Brits on Pole

This quote from Kimi Raikkonen, turning up innocuously on the BBC’s motorsport site on the day that was supposed to mark Michael Schumacher’s triumphant return to Jerez, made us smile rather broadly.

Lewis Hamilton had to surrender his top-ranking rookie status at Jerez to Robert Kubica today after the Pole laid down a blazing lap time to easily top the standings. And youth triumphed over experience on a day when the best performance Michael Schumacher could muster was a mere eighth.

Wednesday at Jerez was a great day for the British drivers – with Lewis Hamilton topping the rankings and David Coulthard running him a very close second.

The BMW Sauber team shone on the first day of testing at Jerez on Tuesday, with Nick Heidfeld putting in the fastest lap of the day. He was closely followed by Jenson Button for Honda, who came in a little more than a tenth of a second behind him.

Jenson Button has come to the defence of Silverstone’s ailing reputation following the latest salvo by Bernie Ecclestone in his long campaign for improvements there. He said it was essential that the Northamptonshire venue should continue to host a Formula One race, going so far as to say that he could not understand why its…

Wet weather has dashed Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of topping a second set of F1 standings – Top Gear’s “star in a reasonably-priced car” challenge. But, with the competitive spirit that makes or breaks an F1 driver, he’s cheekily secured himself another go in the dry.