And Then There Were Two

Two points, that is, separating World Driving Championship points leader Lewis Hamilton from second placed, and CURRENT World Champion Fernando Alonso. Just yesterday, the points gap was 12. What happened?

How about Alonso grabbing a well-deserved win in the rain at the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. The race report at the offcial F1 site said the race was rendered "almost farcical" by the rain.

Alonso passed Ferrari's Felipe Massa in the closing laps, robbing the red team of another victory. Third place went to ... wait, NOT BMW, but Red Bull-Renault! Mark Webber brought it home and got on the box for his troubles.

What happened to Lewis? Planet F1 has this report; fantastic kart races-in-the-rain notwithstanding, apparently Hamilton had a tough time keeping on track and off the grass... stay off the grass, man! Oh well, everyone was wondering when the rookie would make a mistake; I guess today was the day... but wow, dropping TEN POINTS in one race.... yikes. And thus endeth the podium streak at 9 races in a row.

Ride along with Lewis... as he crashes!

Here's a fantastic, in-car sequence with Lewis Hamilton. Watch how his right front tires gives way, and the impact into the barrier... amazing! Great stuff courtesy F1 Fanatic.

Hope He's Okay

Lewis Hamilton had to be airlifted to a hospital after what was described as a "huge accident" during Saturday qualifying for the Grand Prix of Europe. Hamilton has already checked in with the media, saying he's "fine."

The team will wait for results from a CT scan to determine if Lewis will race tomorrow.

This dramatic accident by the first black man to win a Formula 1 race coincidentally comes on the heels of a similar fate to befall his American motocross doppelganger, James Stewart, the first black man to win a major motocross championship. Stewart crashed hard in practice last Saturday at the Unadilla around of the American National motocross championship, and also had to undergo a CT scan procedure. Also like Lewis, James is waiting to determine whether he'll compete in this Sunday's race.

The universe works in mysterious ways.

How to tell that I am a Lewis Hamilton fan

Well, of course there is the name of the blog. But better still is my reaction to his third place finish at the British Grand Prix: I wrote NOTHING.

By any objective measure, scoring third place points in a Formula 1 race is a BIG DEAL, especially for a "rookie" like Lewis. But after 2 wins in 8 races, and after sneaking to the pole at Silverstone, even a somewhat sophisticated fan like myself could be found guilty of high, perhaps TOO high, expectations.

Yeah, I thought he was gonna win. Wire-to-wire, even. Yeah, I conveniently ignored the facts that both Raikonnen and Alonso had him covered in qualifying until that last minute magic thing. And yeah, I was disappointed, my heart sinking with each lap as Kimi and Fernando continued pulling away from Hamilton after the second stops.

So I just didn't feel like doing my normal quickie race re-cap with link to my favorite article at Planet F1.com. I just went on about my weekend. Oh well. At least I'm not making any excuses.

Silverstone Madness: Hamilton takes the pole!

Even after his own team mate, Fernando Alonso, tried to unsettle him with mind games at the start of the third practice session, Lewis Hamilton clocked a fast lap of 1:19.997 at the very end of qualifying to take a dramatic P1 for tomorrow's British Grand Prix. Here's the full story courtesy Planet F1.com.

Hamilton will share the front row with Ferrari's Kimi Raikonnen, who turned a 1:20.099 lap. Alonso starts in row 3, P3, beside the other Ferrari of Felipe Massa. BMW takes their now-traditional position of "best of the rest", as Robert Kubica qualified fifth.

In winning the pole, Lewis became the first British driver to do so at his home Grand Prix since 1996.

And here's the interesting statistic of the day: each time Hamilton has started from pole, he as gone on to win the race. Silverstone will explode if that happens!

It's 3rd place for Hamilton as Ferrari takes the day in France

Pit strategy came to the fore in today's Grand Prix of France, which saw Ferrari take the top two steps on the podium, with Kimi Raikonnen getting the win over his Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton kept his podium streak alive, and more importantly, stretched his championship points lead, by carding third place. Here's the story from Planet F1.com.

So what about the British Grand Prix next weekend? Says Lewis, "The Ferraris were very quick this weekend but I still think we can take it to them in the next race."

If I were Lewis Hamilton, the one race I would absolutely want to win in my rookie season would be my home Grand Prix. If Hamilton pulls of a win there next week, I believe the fans at Silverstone will lose their minds!