggle and will start from sixth, with Jenson Button and David Coulthard 12th and 13th for Honda and Red Bull.

HAMILTON: I NAILED IT

HAMILTON CONFIDENT OVER TITLE CHANCES

BUTTON HAS GOOD MEMORIES OF BUDAPEST

Button - one win.

Jenson Button has revealed his memories of his sole grand prix win help him through the bad times he is again enduring with Honda.

That lone victory from 145 starts came exactly two years ago at the Hungarian Grand Prix when Button triumphed in the only wet race at the Hungaroring in the 22 years the circuit has held the event.

It is a cherished success, resulting in goosebumps when the 28-year-old turned up at the track on Thursday.

"I love it here," said Button.

"That win seems a long time ago, and a lot has changed in the two years since because the car is not quick like it was then, but the team has grown in that time.

"It's still a special feeling coming here, with those memories, and it's good to have them when it's not going quite as you would like.

"Your first win is always very special."

The end of the 2006 season was also remarkable as Button finished as the highest points-scorer over the closing seven races.

From that platform Japanese manufacturing giants Honda should have built a consistent race-winning car, but instead it was one of the worst on the grid last year.

The situation has barely improved this season, but the argument is there that as quickly as it all turned so sour, it could be sweet again, notably under boss Ross Brawn.

"Ross, and a lot of other people who have arrived at the team, know where we are weak," added Button, who has scored points in just one race this season.

"They know where we need to improve as soon as possible if we are to be competitive in the future.

"So we know what we have to do, it is just taking longer than we would hope, but we are getting there and as a team we're looking good now.

"The excitement is building for next year, although there is a lot of work to do this season before we can get too excited about the future.

"We still haven't built a car quick enough, although as I said, a lot has changed in the last two years.

"We were missing a lot in certain areas, so for this year's car we thought we would work on those areas.

"But we went too much in one direction thinking aero was the most important thing, and that certain areas didn't matter so much, but you have to have everything.

"With this car we are lacking in areas we can't do anything about until next year."

It is expected Button and team-mate Rubens Barrichello will be confirmed as drivers for next season, probably at the next race in Valencia.

Button has no doubts Honda are "the team for the future".

He added: "Everyone wants to drive for McLaren and Ferrari at the moment because they are very competitive, but I think this team will - hopefully - be competitive with them next year.

"If not, then it will be going in the right direction to be fighting with them in the future, so yes, I would like to stay here."

BUTTON HOPES TO GET BACK ON TRACK

HAMILTON HAS FOND MEMORIES OF MONTREAL

BUTTON WARY OF WET MONACO

HEIDFELD RELAXED ABOUT THE FUTURE

Heidfeld - likely to stay on.

Nick Heidfeld appears likely to be retained by BMW Sauber for next season after finally turning his season on its head.

Heidfeld's future was the cause of considerable speculation just a few weeks ago following a wretched start to the campaign.

The German has primarily struggled in qualifying which has led to a lowly grid position followed by a tough race and poor points haul.

But in the last four grands prix Heidfeld has picked up more points than any other driver, 21 compared to the 20 collected by Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa.

Although Heidfeld refuses to discuss his contract situation, when asked whether he was relaxed about his future, he replied: "Yes. I am now.

"I had some problems, but we've turned things around and I am quite happy with how it is going so far.

"I have to say, the backing I've had during these weeks and months from the team has been very good.

"That has helped me, to know they stand behind me because I have worked hard with the engineers to overcome the problems and it has worked.

"Things have changed a lot, probably since Canada. Although I still had qualifying problems there, I had good race pace and could have won.

"Since then, qualifying has been better, apart from at Hockenheim where I made a mistake.

"But over the weekend the result was good and without the mistake I would have made it into the top 10.

"I did the fastest race lap again, like earlier in the season in Malaysia, and I have had two second places in four races.

"So I am really happy to have finally turned things around."

A change in set-up and driving style have played their part, and now Heidfeld is within seven points of team-mate Robert Kubica, who led the championship just three races ago after his win in Canada.

"That does surprise me, and it makes me quite happy," remarked Heidfeld.

"It shows in a phase that I struggled I was still able to take some points.

"One of my targets now is to finish ahead of Robert by the end of the season.

"Last year I finished fifth in the drivers' championship with a car clearly worse than this year's, so I want to go one better.

"Of course I want to beat my team-mate, as everyone does, but the target is fourth place. It will not be easy, but that's my target."

It means with Heidfeld 17 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton, the title is almost off his radar.

"It is very unlikely, but it doesn't mean in my mind there is zero percent chance," added Heidfeld.

"You take it as it comes - you just try to give it your best.

"At the moment I am 17 points behind the leader, who at the moment has a better car. So it is unlikely, but you never know."

HEIDFELD: NO TEAM ORDERS AT BMW

HEIDFELD FOCUSED ON RACING

HEIDFELD STAYS FOCUSED

LIFE IS SWEET FOR HAMILTON

Hamilton - Olympics fan.

Lewis Hamilton will be glued to the Olympics later this month as he takes a breather from his bid to win the Formula One world title.

With F1 ready to take a summer sabbatical following this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, it will afford championship leader Hamilton the opportunity to take in the Games in Beijing.

The 23-year-old will be looking to head into the break still in possession of his lead, which currently is four points to Felipe Massa and seven to reigning champion Kimi Raikkonen.

That will allow him to relax in front of his television, cheering on the British team.

"I love watching the Games, and will try to catch as much of it as I can on TV," said Hamilton.

"I'm really looking forward to it. It's exciting, and amazing how quick it has come round."

Hamilton, a super-fit sportsman himself, added: "I have massive admiration for all world-class athletes.

"I hugely respect the commitment, dedication and ambition of anyone who makes it to the Olympic Games, whether they win a medal or not.

"The fact is every event, even the less well-known ones, will be won by men and women who have made enormous sacrifices to achieve what they achieve.

"I wish them all well, but I'm obviously biased, so being British I want to say a special 'good luck' message to the British team.

"I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for all our guys."

As a big athletics fan, Hamilton would ideally have followed in the footsteps of Seb Coe and Steve Ovett if he could have competed in any one event at the Games.

"The events I enjoy most are the pure fitness events - sprinting, middle-distance running, long-distance running, and the marathon," added Hamilton.

"When I was at school I did athletics. I did the javelin, which I tried recently, and I'm not very good at it any more.

"But I was always good at middle distance, the 800metres, so I would probably have done that."

When it was put to Hamilton that Britain could do with a new 800m star, he quickly replied: "We could also do with a British Formula One world champion, so I will focus on that."

Hamilton at least ended today in a good mood, setting the fastest lap at the end of the two practice sessions at the Hungaroring.

After posting a time of one minute 20.554 seconds, Hamilton quickly dismissed suggestions he is favourite to land pole from qualifying.

"I never see myself as favourite," insisted Hamilton.

"Today was a smooth day, quite relaxed. Heikki (Kovalainen) and I both had a very productive day, with no problems with the car.

"I feel even from the last race we've made another step. At the moment I feel very comfortable in the car.

"But also I feel there's still time for me to find, and I'm going to do that.

"We've the pace to attack and go for the win. It's down to us to pull it out of the bag."

HAMILTON RETURNS TO GOODWOOD

HAMILTON CONFIDENT OVER TITLE CHANCES

HAMILTON LEARNS FROM FINNS

HAMILTON SETS PACE IN PRACTICE

Hamilton - in superb form.

Lewis Hamilton maintained his red-hot form by setting the fastest practice time of the day for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

With temperatures nudging 30 degrees centigrade Hamilton again underlined he will be the man to beat at the Hungaroring circuit on Sunday.

Although only fourth-quickest in the morning session behind title rivals Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen as well as McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, Hamilton set the record straight in the afternoon.

The 23-year-old, who has won the last two grands prix in Britain and Germany to lead the title race by four points from Massa and seven to Raikkonen, posted a hot lap of one minute 20.554 seconds.

That was 0.194secs quicker than Nelson Piquet in his Renault, with the Brazilian and Hamilton second and first respectively as in the race at Hockenheim 12 days ago.

Piquet's lap, though, was a qualifying one on low fuel at the end of the 90-minute afternoon run, undoing his fine work with a spin on his very next lap.

Kovalainen was third overall, 0.206secs adrift of Hamilton, with double world champion Fernando Alonso fourth in his Renault.

Ferrari duo Raikkonen and Massa, second and first in the morning, were fifth and sixth in the afternoon, separated by 0.001secs, but almost half a second down on Hamilton.

The BMW Saubers of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica finished seventh and eighth, with Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Williams' Nico Rosberg rounding out the top 10, the latter a second off the pace.

David Coulthard was 13th in his Red Bull, with Jenson Button - a winner here two years ago - down in 16th for Honda, just over 1.5 secs behind fellow Briton Hamilton.

Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, endured a wretched day at the wheel of his Toro Rosso, propping up the timesheets on both occasions.

The young German completed just four laps in the morning due to a hydraulics issue the team seemingly failed to correct during the two-and-a-half-hour interval prior to the afternoon session.

Vettel managed just five laps in that period before again trundling off track and onto the grass, albeit almost collecting Timo Glock as he slowed in his Toyota.

Times
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:20.554 35 laps
02 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:20.748 38 laps
03 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:20.760 33 laps
04 F. Alonso Renault 1:20.923 35 laps
05 K. Rдikkцnen Ferrari 1:21.009 36 laps
06 F. Massa Ferrari 1:21.010 36 laps
07 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:21.138 46 laps
08 R. Kubica BMW 1:21.363 36 laps
09 J. Trulli Toyota 1:21.505 42 laps
10 N. Rosberg Williams 1:21.581 34 laps
11 T. Glock Toyota 1:21.662 39 laps
12 M. Webber Red Bull 1:21.733 43 laps
13 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:21.837 34 laps
14 K. Nakajima Williams 1:21.902 33 laps
15 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:21.955 41 laps
16 J. Button Honda 1:22.150 41 laps
17 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:22.197 36 laps
18 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:22.358 37 laps
19 R. Barrichello Hon