Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso can safely get back to the fight for the world championship after the Mclaren team found that it will face no penalty for its part in the spy row due to “insufficient evidence.” Ferrari are refusing to let the matter rest.

Hamilton spoke of the incident:

“Whilst it’s only my first season in Formula 1 with the team, I already know and appreciate the commitment and dedication of the people there,” he added. “As a result I am pleased with today’s decision and can’t wait for the rest of the season.”

Back on the track, a harsh Nurburgring weekend ended his unprecedented run of podium finishes and saw his championship lead reduced from twelve points to just two.

However Murphy’s law seemed to be in play that weekend; starting in his lowest grid position after a huge qualifying shunt, the rain poured down after Hamilton lost the ground he had gained with a puncture early on in the race.

Hamilton kept his head the whole time, waiting calmly for a crane when he later aquaplaned off the track. Hamilton kept focused enough to gain back some ground even after new tyres saw him momentarily come off the track again and on the whole, his ability to keep calm under pressure really underlined his true championship potential.

At the test at Jerez on Wednesday, Hamilton was back on form as he completed 90 laps in his McLaren-Mercedes MP4-22. By far the quickest and in boiling temperatures his best lap time was 1:19.670.

At the test, Hamilton focused on preparations for next week’s Hungarian GP, primarily doing set-up and aero work in conditions similar to those anticipated in Budapest. We all look forward to Hamilton getting back on form in his next GP.

Drivers

Pos Driver AUS MAL BHR ESP MON CAN USA FRA GBR EUR Pts 1 Lewis Hamilton 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 3 3 9 70 2 Fernando Alonso 2 1 5 3 1 7 2 7 2 1 68 3 Felipe Massa 6 5 1 1 3 DSQ 3 2 5 2 59 4 Kimi Räikkönen 1 3 3 Ret 8 5 4 1 1 Ret 52 5 Nick Heidfeld 4 4 4 Ret 6 2 Ret 5 6 6 36 6 Robert Kubica Ret 18 6 4 5 Ret INJ 4 4 7 24 7 Giancarlo Fisichella 5 6 8 9 4 DSQ 9 6 8 10 17 8 Heikki Kovalainen 10 8 9 7 13* 4 5 15 7 8 15 9 Alexander Wurz Ret 9 11 Ret 7 3 10 14 13 4 13 10 Mark Webber 13 10 Ret Ret Ret 9 7 12 Ret 3 8 11 David Coulthard Ret Ret Ret 5 14 Ret Ret 13 11 5 8 12 Jarno Trulli 9 7 7 Ret 15 Ret 6 Ret Ret 13 7 13 Nico Rosberg 7 Ret 10 6 12 10 16* 9 12 Ret 5 14 Takuma Sato 12 13 Ret 8 17 6 Ret 16 14 Ret 4 15 Ralf Schumacher 8 15 12 Ret 16 8 Ret 10 Ret Ret 2 16 Jenson Button 15 12 Ret 12 11 Ret 12 8 10 Ret 1 17 Sebastian Vettel 8 1 18 Rubens Barrichello 11 11 13 10 10 12 Ret 11 9 11 0 19 Scott Speed Ret 14 Ret Ret 9 Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret 0 20 Anthony Davidson 16 16 16* 11 18 11 11 Ret Ret 12 0 21 Adrian Sutil 17 Ret 15 13 Ret Ret 14 17 Ret Ret 0 22 Christijan Albers Ret Ret 14 14 19* Ret 15 Ret 15 0 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi 14 17 Ret Ret Ret Ret 17* Ret 16* Ret 0 24 Markus Winkelhock Ret 0

* Driver did not finish but was classified, having completed more than 90% of race distance.

From Wikipedia

What a race! The European Grand Prix had to be “red flagged” and stopped after lap 4 when 6 drivers including Lewis Hamilton came off the track during the early stages of the race. This was on top of the fact that Lewis suffered a left rear puncture after the two BMW’s collided and one clipped him on lap 1.

Lewis then kept his engine running whilst he was on the gravel and then was lifted off by a crane and allowed to rejoin the race. This meant that he started the race a lap down - but according to the rules he was allowed to catch up on and re-lap himself while the safety car was on the track. Instead he decided to pit and put his dry tires on - a move which cost him dearly as he struggled to keep he grip on the still-wet circuit and he ended up around 90 seconds down by lap 25.

Dring the latter half of the race though Lewis continued to gain ground, constantly improving his lap times, lap after lap. However, at the end of the day he just couldn’t make up the lost ground and it seems that driving on the dry tyres too early in the race was the major factor contributing to his final race position.

So for the first time in his Formula One career Lewis didn’t earn a podium position. Despite some brilliant overtaking it just wasn’t enough at the end of the day. Lewis still walks away with 2 points for the number 9 slot though but we’ll have to wait 2 weeks until the Hungarian Grand Prix to see if Lewis can regain a podium position once again.

There was high drama today as Lewis Hamilton crashed during the qualifying round of the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in Germany.

It happened as Lewis had just completed a very fast sector 1 time and was coming into the 160mph Schumacher S bend. The front right hand wheel seemed to lock, then the tyre blew, sending Lewis into the tyre wall diagonally at high speed. The race was suspended for around 15 minutes.

There was concern over Lewis’s health after he seemed to be in difficulty after getting out of the car and was sent to the medical centre on a stretcher after receiving medical attention at the crash site for several minutes. It was soon confirmed though that Lewis didn’t lose consciousness and suffered no broken bones, he will however be kept in for observation for at least two hours.

Shortly after the incident McLaren boss Ron Dennis said the accident was due to the failure of the right hand wheel gun, resulting in the wheel not being secured properly to the car.