The F1 Pit Box

This is Lewis Hamilton's chance to make it three wins in a row, as he sits on pole position in Hungary.  His team mate Heikki Kovalainen makes it an all-McLaren front row in position two and Massa claws back some Ferrari dignity in third place.  BMW's Kubica and a storming Timo Glock for Toyota then fill 4th and 5th before Raikkonen got a look-in to qualify 6th.

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It was a great drive and Renault have improved their suspect car considerably.  What makes it fascinating is the timing of the team's sudden resurgence.  Obviously, and as Pat Symonds more-or-less confirmed, they are lighter than the cars surrounding them and in front of the flagging Spanish crowds, but more importantly, it follows Alonso's comments of how impossible a decent result would be this season.

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'It was him, sir',

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As the Q3 clock ticked down to 5:00, it looked unlikely that Lewis was going to sit at the front of the pack.  Alonso had been slamming in the times and was out to prove himself in front of the young usurper's home crowd.  Raikkonen was beginning to show the pace that had set practice alight and briefly snatched the pole, but less than half a minute later, Hamilton stormed over the line and whipped the carpet from under everyone's feet.

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Rookies, always making mistakes. This old cliche wasn't needed today, as it was the old hands who looked like first-timers out on the streets of Monaco. Although DC's blocking of Kovalainen was mainly due to a systems failure meaning the Scot didn't know the Renault was on a hot lap, he was still penalised, but nowhere near as severely as the biggest loser: Kimi.

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The front of the Bahrain grid is a role-reversal line-up.  Both unofficial team leaders occupy positions three and four, while their wingmen sit pretty on the front row.  Massa again showed that he has the speed and has stated that he intends to make up for his Malaysian mistakes by showing rookie Hamilton a thing or two about driving in F1.  Hamilton has responded by saying he doesn't want any games from the Brazilian and if he does, it won't be Hamilton that comes off worst.  Fighting talk indeed.

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With the timer at zero at the end of Q3, it was down to the wire at Malaysia.  Raikkonen crossed the start line at Sepang with Pole Position, then, seconds after, Alonso took the position by a tenth or so.  Hamilton was just a second behind but it seemed unlikely that he would be a contender and sure enough, he stayed in his competitive fourth spot.  McLaren were already celebrating when Felipe Massa powered through and spoilt their afternoon by snatching pole from Alonso and team mate Raikkonen; he means business after Oz.

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At 2am this morning, the five month wait for the start of the new F1 season was finally over.  Although still to early to draw any major conclusions, some questions were answered, but more interestingly, some tantalising questions arose.  Raikkonen's pole position lap was effortless, making a win look very likely for the Finn's maiden Ferrari GP.  But the real excitement came from Alonso's battle with his rookie team-mate Hamilton.

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2006 has seen Monza raised from ultra-quick tifosi mecca to arguably the most important race of the season so far.  Not only is Michael Schumacher to announce his 2007 plans, but in doing so will more than likely confirm Kimi Raikkonen's and Felipe Massa's too.  Renault's Flavio Briatore has tried to put out Ferrari's fire by telling the press that he tried to put Kimi in his 2007 car, but he was already commited to Ferrari, thus increasing speculation that Schumacher will not be driving for Ferrari next season.

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