MOTOR SPORT: Lewis Hamilton goes into tomorrow's European grand prix at the Nurburgring a comfortable 12 points ahead of his McLaren-Mercedes team-mate Fernando Alonso and knowing that if he keeps his head and concentrates on consistency he could well have already broken the back of the world championship with eight races to run.

Indeed, there are those in the paddock who point out that, with only two points separating first and second race places in the scoring system, Hamilton would need only to follow his colleague home from this stage onwards and it would take six races for the Spaniard to draw level with his 22-year-old rival.

Such theoretical scenarios are meat and drink for speculation and pit-lane gossip but of course they take little account of the fact that getting sucked into a first-corner collision at a circuit such as Nurburgring will do far more damage to Hamilton's prospects than the mathematics of his contest with Alonso.

There could also be an even bigger challenge than his team-mate for the McLaren driver to handle in the second half of the season, namely Ferrari's re-emergence as a serious title force.

Forget for a moment the rancorous off-track dispute over who may or may not have leaked almost 800 Ferrari design drawings to the now-suspended McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan. That issue - and several others - will be resolved soon enough, at next Thursday's meeting of the FIA world motorsport council in Paris.

Tomorrow, McLaren know their biggest challenge might be getting to grips with Kimi Raikkonen, who emerged victoriously from the British Grand Prix as the only man so far this season to have achieved three grands prix wins.

The Finn says it is time for him to nail an elusive first Nurburgring victory after coming close on several occasions at the German circuit. In 2003 his McLaren retired with an engine failure while leading from pole position. In 2004 he also fell victim to engine problems, and in 2005 he crashed off the circuit with broken suspension as he led into the final lap.

"Kimi displayed the sort of determination which has really defined his whole approach to motor racing," said McLaren's chairman Ron Dennis. "He drove for us for five years and was invariably a formidable competitor."

In 2005 Raikkonen's ice-cold commitment underpinned what some regarded as a brilliantly calculated chance, others a reckless gamble. Momentarily forced offline as he lapped Jacques Villeneuve's Sauber, he locked the right front tyre, throwing the wheel out of balance and causing it to vibrate so much that he almost developed double vision as he grappled to keep control.

Raikkonen thinks he will have a calmer time with the Ferrari F2007 and believes he can sustain the momentum of his wins at Magny-Cours and Silverstone.

"It was great to win two races in a row; the team and I needed that," he said. "The team has done fantastic preparation for these two races, but we must continue to work hard to stay ahead of our main rivals. Let's hope we can make a hat-trick; just like in Magny-Cours and in Silverstone I have never had a perfect race there (Nurburgring) with my former team. It's time to succeed."

He added: "The second part of the championship has begun and you can see how the performance pendulum is easily swinging from one side to the other. Obviously I want it to stay on our side and that I continue to win - and at the end of the season we'll do the calculations."

Raikkonen started the season with a convincing win at Melbourne, ostensibly cementing his position as Michael Schumacher's true successor. But for the next few races it seemed he was being eclipsed by his team-mate Felipe Massa, who won in Bahrain and Barcelona and had the benefit of continuity in that he had been in the team as Schumacher's running mate throughout 2006.

The team also suffered a mid-season dip at Montreal and Indianapolis, but Raikkonen emphasised it had turned the corner with those two impressive wins in Europe. In particular Raikkonen and Massa have worked hard to understand the subtleties of Bridgestone's tyre performance. The F2007 also has an aerodynamic package that seems to aid the car's handling on long, high-speed corners.

"After the two races in North America people thought we had nothing more to give," said Raikkonen. "But now, after two wins, they celebrate us like kings . . . in the end not that much has changed other than that I feel happy, obviously.

"More important than the fact that we beat McLaren at home is that we got some points for both classifications in the last two races."

He firmly intends that Ferrari should deliver more of the same at the Nurburgring tomorrow. Guardian Service

Leader sets pace in free practice

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton showed no signs of being slowed by a weekend bout of flu when he set the pace in yesterday's free practice at Nurburgring.

The 22-year-old championship leader led the first session with a lap of one minute 32.515 seconds.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was 0.236 seconds slower. The positions were reversed in the afternoon, with Raikkonen lapping in 1:33.339 ahead of Hamilton in 1:33.478.

On a day of typically capricious conditions in the wooded and hilly Eifel region, Hamilton spun in both sessions but recovered each time.

"I think the first time I was just carrying more speed, finding the limit," he said.

"The second time I damaged or overheated the tyres. I think it's looking good, I'm feeling good in the car."

Fernando Alonso was third in the morning and fourth in the afternoon, when Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa went faster than the Spaniard on a drying track after midday rain.

The times left no doubt that tomorrow's race, a home grand prix for McLaren's engine partners, Mercedes, would be another battle between the two teams who have won everything so far this season.

Hamilton was clearly on the mend after nursing a fever last weekend following his home British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Standings

Drivers

1 L Hamilton (Brit) McLaren 70

2 F Alonso (Spn) McLaren 58

3 K Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 52

4 F Massa (Bra) Ferrari 51

5 N Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 33

6 R Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 22

7 G Fisichella (Ita) Renault 17

8 H Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 14

9 A Wurz (Aut) Williams 8

10 J Trulli (Ita) Toyota 7

11 N Rosberg (Ger) Williams 5

12 T Sato (Jap) Super Aguri 4

13 D Coulthard (Brit) Red Bull 4

14 R Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 2

15 M Webber (Aus) Red Bull 2

16 S Vettel (Ger) BMW Sauber 1

17 J Button (Brit) Honda 1

Manufacturers

1 McLaren 128

2 Ferrari 103

3 BMW Sauber 56

4 Renault 31

5 Williams 13

6 Toyota 9

7 Red Bull 6

8 Super Aguri 4

9 Honda 1