Lewis Hamilton Tops at Formula One Hockenheim Practice

Andrew DaviesJul 17, 2008

It's Friday and it's the Hockenheimring for this year's German Grand Prix. This event has changed since its first opening in 1939, of course. It had a major revamp in time for the 2002 Grand Prix.

It was a classic race track; the one I remember had long straights with a few hairpins separating them from a stadium section which led onto the pit straight.

The good old days, I guess! Yes the years of Hakkinen, Schumacher, Prost, Hill, and Senna. But it's 2008, and we've got a Herman Tilke-designed racetrack, of course!

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To be fair, I do like the changes that were made, but I do still like the layout it had before. The new layout does make for some interesting overtaking battles.

I'm really looking forward to seeing who will get the best out of the track and their package this weekend. Apparently, according to Lewis Hamilton, McLaren have the slight edge over Ferrari, and well many may believe that. I’m not one of them.

I do believe McLaren have a good package, as do Ferrari. I just don’t think any one of the two is ahead yet. Sunday will tell us for sure who will have the edge, weather permitting of course.

A few drivers in the field have a chance of winning. I’m going to put my money on Heikki this weekend; he needs it. It would cement his careful step up to a team like McLaren and show his employers that he is capable of winning a Grand Prix. I have no doubt in my mind about this, and I’m sure he will be on the top step soon.

Many great drivers have won this race. The legendary Nigel Mansell won it in 1991 and 1992. The last person to win here was Michael Schumacher in 2006. There are five Germans in the 2008 lineup, but, unless something happens to the Ferrari or McLaren, none of them have a chance this year, unfortunately.

So Sebastian Vettel will partner Mark Webber in next years RBR. This is news I’m glad to hear. I believe Vettel is going to be a major force to be reckoned with in the future.

I think Mark Webber is going to struggle to match him for pace next year. But Mark is a wise hand at this game now, although he is yet to get to the top step of the podium. He has been very unlucky, of course, but a great prospect for next year.

Where will Fernando be next year then?

Renault, I’m sorry, they aren't really going in that much of the right direction. I want to see them up there! Alonso is a great fighter, and seeing him in the midfield is really disappointing.

Anyway back to this weekend, and it's definitely Ferrari vs. McLaren again for sure. I expect Hamilton and Kovalainen to be on top form here. This is McLaren and Mercedes' home Grand Prix in a way, so they'll get some extra special German power, hopefully.

After watching the first practice session, it was hard to tell who may have the edge between Ferrari and McLaren, due to the wet conditions at Hockenheim. But the Ferraris seem to be working well enough in wet conditions, after Kimi Raikkonen hoped for a heat wave...he’s a bit out of luck in that respect.

For the first 40-50 minutes, the track was basically a bit of an ice rink for the cars, with Hamilton losing control and spinning off. His car just went sideways with no warning whatsoever!

Alonso was looking good in the wet conditions, keeping it on track and gradually improving his times. He's hoping for a wet race, as this will be his only chance to win or get on the podium.

The track eventually began to dry then, with some young guns putting on dry tyres and trying their luck. Enter Seb Vettel.

He is, once again, most probably doing more than his car is capable, and he's definitely having his way with his team mate, Sebastian Bourdais.

After that, all the drivers moved to dry tyres and the track began to improve massively. As the temperature in the tyres becomes hotter, with more cars moving around the track, it all helps dry out the surface of the track, and then the lap times begin to tumble.

This is if the drivers stay on the dry line, of course. There is still some dampness out on the track, as Robert Kubica found out. He spun out wildly entering the stadium section, slightly damaging his BMW. It was minimal damage, so he should be good for practice 2.

There was a bit of a rush for lap times towards the end of the session, with many cars out on track improving their lap times. The man who ended up top of the order was Lewis Hamilton, with his teammate right behind him. Massa ended up third for Ferrari.

So it's as I and everyone else thought. McLaren and Ferrari are the ones to beat.

Here are the top ten practice session one times: