Another Cracker?

Qualifying analysis, by Michele Lupini

Tomorrow's German GP at the ultra-quick Hockenheimring promises to be just as interesting as last week's cracking Austrian race, if the grid is anything to go by.

Yes, Mika Hakkinen is on pole, his eighth of the year and McLaren's milestone hundredth. But he had to fight for it, after Heinz-Harald Frentzen snatched the provisional slot from Mika half way through the session.

Mika only clipped five-hundredths off Heinz' time in the end, saying traffic and a dirty track cost him a few tenths. "It was a good qualifying session and I enjoyed it," he said. "I'm still on pole and that is the most important thing."

But Eddie Irvine was really the one who had most reason to complain about taffic, his quick lap totally ruined by a train of cars just out the pits in the second sector. It cost him at least two positions, but as usual, Eddie was positive: "At least it is better to be fifth than fourth, as the outside of the track is a big advantage here. We went the wrong way with a set-up change in the middle of the session and there was no time to change it back again for my last two runs. Tomorrow, if I make a good start then I can catch the front two very quickly. The rest will depend on strategy."

David Coulthard ended third, "I used the T-car for my second run. My mechanics did a great job in fixing the car and I was able to use it for the remainder of the session," from Eddie's teammate, Mika Salo, in an excellent fourth in his second race as Michael Schumacher's substitute. "I'm not surprised at my performance as I am more comfortable with the car now. I did not make any mistakes and I got what I wanted, I hope to do better tomorrow."

Rubens Barrichello rounded off the top six, while Panis, Hill, Trulli and Fisichella compleded the top ten.

So, what can we read into the situation at Hockenheim this afternoon?

Although Hakkinen is on pole, he had to really work for this one, and the Big Macs weren't all that big on topping the timesheets like we're used to this weekend. But they are still the team to beat.

That doesn't mean they'll automatically win and Eddie's comments again lead us to warn you of the possibility of another Irvine/Brawn/Ferrari tactical coup tomorrow. And if Ferrari's Mika is in the frame, it'll be even more interesting.

Then there's the Frentzen Factor. He was indecently quick at Monza, a very similar circuit to Hockenheim, in testing there a fortnight back and his pace suggests, at Hockenheim at least, there are now three teams capable of winning tomorrow. Don't forget either, that Frentzen is still very much a factor in the championship this year, and another victory tomorrow would bring him into a three-cornered world championship battle.

For Formula One, that would be an ideal result...