This Section

Latest Pictures

01 July 2008

Hi folks...

We've got the British Grand Prix this coming weekend and I believe Silverstone could be a turning point for both Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa.

Hamilton needs to bounce back because the last couple of races have been a bit troublesome. It is important for him to have a good result; and a good result for him will ultimately be a grand prix win.

It would be sensational to see him win his home grand prix but he seems to have a lot going on and that is half the problem. He is trying to think about too much, rather than just concentrating on the core - and the core is doing the best job inside the cockpit of the car. That is what comes easiest to him and that is what he is best at.

Hopefully when Lewis gets to Silverstone, with the British crowd behind him, it will lift him and make it easier for him to get the job done.

He is still very young and he is still very inexperienced in many ways, but because he started out so well, everybody's expectations are very high. There are many other drivers that have off periods during a season, but when you are up at the front and sitting in a McLaren, it gets highlighted.

It could also be a turning point for Felipe Massa because he could start to build up a bit of a margin in the world championship battle. He took his third win of the season in France and now leads the title race by two points.

We didn't really see it pan out at Magny Cours because he seemed to be on a slightly heavier fuel load. But in the end he didn't need to worry about that because Kimi Raikkonen had some mechanical problems.

There is a growing confidence about Massa. He seems to be very consistent - and that is what is going to win him the championship. He needs that and he needs to knock in those big scores whenever they are available to him. His fourth win of the season is definitely possible this weekend and my tip for the title is looking a lot better than it did after the first few races.

Kimi of course was unlucky two weeks ago. He was the star of the day up until things went wrong. He was in a class of his own and although Massa kept him in check time wise, it looked like the 'iceman' was more or less on cruise control.

I think they have got as good a chance as each other to take the laurels this Sunday. It is just who comes out of the blocks sharpest.

What is clear is that when Ferrari are running around and are a second a lap quicker than the McLarens and nearly two seconds a lap quicker than the middle of the pack, it just really shows what kind of performance the F2008 has.

Silverstone should again be good for the Scuderia and I don't believe there will be many other teams that will trouble them. But saying that, McLaren will be in contention and I think BMW will be strong there too - and I wouldn't be surprised to see Red Bull poking their noses in as well.

France definitely didn't suit the BMW and that is a problem for them. It may not be quite as bad for them at Silverstone but it may well be that the ultimate pace is not as strong as it should be. Kubica was basically wringing the cars neck lap after lap and got the best result possible two weeks ago - but still he was only fifth.

He is right up there in the championship battle at the moment but its going to be tough for him to stay there. I don't think the outright pace of the BMW is enough for him to win any more races unless circumstances come his way, as they did in Montreal.

Nick Heidfeld hasn't been doing quite so well in the sister F1.08 and so far is 18 points adrift of Kubica. He is struggling in qualifying and his ultimate race pace as well seems to be a bit off.

Kubica seems to be pushing the car more, getting more out of it and getting more pay back. Heidfeld on the other hand is very smooth in his application and doesn't seem to be loading the car up and getting the most from it. That is the difference. But Heidfeld does have a lot of experience and maybe that is where he is contributing most - behind the scenes.

Of the other runners Heikki Kovalainen will be right up there in the sister McLaren and he could be the 'dark horse' for the victory because it is kind of a home grand prix for him.

He has done a lot of racing in the UK and has got a lot of friends here and so forth. He also knows Silverstone well from his earlier days and also from his F1 racing and testing.

But it is not going to be easy to bring in a top result. He is under pressure a bit. We have seen good results from him but not the ultimate - and that is a grand prix win. We know that the car is capable because it has won with Lewis and it will be interesting to see if Heikki can break his duck this season.

Further down the grid Red Bull Racing and Toyota are very close in the battle for fourth spot in the manufacturers' with just one point between them. Red Bull go to GB with a run of seven points finishes in succession, while Jarno Trulli of course took that superb third place in France.

Trulli really impressed me last time out - and proved me wrong. I didn't think that he would have the race pace and he did. He kept it up throughout and put in a very, very solid performance. That could be significant and maybe they will get another good result at Silverstone.

I'd expect them to be hunting in the top six to eight cars in qualifying and again in the top six in the race. A podium may be difficult to achieve again but saying that Trulli was there on merit in many ways at Magny Cours and third was very well deserved.

Renault seems to have shown flashes of potential so far this season and to a lesser degree so do Williams, although the latter have got themselves into a bit of a pickle of late.

Williams don't seem to be giving anything back in terms of development and progress. That is really starting to show halfway through the season. We always said at the beginning of the year they would be at there strongest early on because the resources and budgets of their rivals would overcome them. That seems to be what has happened and they have dropped off the pace. It is a bit of a disappointment to see but maybe the home factor will aid their cause.

We will be expecting a bit more from some of the other teams such as Renault. I imagine they were quite disappointed in France after starting from the second row and not then pulling up into a podium position. That looked like it was on the cards.

But there will be some hope there and some level of contentment I guess with Nelson Piquet Jr scoring his first points. Maybe that will kick start his season. He needs to get some more points under his belt. But he raced well in France and overtook his illustrious team-mate Fernando Alonso. In many ways he was stronger over the whole race because he started from lower on the grid. That should have given him hope and confidence.

As for Honda, they seem to be on a downward spiral at this point and it is a problem. There doesn't seem to be much hope of it improving in the short term and they have put all their eggs in one basket for 2009. I would have expected slightly more, but I think they have turned off the '08 situation and are focused on next year when the rule changes could shake things up.

Maybe something will come together for them and there will be some wet races which could help Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. It's going to be a long season for those two.

Toro Rosso meanwhile is a different team since debuting its new car at Monaco. They seem to be getting to grips with it well, but it is a shame it is only Sebastian Vettel up there. Sebastien Bourdais is having a torrid season. He is not really living up to the expectations of what everyone thought was possible coming across from the USA with such great credentials.

It is also a worry in many ways for Red Bull because while they have been progressing, they seem to have a Toro Rosso champing at their heels. That must be a bit of a concern for them, although it will certainly give David Coulthard and Mark Webber a bit of a wake-up call.

What is evident is that Force India has been pushed back and is clearly now at the back of the grid and behind STR. FIF1 don't seem to be making any headway either. Whether they are focusing more on '09 and just trying to make the best of what is available - like Honda - we will just have to wait and see.

So, to sum up, I am going to have to go for Lewis and back him for the pole. But at the moment in the race I think it will be a Ferrari 1-2, headed by Raikkonen. Then I'll go for Lewis in third, followed by Kovalainen and the Red Bull's of Coulthard and Webber.

Whatever happens if Ferrari turns up and are eight tenths of a second quicker, then lots of people down the pit lane are going to have some big headaches. One second a lap in Formula 1 is an eternity and it is not easy to claw it back.

Enjoy the grand prix...


MB