July 8th, 2007 -- Kimi Raikkonen threw a bucket of cold water on the hype that was to be Lewis Hamilton's first home grand prix by announcing to the world that Ferrari was indeed back in the running. The Finn went just a bit wide on his qualifying run and ended up starting second, behind Hamilton, but after the first round of pit stops, it was obvious that the Ferrari is the quickest car of the field (for now). The red car coming across the line first made the crowd go a bit quiet, but they were still happy to see a Brit on the podium. The boys from Woking were a bit surprised of the pace of the Ferrari and know that they have their work cut out for themselves.
Fernando Alonso showed back up for the race, but was clearly outclassed by Ferrari today. The Spaniard has been outshined by his rookie sensation team mate. He was much closer to the top pace all day, yet, in the end, it wasn't enough. Hamilton could not complain about his third place finish, continuing his run of podiums for the season. A glance at the time sheets shows that he wasn't a contender.
The starting grid
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Robert Kubica has shown the old adage of the best thing to do after being thrown from a horse is to get back on. The Pole managed to get some luck when Filipe Massa started from the pit lane after his Ferrari died on the starting grid, but he was able to hold him off after the hard charging Brazilian made it all the way from the back of the pack to challenge him for fourth. BMW is quick, but not at the top of the grid yet.
Massa had a hell of a drive this weekend, and showed that the car is fast enough to get through the grid and he's also got the patience to move up the field after mechanical issues. It reminded some of the Ferrari faithful of how Schumacher used to be able to move through the grid after similar incidents.
Felipe Massa
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Nick Heidfeld's BMW was the last car on the lead lap as the German finished in sixth place. An unremarkable race for the driver, but good points are good points.
Both Renault's finished in the points this round, and it was their 30th anniversary of being in F1. Flavio's boys were probably just happy they weren't driving for a factory Honda or Toyota team. No one really noticed, the French team just doesn't have the speed this year.
As for the also-rans, Honda finished both cars in the top ten, probably not enough to allow them to keep their rides for next year. To add insult to injury, Button was the slower of the two cars in front of his home crowd. He did finish in front of David Coulthard, so there's one for England. Coulthard is a Scot for those not paying attention, and yes, there is a difference. Not that I'm worried about it, I'm of Danish descent. Our contribution to British culture is evidenced by the amount of red hair, but I digress...
Kimi Räikkönen
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Williams tried to make it a show for the families that showed up for the race, but Sir Frank's boys were headed to the pubs as soon as they could sneak away.
Sato-san finished, but it was pretty uneventful. He's still hoping for the next big crash in turn one of the start so that he has a chance for points. Albers was the last finisher of the day.
The list of cars that weren't classified are the usual suspects; Toyota, Spyker and the Red Bull clones. Their ad men just hoped that they were on TV long enough (and not with exploding engines) long enough to justify their sponsorship rates.
Ferrari team
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With eight races left, this one seems to be narrowed down to the two McLaren and two Ferrari drivers. No one is totally out of it yet. And, if Ferrari can keep their speed, it's only going to continue to get interesting. Racing will resume in Germany in two weeks. The boys in Woking and Maranello are assured to be working overtime between now and then.
Race Results
