Lewis Hamilton is the rain king

Emotions were running high on the eve of the British Grand Prix. Much was expected from Lewis Hamilton in the Saturday qualifying session but fourth was all that he could manage. Team mate Heikki Kovalainen won his first ever pole position. It was also the first time at the front of the grid for Mark Webber in the Red Bull.

Pre-race testing at Silverstone showcased a dominance from Ferrari but this seemed to have been washed away, even though up to Saturday things were quite dry. Felipe Massa's qualifier was ruined by a lengthy pit stop but it was evident that Ferrari had lost their winning momentum.

More disappointment for the Brits came from the Williams team which seemed to be running well of the pace. Nico Rosberg lost much time in qualifying with the team deciding to start the German from the pits. Strolling in the pit lane early Saturday morning, I could see that a lot of work had been done on all the cars. Both Toro Rosso and Red Bull have evolved, especially around the side pods and at the back of the engine covers. After having lost Raikkonen's rear exhaust trim, Ferrari effected a slight modification on the heat panels on the engine covers. There was more detail on front flaps of the spoilers.

Massa's win in France became history in Silverstone as the Brazilian was lacking grip in the dry conditions, let alone what was in store for the race on Sunday.

Rain had been forecast for the weekend. Another thunderstorm hit Silverstone circuit when it was announced that the circuit would lose its place in the F1 calendar as of 2010 when the British Grand Prix will be moving the Donington. It was gloom all the way for personnel at Silverstone.

For 10 years, Bernie Ecclestone has been trying to lure away the British Grand Prix and he has managed. At least the British Grand Prix has been retained. The rumours around the paddock were that Ecclestone had become a partner at Donnington.

I have wonderful memories of Silverstone, my first ever GP in 1987. Silverstone was, and will remain, one of my favourites. Things have improved tremendously and the atmosphere is fantastic.

Hamilton dominated the water swept circuit. On the grid just before the race I was next to Hamilton's car, listening to his father Anthony speak about how anxious and tense Lewis was. Hamilton wanted to do well at the British Grand Prix after disastrous races in Canada and France.

On Sunday it did not stop raining; nearly all the drivers emerged with intermediate wets. At the start Hamilton stormed nearly to the lead at Copse but backed off from his team mate. However, on Lap 5, Hamilton took the lead after Kovalainen went a bit wide into the corner. From here onwards Hamilton lapped all the competitors, except Nick Heidfeld who came second in the BMW Sauber, and third-placed Rubins Barichello in the Honda. Barrichello at the moment holds the GP record for the most races.

In the end, Hamilton was in a league of his own. He now shares the lead with both Ferrari drivers so it looks as if this F1 season will only have a champion on the very last race.

Meanwhile, it was a joy to watch Bruno Senna, Aryton's nephew, who had a fanctastic GP2 race on the Sunday. It is possible that towards the end of the year the Brazilian might have a test with Toro Rosso. Team co-owner Gerhard Berger raced with Senna Snr and this might be an occasion for the Senna dynasty to return to Formula 1.

pvella@timesofmalta.com

British Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), first:
"This was the toughest race, but also one of the best ones I have ever driven. It was so extreme and slippery out there, very similar to the Japanese Grand Prix last year. I had troubles with my visor and tried to clean it a couple of times. I thank my team for a great job; they did fantastic work and we always made the right decisions with the tyres in the difficult conditions. When I came round the last time, I saw the crowd standing up and I prayed: 'Just finish, just finish'. It was a very emotional moment to win my home grand prix and I want to dedicate this victory to my family. As everybody knows I had some troubles over the past few weeks and they have been always there for me and supported me. To pull on another Vodafone McLaren Mercedes rocket red victory T-shirt feels awesome."

Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), second:
"I am happy with second place because today it was the best I could achieve. Qualifying went well and in the race we did everything right. Obviously it was crucial to make the right tyre decisions. At the first stop, we were wondering if we should stay with the used set of 'inters', but luckily we then decided on new tyres. We were expecting a small shower, but when I drove down Hanger Straight and saw a black wall in front of me I thought I should expect more than that. The most difficult moments in the race were when cars were overtaking me which had been lapped, but were just on better tyres for the conditions at that time. There was so much water and I couldn't see where it was lying. Once before Abbey I almost spun, but just managed to keep the car on the track."

Rubens Barrichello (Honda), third:
"It's a great feeling to be back on the podium today after such an exciting race where the weather conditions really helped us to get the best out of the car. The most important decision of the race for us was switching to the extreme wet tyre when the heavy rain started to fall at half distance. I had a real moment at Club, going off at high speed and almost hitting the wall, and that made me realise that we needed to make a quick decision. After fitting the extreme wets, I was able to overtake the cars in front easily, which was a great feeling. Making such a crucial decision at a key time comes from experience and from the team having the confidence in me to make the call. I would like to say a big thank you to the team today - to everyone back at the factory and also in Japan."

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) fourth:
"I am disappointed, but I am equally aware that things could have been much worse. We had the possibility to win the race but we made a mistake at the first pit stop, keeping the same set of tyres, because we expected the track conditions to improve. It was a joint decision: we are a team and we win or lose together. Things are not going too well for me at the moment, given all that happened in the last few races, but I am leading the championship, even if it is on equal terms with Felipe and Lewis. We know we have a great potential, but we have to put everything in place to get the most out of it."

Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) fifth:
"I had a good start and, for a few laps, Lewis was really pushing hard - which meant he eventually managed to overtake me on lap five when I ran a little wide. It was an extremely difficult race with lots of things happening. It was so easy to get caught out today by aquaplaning and slippery conditions: I spun twice but I was not the only one. At least I scored four points and helped to increase our constructors' points total."

Fernando Alonso (Renault) sixth:
"I had said that when it rains, anything can happen, which was the case today as we had a difficult race with a very wet circuit. I used up my tyres very quickly and I finished the race virtually with slicks, which meant I lost a lot of time in certain parts of the track. We could have probably had a better result today, but in the end I scored three points, which is important for the championship."

French Grand Prix

Felipe Massa (Ferrari) first:
"A great race, a fantastic result. The win came my way because Kimi had a problem with his car and at the pace he was running, it would have been hard for me to beat him on the track. I would have been happy with second place, but, of course, the win makes me even happier. I want to thank the whole team and our partners, especially Shell. I am leading the championship, and that's a nice feeling, but I am well aware it means nothing because I am aiming for the title and to do that, there is still a long way to go. In the first part of the race, I was struggling a bit to stay in touch with Kimi, then when his exhaust broke, I managed to get by. In the second part, I thought of managing the situation, making sure I made no mistakes, especially when there were a few drops of rain. We have to continue working this way, race after race, right to the end of the championship."

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) second:
"Obviously I am a bit disappointed because I had hoped to win. Unfortunately, the right exhaust pipe broke just before half-distance and the engine lost a lot of power, especially on the straight after the slow corners. After a few laps, the situation seemed better, but towards the end of the race, I ran the risk of stopping. This sort of thing can happen in racing and I have to try and look on the bright side: eight points are still a good amount and the one-two finish is a great result for the team. Luckily, I had built up quite a good lead in the first part thanks to a car that was really very competitive. The F2008 is definitely very strong because usually, when you have this sort of problem, retirement is almost inevitable. There is still a long way to go in the championship and I am in a better position than I was at this stage last year: let's see what I can do in the next part of the series."

Jarno Trulli (Toyota), third:
"What a great result and a great weekend by the whole team. We were pushing really hard because we wanted to dedicate this result to Ove Andersson, who has done so much for Toyota Motorsport. Today was a great race, hard and tough.
We had a good pace, even if we had to battle with some cars that were quicker than us. I had to fight really hard, but that is what people should expect both from myself and from Toyota. When the rain came at the end I had to take care because it's always difficult to judge how bad it is when you're in front. But I got back into a rhythm and had a wheel-to-wheel fight with Heikki (Kovalainen), just like in go-karts. The team made no mistakes this weekend, from the people in the factory who made the new parts on the car to the mechanics who did perfect pit stops today."

Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) fourth:
"Given yesterday's grid penalty, this was a very good result. It also shows that we had a great strategy to be able to come from 10th on the grid to fourth at the finish. During the first stint, I lost a lot of time trying to get past slower cars. After that, fortunately, I was able to overtake, build a cushion and close the gap to the guys in front. The car felt fantastic throughout the whole race and the Bridgestone Potenza tyres worked really well. During the closing laps, I found myself behind Jarno and tried everything I could to overtake him, but I just couldn't quite make it. He defended third place very well, so well done to him for that."

Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) fifth:
"We didn't score as many points as we wanted to here in Magny-Cours. Over the whole weekend, we tried to minimise the problems we had, and we knew the race would be decided on the first lap. At the start I tried to overtake Jarno Trulli, but did not manage it. I tried again in turn 5 on the outside, but it did not work out. In the end, I have to say I am pretty happy. I finished fifth, only two seconds away from the podium. We now have to analyse what happened here and see how we can improve for the next race."

Mark Webber, (Red Bull) sixth:
"My start wasn't great, but my first stint wasn't too bad in terms of pace. I was trying to keep up with Fernando (Alonso) as I knew he was short and I put in some laps that were right on the edge before the first stop. On my out lap, I knew I was still under pressure from others who were going a bit longer and jumped the kerbs a bit hard when I was on fresh tyres with heavy fuel. I had a big moment, although I managed to save it. I then settled in behind Fernando again, but his strategy didn't work out as well, which was good for us. It's good for the team to get some more points today."