Renault’s Fernando Alonso was involved in some red flag action at yesterday’s Silverstone F1 test, with his engine giving up in the morning and then a spin into the gravel a few laps after lunch.
Yet a dusting down and a few tweaks put the car back on track, leaving Alonso to post a fastest time good enough for fourth, which he was happy with.
“It was a good day’s work,” he said.
Lewis Hamilton topped the time sheet in front of a rather substantial home crowd, yet his challenger wasn’t the expected Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen but instead Timo Glock’s Toyota.
Glock was the only other driver to break into 1 min 19seconds, and was understandably chuffed, although slightly coy about his earlier shunt into Red Bull’s David Coulthard.
“When I turned in at the end of Hanger Straight, David was there. I just didn’t see him so I apologise for that,” he said, but added, “that was a good day’s testing for us.”
Kimi’s morning time was still quick enough for third mind you.
“Obviously it is far too early to say where we can be on this track compared to our main rivals, but I can see no reason why we should not be competitive,” Raikkonen said in the hotel bar afterwards.
Probably.
Kimi might think it’s too early to say who’s going to be fastest at the British Grand Prix next weekend, but I see that as no reason why we shouldn’t indulge in some idle speculation.
So, what do you think? Lewis? Kimi? Adrian Sutil?
I’m going with Felipe Massa on this one… I think he’ll take the pole from the last Q3 lap, because Kimi took the pole from him in France, and he certainly wants to show that he’s the faster one. Hamilton will try too much to impress his home crowd and will end up doing a silly mistake, either by going off the road and spinning at some point, or hitting someone from behind in the race…
Main challenger for Silverstone pole will be the two Ferrari again. Its hard to say whether its going to be Massa or Kimi but their car is a class of its own. Lewis may challeng for pole if he runs on low fuel or something like that and I bet this may be the case next weekend. Still Ferrari is the favorite. “BMW Bob” and Alonso may try to squeeze into top 4 still their role will be insignificat during the race. Silverstone is pretty similar to French GP in its coniguration so the balance of power will be same as before.
Lewis needs a good gp. after a couple of mistakes (in each of the last two gp) and letting off some steam in the direction of the media, he’s got to focus on the racing.
however, i think kimi and massa have the better car currently.
alonso can pull things out the bag sometimes and bmw are currently struggling.
so difficult to predict but fun to watch.
nas
ps heikki needs a result too!
lewis…lewis…we’ve all got ur bak man…we wish u all the best…
Hamilton will be owned by Kimi in front of his home crowd, just like he was last year too. If Hamilton doesn’t take him out at the red lights that is.
Atleast it won’t be Lewis. He has shown himself to a girly-man with frail nerves. It uses the word “cool” atleast twice in every sentence, showing effectively that it is something he is not. F1 is a game for real men. Men with depth and character, like Rikkonen, Alonso, Kubica, who are stoic and calm under pressure.
lewis has to win this year he’s had a rough couple of Grandprixs and needs this and Massa Kubica to crash and Kimi to spin or something plus lewis has 30′000+ fans cheering for him there in the stands.
lewis is a better driver then any of them Kimi is can’t talk Alonso throws fits and Kubica always was below Hamilton in the smaller classes and has never been faster than him unless lewis has a problem. LEWIS WILL WIN FOR SURE.
MY LAST COMMENT WAS IN REPLY TO “vix Atleast it won’t be Lewis. He has shown himself to a girly-man with frail nerves. It uses the word “cool” atleast twice in every sentence, showing effectively that it is something he is not. F1 is a game for real men. Men with depth and character, like Rikkonen, Alonso, Kubica, who are stoic and calm under pressure.”
France was where Kimi turned it around last season, and he would have done last week. So, he’ll cruise to victory because he is very quick around silverstone and he seems to know something we don’t…
Kimi Raikkonen will win the british GP.
i predict kimi will will but lewis need pole if not a gp win with kimi far back in the field
Red-car sandbagging. That or the fact that test times are a very, very rough rule of thumb for assessing race performance, to say the least.
I thought that on the second day Ferrari were busy with aero work in very windy conditions while McLaren were doing quite different work testing front wing and mechanical parts. (Kovalainen topped the standings while Massa came seventh.)
A warning not to assume too much from test performance, although with the narrative that is building up for this season, and Hamilton on his home turf in front of 10,000 fans, it’s hard work not to.
(Gosh, your terms and conditions are heavy going. Couldn’t BBC Worldwide let you write a plain-English version rather than resorting to a couple of country miles of legalese? Just saying…)
Yeah i agree with “brits on pole” we’ve seen the Ferrari’s sandbag in the practice sessions time and time again.
I think one of the two will win but the McLarens will definitely be up there. Alonso will also go pointlessly light with his car so people don’t forget he’s still around.
The Germans will have done a lot of analysis after the French gand prix so Kubica and Heidfeld shouldn’t be as slow as they were last time.
i think lewis will piss oll over them. kimi will crash into massa trus me?
Lewis a better driver then any of them? You must be joking. Kimi could have his arms amputated, but he would still run circles around Ham.
i think the master kimi will win it agian because he should have one the last race and massa needs to know that massa isnt as good as kimi
Lewis 2 win. He needs a good result after the last couple of races
1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Kimi Raikkonen
3. Felipe Massa
4. Heikki Kovalainen
5. Robert Kubica
I think the ferrari is stronger, but i think Mclaren’ll be hot on their heals, but i think hamilton will just be quicker…should make for a good 4 way battle for the win…hopefully
Another perfect opportunity for Lewis to get humiliated in front of his home crowd and go to his papa crying.
Kimi leading a Ferrari 1-2. Lewis possibly third but he’s gonna be threatened by the BMWs. So I’m not ruling Kubica out for the final podium slot. Heidfeld needs a result so maybe he’ll pull something out of the bag.
Lewis will crash again and blame the media with all that “You can break me…” nonsense. When in the history of any sport did such a cry-baby become a champ? Hence Girl-Man-Lewis, is going to have a slow decline to oblivion.
lewis hamilton will win
I think hamilton will have enough thirst to make it to the top spot. He’s had a rough few GP’s and last years silverstone anticipation didnt work out well. I think this year there isnt as much anticipation, but theres just as much support, and less pressure as he isnt defending a championship lead he’s just gonna go for it.
I can gurantee that hamilton will win under the condition he doesnt run into anyone else in pit lanes or make any other silly mistakes like that. but there is still a big possibility that he will run into someone or do something dumb thats gonna mess up his race. kimi will win granted his exhaust pipe doesnt fly off again. massa will give kimi a run for his money. force india is saying they are pulling in one last major update, so lets see if thats all talk. And to that guy who said Lewis has 30000+ fans cheering for him. That’s great and all but I doubt that gives his car extra 50hp and more downforce for better traction in the race, so that doesnt really matter for the race.
Everyone’s knocking Hamilton after a couple of bad races. Without an unnecessary safety car in Canada he would have won comfortably and the 10 place grid penalty denied him a certain podium in France. True champions produce when they’re under pressure. Yes he’s made mistakes and he may not be a champion yet but my money says he will be one day and we’ll see something special next week.
You can’t count out Robert but i think either of the ferarris will win, of Heiki hes had all the bad luck. I agree with Ionut Mirea, i think Hamilton will make some kind of mistake, he always does under extreme presure [last two gps last year]. I hope Fernando gets a top five finish at least.
I think the Ferrari’s will win, after all the media hype of last year about Lewis, any one can do great things in a great car. I’ve seen Chris Amon be crowned as the possible next world champion only to have an incredible run of luck. With the way the media is these days your only as good as your last race. Poor Lewis was thrust too quickly to the front as Amon and he could suffer because of it
Kimi the man
i think kimi will do amazingly well in this race. After being overshadowed by Massa for the past few races I think he will be more determined than ever to get back to the top of the driver’s championship.
GO KIMI!!! it was a pity what happened to kimi at magny cours. he would have surely won the race as he deserved to. massa didn’t deserve that victory but at least kimi managed second.
i think one of the ferraris will win at silverstone mostly because of their poise in the corners and of their straight line speed. I hope that it is massa he has been the shadow man of ferrari for to long. i also reckon that trulli or button will crash and that alonso will finish top 5
also to ‘kimi irish fan’ massa has the same skill as kimi they are pretty much each others equal but they own diffrent circuits.
1 felipe
2 kimi
3 robert
4 alonso
5 lewis ( because he will crash and say his sole is made of iron and cant be broken… we will see lewis but if i shot u you wouldnt say the same thing)
I’m hoping for Lewis or Robert to come through this weekend. It would be huge for Lewis to get back on track with a win at home, but I’m afraid he might push too hard at Silverstone. Should be a good race.
Lewis has been brilliant in tsting with the new aero pieces on the car and Mclaren have certainly caught Ferrari up here at Silverstone in the fast corners and that is where Mclaren were lagging last year so I think Mclaren and Lewis look the stronger team and river for next weekend.
most of u r rite. hamilton probably will make some kind of dumb mistake, but id be nice 2 see him win in his home ground after the last 2 races. but he seriously has 2 watch out for kubica, alonso, and ofcourse,the ferraris….if he could manage to get through them, watch for the red light in the pitlane, drive his heart out, he might actually nail this 1…
best of luck mate
i hope coulthard gets a pole potition i am going to the british f1 but i think massa will win it
hmmm… Kimi!
There is many drivers who can win the race, but i think Kimi has the best odd’s…
Its still between McLaren and Ferrari (yes! i did drop BMW off, i just cant see them having huge step foward after nifty French gp…)
Kimi
Felipe
Lewis
are celebrating at podium
I dunno about you guys, but I’m waiting for Alonso to have a breakout. Hes got way too much talent to not win a single race this year. If he doesn’t win this one, it’ll be Kovalein. So two podium predictions from me:
Alonso
Kovalein
Felipe
OR
Kovalein
Felipe
Hamilton
Alonso isnt in the second one because the only way he’s doesn’t win first is if he DNF
i think that it is way too hard to tell, so just wait till the grand prix to find out
I’m feelin Lewis on this one guys
lewis hamilton will defenatly win
hamilton is not reliable he allways crashes are does crap
I really do believe in Lewis. The last few weekends havent been great for him, but hopefully it will be third time lucky. He very focussed and ready for Silverstone so I really do think he could pull the cat out of the bag.
As much as I’d like to see a victory by Alonso, hes just too handicapped by the Renault. As for the results I predict a Ferrari 1-2 led by Kimi, with either Hamilton(provided he finishes) or Kubica in 3rd.
Lewis 2 win and Kovalein 2 come in second with either ferrari coming in behind them.
its gonna be all red this weekend.end of the race people will say Hamilton who?????
I think Kimi will win and Massa second. Hamilton will probaly end up in the back of some one.
I’m saying it will be either Kimi or Felipe will win the race because the Ferraris are a class act!
Lewis has an outside chance if he qualifies well or if he runs a long first stint.BMW will be strong but not as strong as Ferrari.Red Bull will be strong aswell as I think they will be in the points
Actually Lewis has made mistakes the last 3 GP, as he hit the wall in Monaco
Ferrari will be quickest here I reckon.
It has to be a Ferrari pole and win. I expect them to get a front row lockout and, barring mechanical failure, a 1-2 finish for the Ferrari’s. Undoubtedly they’re sandbagging during testing. The track suits the ferrari’s wheelbase which is longer than mclarens. Massa to take the pole, Kimi to get him in the first round of stops. Hamilton’s proving he’s not as good as people thought. Can’t handle pressure and then makes mistakes (China and Brazil last year), then he starts some conspiracy theory against the FIA and sulks. Never liked the hype surrounding the guy to be honest. It’ll take a miracle for him to ever win a world championship in my opinion.
Ferrari 1-2, with Kimi in front.
Hamilton 3rd but a long way back.
Then Kovalainen and Kubica, who may or may not be close depending on the form of the BMW.
Both Ferraris will bolt home on this one for a 1-2. They’re too quick. Hamilton will prob get 3rd. Cant wait for 1:15mins of just seeing hamilton & hearing about how he is greater than Jesus
Massa, Kubica, Raikonnen are the top three. Hamilton to finish outside the points as bad things come in threes. and i think he’s and arrogant fool as well
If Mc Laren can produce a very quick and reliable car as the Ferraris, then Lewis Hamilton will win without a doubt.
If Lewis keeps it together, he wins. If not, Ferrari wins.
Ferrari winning is boring.
It will be pretty close. While ferrari had the better car in France, the gap was made to look wider by circumstances. Either Lewis or Kimi with Massa in with a chance.
Lewis is bound to be strong but is the Mclaren up to par with the Ferrari?
This year’s result at Silverstone will be Kimi, Lewis, Kubica.
lewis in a tight 1st with Kimi running in 2nd. Massa in 3rd a couple of seconds later and the 2nd maclaren in 4th. Bm’s in 5th and 6th
lewis will win fore sure..
I wonder if anyone can help. My husband is 40 in 2010
he is desperate to go to monico grand prix. I have looked on the net and the packages are a rip off for what you get. Has anyone been and can surgest a good deal.
Thanks
Maybe McLaren have pulled back on development for this season’s car. If McLaren (or Lewis) were to win the championship then Ferrari could claim it was down to their stolen technology.
I suspect that McLaren already have a championship winning car ready for the 2009 season.
Fernando THE accident veteran. Lately either he’s too eager to overtake someone and hits their back or side, or he just goes off the track at random. Is it the car or is Fernando starting to show his frustration at not being even amongst top five? So many bold, if not careless moves…