Will he be the New Peoples Champion?


You can read more on Wiki Click Me

3rd Race and Equal First in World Championship Points
And Makes History by being the First Driver to
get 3 podiums in the first 3 races.

Hamilton is the bloke for me in the F1 Season for 2007

Does he have what it takes?

Another Jenson Button, a load of fuss made about him cos he's British, and will turn out to be the usual failiure.

i had a bet on with mates that hed get his first win before button does..obv they reckon the bets off now..but that race was a pure fluke....betss till on and hamilton will get it before him..extra tenner says this year

What about his achievements so far?

2006 GP2 Series Champion.
2005 Formula 3 Euro Series Champion.
2003 Formula Renault UK Champion.

So Nothing Positive to take from his achievements so far then ?
I think he's done amazing and Good Luck to you Me Lad 'O'

I think you need to understand that achievements in other motor racing sports means little when it comes to achieving in Formula 1.

You seem to have forgotten a certain Mr Montoya, who was Indycar champion prior to moving into F1. And Jenson Button won the Formula Ford championship and finished 3rd in Formula 3 before moving to F1.

Theres a big fuss about Hamilton because Schuey is gone, and hes a Brit. The rest of the world isnt too bothered, but as always, a Brit comes on the scene and press and British people go mad about them, build them up to be god or something, and then watch them flop 99% of the time. The same happened with Jenson Button.

haven't they just said he's the First Ever Driver in F1 History to make the Podium in the first 3 races?
Schuey nor Button archived that title.

"Owned" pmsl ?

And that means what exactly? 3 race podiums doesnt make him world champion you know. Race wins and race wins only do that. It will be a sad day when a driver becomes world champion without winning a race. So because hes driving a car that can perform better then tall the rest, and he gets podium places (where he should be in the McLaren), you are now saying he is better then Schuey or Button.

Nope, i have to disagree. And no, not owned at all, wow he has yet to even win a race and hes driving the best performing car in the sport this year

Lets face it, if it wasnt for the fact hes British, you (and the rest of the British F1 fans) would have hardly even noticed him!! Owned!

Matty, such negativity!

Admittedly, there is a lot of hype because he is british, but lets face it, we dont have that much to cheer about anymore, and anything to boost morale a little is always good.

Agree with Stuy 110%

Matty he's not in the best car, and that may be why he hasn't
won a race yet. Ferrari have the best package to date.

Time will tell if he's better than Schuey or Button,
but he's had the best start to the season as a Rookie
than anyone has before him, and they cant take that away from him.
That's Now History until the Next Rookie comes along.

don't you like to see people doing well Matty?

i think lewis has shown what a great driver he is this weekend, ive watched all 3 races and he's been spot on

look at the start of his first gp! u cant say that was fluke, that was pyar skill

ps. jb IS an amazing driver just shit team

same for coulthard... and nobody can say he's failed in f1 when he's finished 2nd in the championship, and he managed to overtake 11 people before his driveshaft packed in yesterday - classic

you can't do it without the car underneath you

The McLaren is the best car on the circuit. The Ferrari is very close, but if you feel the McLaren is underperforming, its not because of the car, its because of the drivers not performing as well as they should be. In pre-season testing, ther were beating all the lap records at circuits (not independently verified of course as thats not what they were to do).

The new engine was also the most reliable engine of any F1 team in pre-season, with just one single failiure during the whole testing period, which came towards the very end of an engines life anyway.

Impo, the only driver with the skill to take Schueys place right now is Fernando Alonso (with Kimi not far behind - its a pity Montoya left, he was improving), but unless he properly gets to grips with the McLaren, he won't be winning the title this year. He should have stayed with Renault, but Briatore is a dick and a half.

Either way, if a McLaren driver is to take the drivers title, it wont be Lewis Hamilton.

Coulthard certainly hasnt failed, when McLaren had a great car in the late 1990's, he was doing amazingly, before team orders were banned though the amount of times he took second place to ensure that Hakkinen took first was crazy when put into perspective. He gets a lot of bad press in the media, but he is a great driver.

Being the newbie, Hamilton will have to earn his place in the team. If her can beat Alonso on Merit I seriously hope the team would back him.

...at the end of the day it depends what contract both drivers have with the team, but I really hope Hamilton can get the respect he deserves following his recent drives.

at the end of the day 3 drivers tied for the championship is an excellent thing no matter who it is

always much more interesting when its all wide open

I think he could be the Next Shuey

Well Done Lewis, World Champion 2007

p.s. I'm his Dad

he doing fantastic even if it is his 3rd race in f1 brill driver best of the british out there at min

Leading The World Championship, what a start to his season,
and lets see if he can improve over the weekend.

First ever F1 Pole Position for Hamilton

okay there is only .04 of a second between him and second.
But an achievement in its own rights.

Can he convert it to a win later today at the Canadian GP ?

he been unbeliveble so far but going to be big test for him today not a easy track

he's still up the top and he's pitted twice aswell.

really good race this, lots happening, big accident aswell which I missed...if you're not watching it, watch it!

well done to hamilton drove a fantastic racefrom start to finsh

quality race,
he's years ahead of him self.

With luck he could even win his debt season.

Reliability will play its part.

That crash was sooooo bad, head on into the first barrier.

Going to watch the highlights, to see how the driver
is and the replay

fantastic..what a win...but lets not get ahead of ourselves..i dont think hell win the champ this year...50:50 maybe next year..but 3rd will be his year i think..startin to geta bit pissed off with all this ITV coverage tho...Hamilton:Boy wonder..they shud leave all that alone..and just concentrate on his drivin

Maclarean's car is on fire, i think he's the only one who could loose it for him self.

But he's mature beyond his years.

driver only got broken leg thought he would of come out of it with more than that was bad crash

When you see the slow mo of the crash he should be dead.
Just goes to show the safety standards.



BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica escaped serious injury in a horrific high-speed crash at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old Pole lost control of his car as he tried to overtake Toyota's Jarno Trulli at 180mph as he approached the L'Epingle hairpin.

His car lifted off the ground, crashed into a wall and then somersaulted down the circuit before coming to a halt.

After initial reports of a broken leg, Kubica was later said to have suffered concussion and a sprained right ankle.

In that picture it looks like the Intel Badge has been
put back on to make it clearer who is crashing lol.

Saturday ITV 4
USA GP Qualifying 5:30 -7:30pm

I cant wait...
This could be the launch away from the pack he needs mid season.

Good Luck to Hamilton
20mins to go before race start.

Lewis Hamilton...................................WINS!

WHOOP WHOOP !!!

I seriously think he can win the title now.
Along way to go, yes but he's in with a chance big time

Well its an F1 weekend again in France
can Sir Hamilton Do it again ?

If he wins this time, he's really is a serious contender.
he seems to be going from strength to strength.

even if he dont come first he still in for a good shout at title

Will this be Hamilton's Crown and Glory ?

Taking 1st at Silverstone ?

Stunning qualifying performace...

Come on me lad O

Lets hope so.

He reminds me so much of senna my idiol (strange that so was tupac and there both dead)

Aggressive driver smart arragant on track (think its spelt right)

Verygood driver and has got me watching f1 again.

i no mate think its got alot of people back in to f1 again

Hard lines lewis,
I think it was Ferrari's day

Still 9th Podium in 9 Races Cant be bad

some reson the car did not seam to be as good as in the past. but as you say its still 9 podiums in 9 races so not all bad

Some kind of failure has put Hamilton into the Tyres and
10th on the gird if he's allowed to drive tomorrow.

A suspected air gun is to blame for lewis's crash today
but not confirmed?

Makes it intresting again at the front as kimi gets pole again.

yer they just said this on news that the air gun never tightend the nut up proberly missed the crash weas it a bad one or is he still racing tommorrow

its terrible when ur nuts arent tight enough and they go off without warning....

no the crash wasn't too bad.
possibley he will be racing at a guess.

was bein smutty (not to beconfused with sooty, the li'l yellow bear)

Alonso punished for Hamilton move



What is Alonso playing at?
He's becoming a dirty player, and god knows what happens with in the team now ?

McLaren are just cheats full stop. They, Alonso included should have been thrown out of this years championship, but because they are British and Eccleston wants to protect them, they get away with breaking the laws of the sport...

F1 is in a very sorry state atm, and its not good for the sport.

I dont think so....

Okay, so a team clearly breaks the laws of the sport, and you think this is fine and then they get away without any punishment?

F1 is an absolute laughing stock with regards to penalising cheats, they give drivers a 10 second penalty fo going 1mph over the pit lane speed limit, yet a team can steal from a rival and get away with it.

Take football for instance, West Ham got fined a massive £5.5million just for irregularities in the paperwork over Mascherano and Tevez, and thats hardly cheating in the sense of the word. Leeds get docked 15 points just because they are having financial troubles and dont fully comply with Football League regulations as a result...

F1 has always been riddled with cheats, McLaren are the most famous for things like team orders etc, which never even used to be classed as cheating, I mean come on, the two drivers are supposed to be competing in the drivers championship, yet they are helping each other lmao!

F1 is just becoming more and more of a joke since the mid 90's! No wonder fans are turning away from it and focusing on other sports such as touring cars etc...

Team Orders
At the time team orders was not against any rules.
Now it is and all teams do it under there coded way, as it cant be fully policed. And it was more like Ferrari and shuey that exploided "Team Orders" with massa and barelicelo covering his ass..

Its 1 person, not the team.

Thats like a football player transfer being illegal and the whole team kicked out

Sorry Matty your not going to convince me.
Personally i think Maclaren are one of the straightest
teams down the pits, if there is a team that's straight.

Lmao, im talking about the days when Coulthard and Hakkinen were taking the piss with team orders... or dont you care to remember that?? Ferrari wernt really in a position to take advantage of team orders as there was only Schuey who could even challenge the McLaren's of the late 90's, Irvine was shite for the most part.

It doesnt matter if its one person, if one person in a football club breaks the laws of the game, then the whole club gets fooked. And yes, this does happen in football. Look at whats happened in Italy, Juventus, 2005 and 2006 League Champions, were both stripped of their last two league championships and relegated to Serie B as a result of the Calciopoli scandal, which the whole thing was down to only one person, Luciano Moggi!

As for McLaren being one of the straightest, thats utter bullshit, how many other teams have stolen from rivals in the last 5 years?? Just because you support them, you are only kidding yourself if you really believe they didnt violate the laws of the sport, if you really believe that McLaren should be allowed to steal from rival teams and get away with it.

At the end of the day, McLaren did break the laws of the sport, this was both proven and admitted, and they got away with it scott free. It throws the whole reputation of the sport into dis-array.

Its a Shame Honda was Banned from 2005 for a Illegal Fuel Tank then.

And back then they were not breaking the rules. As there wasn't any governing "Team Orders". You have forgotten USA when Shue and Barricelo done a Team Order Switch at the end of the race when it was against the rules.

How many have been caught with

Flexible Under Trays - Ferrari (Auz 2007)
Sneaky Suspension (Renault 2006)
Illegal Fuel Tank (Honda 2005)

Its not Scott free for 2 reasons.
1. There is an appeal in process.
2. And if any of the technology is found on a McLaren car in the future they face Disqualification.

So when Shuey Blocked Alonso at Monoco in qualifying that didnt put the sport into disrepute.

No matter what you say Matty i can think of worse from other teams and drivers.

And so have most of the other teams, engines, areo's, drivers etc...

Not good, its the best / closest championship in at least 6 years. There is always politics and controversy every year. Thats what makes it tick. It just wouldnt be the same without it.

7 races and a podium at every race. And with Hamiltons 9th Race ahead of him is leading the world championship by 2 points. And now has pole position for tomorrows race. I wish Hamilton all the best and would love to see him win his debut season. Regardless of what happens off the track.

It is scott free - the appeal has been lodged, but so far, they have got off scott free, unless you know of some penalty they have recieved that the rest of the world dont know about??

McLaren have basically been given a get out of jail free card - they are not going to be stupid enough to do something that will instantly cause them trouble lmao, so its hardly a penalty, not being able to use something that you have illegally gained at the expense of another team.

So yes, they have got off scott free. And yes, they did cheat and break the laws of the sport. And yes, there is an appeal lodged by Ferrari, but as per usual in this stupid sport, nothing will happen because the likes of McLaren being involved generates too much money for uncle Bernie for anything to happen to them.

If Honda got disqualified from the championship because of a dodgy fuel tank (I dont recall this), then the offence McLaren have committed more then deserves the same punishment.

Get in there Alonso has been docked 5 places on the grid for his cheaky little stunt in the pits.

just seen that on the news now whet the hell was it all about i missed some of it

Alonso pitted for his last set of tyres and as he know time was running down and hamilton was behind him he waited for about 10secs untill he moved off knowing Hamilton couldnt get hi tyres changed and get another lap intime before the chequed flag.

Dirty dirty tactic.

what a tool think alonso seeing his arse a little with hamilton taken all the lime light off him made up he lost places

shoulda kicked alonso off the race today...

Behind closed doors i would of kicked him in the teeth

or took a run up before hoofin him in the bollox

No i dont know of anything but with an appeal more evidence can be presented and used in the appeal process. They have had conditions attached as mentioned above so its not scott free unless your looking for blood or money.

Well if you mean they haven't been judged by the actions of 1 person then yes, but also fair as there is no evidence upto now that any benefit has been obtained much to Ferrari frustration.

Found a link where they actually were banned and all points stripped so they decided to go away and hide so stayed out of the championship for the remainded of the season ( About half of it ) Clicky

So i have to disagree totally when you say Its rife down the pit lane and i would say imo that Ferrari more than others if anything. They all hire observers with camera's etc.. But its all about pushing and bending the rules as far as any team can.

I'm slowly turning away from alonso now, as i used to think of him as a good guy. But if Lewis wins today then it will all be forgotten, well that's if it sticks that Mclarean can not score constructor point or something this week.

there was no need for what alonso done yesterday was well out of order he just acted like a spoilt little kid

And the last thing as a Team Mclarean need is in Team fighting.
Just watch it will be one team member taking out the other and then Ferrari will just come along and take the title.

Sort it out Mr Dennis

i no think hamilton got to try and keep his head together today and not let his temper get the better of him and just keep it together like he has been doing

Its a tight track so its going to be one of those races i think that's going to be won in the pits again. Very Difficult to over take.

yer that very true going to be down to who wants it the most

1st place goodlad

Well done to lewis but a crap race,
leading from the start hummm.....

I think they said that that circuit isn't on the calendar for next year.

Some nice points, 20 clear of kimi now

nice one missed the race been to busy gutted

Just wanted to say Cracking Race by Hamilton last weekend at Fuji in the Rain.

This weekend he could be World Champion

yea....will be good...and another championship on the line is our formula ford one....Our Driver Stuart Jones is in the lead of the championship by a single point.....crackin weekend ahead

do ya recon he,ll get sportsman of the year this year hes done prity well for his age

doubt it, too much contoversy over maclaren cheating/breaking the rules (whatever way you wanna look at it its cheating lol). The BBC cant be seen to condone that im afraid, they are a public service.

But lookin about, unless we win the world cup in rugby, there no other real contenders for it.

suppose so

Id be surprised if his name makes the shortlist given the mclaren scandel, but if it does, then atm there is no1 else done anything in sport, so its a given win lol.

May as well give it to him now, cos I cant think of any other UK sportsman who has anything to shout about this year lol.

Scary to think of it like that and Olympics in London are just 5 years away.

lol

http://www.amirkhan-boxing.com/

I wouldnt say he has done anything noteable Mark, he's done about as much as Wayne Rooney lol.

Anyone noticed http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7027743.stm

He might lose his points from Japan and be docked 10 places in Shanghai.

I seen a tiny clip of this and thought what the F?
F1 is taking the mick.

Just watched that clip in the link.

- 10 points
or
- 10 places on the Grid ?

And we thought it was difficult to race its impossible now,
and ive been thinking this, there killing the "Race Driver Instinct" that these guys have.

Tactics and all

Let just hope that they can answer sooner rather than later
any penalties if any.

Well thats one of the reasons I take no interest at all in F1 anymore, all this shit is killing it off, and im amazed Bernie hasnt realised it!!

Cleared

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7029797.stm

Is anybody going to be getting up in the morning to watch this like me???

Hamiltons going to win the tittle 2mora and win me £100 as i put a tenner on at 10-1 at the start LOVE IT

I did set my alarm and woke up late
So watched the end to see him stuck in the gravel.

Team blame it on there error for keeping him out so long.

Gutted we have to wait 2 weeks now.

With the Big Weekend coming up for Hamilton
Will he make it or throw it away?

Please vote
Who will win this weekends F1 Drivers World Championship?

Better had be Hamilton....i want Alonso to retire....COME ON LAD !!!!!

I you haven't seen the Qualifying yet

Only 25 mins to go.

Come on Kimi... hate to say that as I was always a big fan of Alonso and have never been the biggest Ferrari fan lol, but I just dont like McLaren anymore after their cheating antics this season..

He deserves it overall, he had a terrible start to the season after his intial win, but has fought on during the second half of the season to battle back into contention. Even more so after his performance today - out of the 3 drivers in contention, he did only have an outside chance, and even the Wiki poll gave him no chance of winning lol.

12 laps to go.

Kimi on his last lap

Kimi - 2007 World Champion hehe!

1-2 for Ferrari, with Alonso joining them on the podium, great drive by both Ferrari drivers!

Up yours McLaren you cheating muppets, what goes around comes around and all that lol. They must be mortified!

wot a farse

BBC News Report

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH DEAR!..... typical innit, bet Alonso is well happy tho, even tho they're team mates, he'll be made up Lewis lost !!

Like they said on ITV, I wonder where Alonso goes from here. Will be very interesting to see, I hope he returns to Renault but I very much doubt he will.

am sure they said on tv the other day he is going back to renault. bad luck for hamilton was fighting all the way to the end

Well done to Kimi it was his day in the end.

There's always next year

Gutted for Hamilton the one race he didn't need reliability problems
and he had them. It was nail biting hoping that Hamilton could do it but a bridge to far.

Next year Lewis Next year.

goin slightly off topic matt, was tryin to pm uthe other day but couldnt...

I hope so, I can never understand why Briatore advised him to go to a competitor's team, but they didnt mention he would be going to Renault on ITV today. In fact it was edging more towards the fact that he would be racing for McLaren again next season, but I doubt that too lol.

Toyota is loosing a shuey ?

gutted.

Still a very talented guy, going to have a good career ahead of him going by his first season.

Absolutely gutted....so happy Raikkonen beat Alonso tho....i knew the ferraris would do that at the start, you see the replays, you see raikkonen brake, slowing lewis down, allowing alonso to get alongside.....Contraversial?? yes......also..despite ITV sayin drive of the day was Raikkonens...How?? He only got first place cos Massa gave it to him...they need to ban team orders, to allow the racing to become fair etc......if they use team orders....good bye manufacturers points...Congrats to Nico Rosberg tho and Robert Kubica....two class youngsters.......gutted for Lewis tho....he really deserved the champ

Well next year no traction control so that should add the
odd spin off to the recipe

I find i hilarious when the commentators are talking how
they will do team orders with out breaching the rules.

The answer more often than not is the "Pit Stop"
Perfect way to over take off the race track.

Yeh 2nd in his first season is a hell of a year

IMO i cant see Alonso staying, but who knows.

More controversy now, but even the massive Hamilton fan's on the BBC 606 boards are saying Formula 1 will lose its last shred of credibility if the title is now handed to Lewis Hamilton, especially after he escaped punishment for his illegal tyre change the other day not to mention the other times this season he has escaped punishment, including the spygate scandel...

If Kimi is now forced to conceed the title to Hamilton, that will be the final nail in the coffin for Formula 1, it's getting to the point where its no longer a race, its just politics, and it's the politics that decides the outcome of everything.

Wow, the decision has come quick:


Oh give it up McLaren, you are clutching at straws now, go home, have a break and concentrate on the 2008 season. And try not to cheat your way to success this time.

Even the most ardent Hamilton/McLaren fan's on the BBC 606 boards think this whole scenario is just a farce and Kimi should rightly keep the title.

BBC News Report

To help Hamilton fan's understand that it had no bearing on the outcome of the race (as on some forums they are suggesting the fuel is the reason he couldnt catch up because they were getting a 1 second a lap advantage) and therefore the championship, here is a bit of info:

Regardless of winning, or coming second, I think hes done a great job.

I also think Kimi has done a fantastic job, and quietly gather points, and nipped the championship whilst the 2 McLaren drivers have been squabbling.

If a technical problem steals the title from Kimi I think a misjustice will have been served - hes got on with the job in hand, taken his chances when hes needed to - and to take nothing from Hamilton - hes won it on merit.

You can toss technical rule breaking in to the equasion, but you cant take anything away from the drivers. I think Hamilton had the title there for the taking, but maybe quashed under some pressure, but remember, this is his first season - lets hope with a little more experience he can show us what he can really do next season

Im happy Raikkonen got the title....i wouldnt have watched F1 ever again if Alonso wins another Championship...ive always hated the man with a passion.....I do believe that lewis did bow to some pressure.....but once again, i want to draw te first corner into question.....how is it that the people that needed to beat Lewis to in the championship...all managed to get past him in the first series of corners??

Basically....lewis moved to protect his position behind massa, and get the racing line.....Massa slowed down, allowing raikkonen to get past....first corner, raikkonen breaks pointlessly...slowing lewis down again, allowing alonso to get alongside, and the rest is history....in my view...even tho the drivers probably never actually spoke to each other...they all knew what had to happen if any of them were to win....so they all worked together....pathetic tactics in my view...and disagree with me all you want...but look at the video evidence...youll see what i have said is correct....all i can say tho, is what lost lewis the title was the very odd loss of power for 30 seconds.....his fightback was extraordinary...and thats the reason why he is my driver of the day.....and of the entire season......Hes a Rookie..need I say More...


P.S. before anyone starts pointing fingers, My opinion counts more than the people who jumped on the Hamilton Bandwagon.....as ive seen him racing for years in Formula renault etc.....so yea...I win

Just Wait for Bruno Senna to Join F1...hes not far off I can telly ou now....probably wont have as much impact as Hamilton....but he'll be World Champion one day

More spin lol, I think it could have been worded better, what Alonso say's is true, but it sounds so "against" Hamilton thats the context of the actual statement is questionable:


I think that will be the final nail in his coffin with McLaren lol. Get your ass back to Renault man!

BBC News Report

nah....get his ass out of F1...send him to Nascar....his biased and pointless views are doing nothing but damaging the sports reputation....he should be sacked straight off

Has been banned from Driving !!

In France for doing 121 ish on a motorway.

Fined 600 euros and banned for a Month.

No great loss seeing that its in france lol

Hamilton gets off to flying start,

Lewis Hamilton's McLaren during practice for the Australian Grand Prix
Hamilton is hopeful of a strong showing at the year's first race
World championship favourites Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest times in Friday practice ahead of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

World champion Raikkonen's Ferrari set the fastest time of the day to be 0.487 seconds quicker than Hamilton's McLaren in the first session.

But the Briton was on top in the afternoon, with Raikkonen sixth.

Hamilton, 23, said he felt "very, very optimistic" for Sunday's race. "The pace we and the Ferraris have is good."

Ferrari's Felipe Massa was third in both sessions, with Fernando Alonso sixth and 13th in his Renault.


Ferrari look strong, but it's still too early to tell exactly where we are in comparison

Lewis Hamilton
McLaren driver
Hamilton's McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen was fourth fastest in both sessions.

The pace of the Red Bull also caught the eye - Australian Mark Webber was second fastest in the afternoon session and fifth fastest in the morning, while team-mate David Coulthard, of Scotland, was fifth fastest in the afternoon.

That seems to back up Webber's claim in his BBC Sport column that Red Bull have been consistently the third or fourth quickest team in pre-season testing.

The practice sessions took place in searing temperatures, with a high of 38C. Coulthard told 5 Live that the cockpit temperature of his car was pushing 60C.

"We're absolutely roasting in the cockpit," Hamilton said. "It's like having four jumpers on and shorts and trousers in the sauna."

Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari at Melbourne's Albert Park
Raikkonen's Ferrari looked ominously quick in the first session
Inconclusive though lap times in Friday practice can be, they suggest what many in Formula One suspected - that McLaren and Ferrari have an advantage of almost a second a lap over the rest of the field.

They also suggest that, as predicted, the battle for the lower points positions will be closely fought.

BBC Radio 5 Live commentator David Croft said: "The fight for the championship will be between two teams - Ferrari and McLaren.

"And we'll have two distinct battles - the fight for the title and the midfield battle, which will include Williams and Renault and BMW and maybe even Toyota."

Hamilton said: "It's great to be back racing and being here in Melbourne where I started my Formula 1 career only a year ago.

"It's always a special feeling to go out of the garage for the first time in practice at the start of a new season.


606: DEBATE
All the ingredients seem to be there for a Grand Prix season of impeccable vintage

Andrew Benson - BBC Sport
"There was some good progress with the car, and we made the best use of the ever-improving track conditions.

"Ferrari look strong, but it's still too early to tell exactly where we are in comparison. All in all, a good start to the Australian Grand Prix and the season."

Raikkonen, who won in Melbourne last year, was less pleased with his Ferrari.

"I'm not very happy with the way practice went," he said. "This morning we found some good settings for the car but in the afternoon we struggled and our lap times reflect that.

"We must look carefully at the data to work out how to improve the car."

David Coulthard slides into a gravel trap in his Red Bull
Coulthard was impressively quick despite this off-track moment
And the performance of the Hondas appears not to be as bad as many had predicted, with Englishman Jenson Button 11th in both sessions.

The struggling team said they had continued progress from an encouraging final test of the winter at the Spanish Jerez track two weeks ago, when they introduced new parts to improve the car's aerodynamics.

"It has been a good day for us," Button said. "We focused mainly on tyre work and getting the best out of the car in the very hot conditions. Everything went smoothly and the car feels much as it did at the Jerez test, which is pleasing."

Button's former team Williams, by contrast, had a frustrating day.

They have been battling for the lead of the group behind Ferrari and McLaren in winter testing, but gearbox problems hit both cars on Friday and lead driver Nico Rosberg missed the entire first session.

• McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa has been elected chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association - and said one of his first aims was to persuade stars who are not yet members, including Hamilton and Raikkonen, to join.

De la Rosa said: "One of the big aims is to recruit all of the drivers, not only the new youngsters but everyone. We all have to be part of it because we are working on safety and safety is for everyone. That's the whole point of the GPDA."

Double world champion Alonso and Webber are the other two directors of the GPDA.

First practice times from Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne:

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari one minute 26.461 seconds
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.948
3. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:26.958
4. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.114
5. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:28.263
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:28.360
7. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:28.579
8. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:28.913
9. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:28.957
10. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:29.014
11. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:29.124
12. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:29.230
13. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:29.301
14. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:29.363
15. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:29.533
16. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:29.561
17. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:30.155
18. Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault 1:30.357
19. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 1:31.048
20. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 1:31.771
21. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 1:35.053
22. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota no time

Second Session

1. Hamilton 1:26.559
2. Webber 1:27.473
3. Massa 1:27.640
4. Kovalainen 1:27.683
5. Coulthard 1:28.037
6. Raikkonen 1:28.208
7. Trulli 1:28.292
8. Rosberg 1:28.352
9. Fisichella 1:28.469
10. Glock 1:28.582
11. Button 1:28.632
12. Heidfeld 1:28.731
13. Alonso 1:28.779
14. Barrichello 1:28.849
15. Kubica 1:28.860
16. Nakajima 1:29.077
17. Sutil 1:29.161
18. Vettel 1:29.193
19. Piquet Jr 1:29.581
20. Bourdais 1:29.605
21. Sato 1:30.663
22. Davidson 1:31.527

F1 is back!!!!

woo hoo i missed it made up it back

I hope he does it, i think he deserved it last year.

Raikonnen won more races did he not?

Therefore, on merit, he deserved it, especially as everyone wrote him off after only a few races.

Matty FYI this is a Thread about Lewis Hamilton,
if you want to debate the drivers Clicky Clicky

Lol fair enough Mark hehe

hamilton is a natural behind the wheel jus look at his first couple of races gettin the back out to position himself!the guy has amazing control an hes our next champ!

it should be a dam good sesson all driver aids are gone there for down to the driver so we will see who can drive