The speculation raging over Hamilton’s future threatens to derail McLaren’s
entire season, upsetting the harmony within the team just at the crucial
moment that they need to stand together.
If the unthinkable – from McLaren’s point of view – happens, and the 2008 world
champion does confirm his intention to join Mercedes next year, it is going
to be an extremely awkward run-in for the Woking team.
One thing that has never been in doubt, though, is Hamilton’s speed, and
it was on display again yesterday. It looked as if it was going to be a
straight shootout for pole with Alonso, with whom he had been swapping
fastest laps in practice, only for the Spaniard to suffer a rare mechanical
glitch.
That is now two weeks running Alonso has had a bit of bad luck following his
first corner exit in Belgium last week. Add to that the fact that Red Bull
are still not firing on all cylinders in qualifying, with Sebastian Vetel
and Mark Webber taking sixth and 11th respectively on the grid before the
German rose a place thanks to Paul di Resta’s five-place demotion for a
gearbox change, and Kimi Raikkonen starting from seventh today, and it is
almost as if someone up there wants this season to go down to the wire.
Instead of all that lot, it is the beleaguered Felipe Massa who will start the
race closest to the McLarens from third on the grid, the Brazilian
miraculously finding some form just when he needed it most, at Ferrari’s
home race with their immaculately-coiffed president Luca di Montezemolo
watching on.
Hamilton was happy to admit his fortune. “I think practice this morning
went a lot better for me,” he said. “But I can’t complain. I managed
to get a half-decent lap in and it’s great obviously for the team to
have me and Jenson at the front.”
Hamilton deserves a bit of luck. For all the fuss and drama and indiscreet
tweets, he has driven very well this year and qualified brilliantly.
This was his fifth pole if you include Barcelona, where he was later demoted
to the back of the grid through no fault of his own, and the ninth time he
has qualified on the front row in 12 races.
Whether he can complete the job today remains to be seen. Button, back to his
best in recent races, may have something to say about it.
The 32 year-old described himself as “relatively happy” to have qualified second
on the grid at a race where he has finished runner-up three years in
succession, adding that he would not be taking any chances on the run to the
first corner. That would be all McLaren need at the end of the week they
have just had.
“Lewis and I will just be focusing on getting our two cars out of the
first corner in front of all the others,” Button promised.