Hamilton dominates German F1

2008-07-18 19:01

Hockenheim - Lewis Hamilton dominated Friday's practice sessions for the German Grand Prix, putting McLaren on course for its first Formula One win in Germany in a decade.

Hamilton set the day's fastest lap at 1 minute, 15.025 seconds in the dry afternoon session at the Hockenheim circuit after having already led the soggy morning session. Teammate Heikki Kovalainen trailed Hamilton at 1:15.666.

"It was a very strong performance from us and it just showed that we are very competitive and that we didn't have any problems," Hamilton said.

"It's going to be close (with Ferrari) but I feel strong, I feel we can definitely challenge for the front row."

Hamilton was nearly seven-tenths of a second quicker than Ferrari's Felipe Massa, whose 1:15.722 mark led the afternoon session until Hamilton went around fastest with about a minute left.

Weather could play role

"Tomorrow (Saturday) will be very close, within a couple of tenths (of a second)," Hamilton said.

Kimi Raikkonen was the only other driver to get under the 1:16.00 mark. The defending world champion ended up with a 1:15.760 for Ferrari.

Mark Webber in his Red Bull rounded out the day's top-five with a best lap of 1:16.017.

Rain has hit three of the past four GPs with Hamilton winning two of the races to lead a three-way tie at the top of Formula One's championship, ahead of Massa and Raikkonen. All three drivers have 48 points, two better than Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber.

Weather could play a significant role in Sunday's race - again - with showers expected.

Set pace with final lap

Hamilton oversteered to slide off at one point near the start of the first 90-minute session before pitting as the rain intensified.

The Briton, along with most of the field, re-emerged with less than 30 minutes remaining and showers subsiding to a drizzle. The leading time swapped between half a dozen drivers before Hamilton set the pace with his final lap.

Kubica didn't get a chance to challenge Hamilton in the first session due to an accident. The Polish driver snapped the axel on his front left wheel with 11 minutes left after going over the white line at the stadium corner to slide off through the gravel into the wall padding.

"I touched the white line with the grooved tires," Kubica said. "There was some standing water. I lost control of the car and hit the barrier."

He returned in the afternoon for a best time of 1:16.363.

- AP