* Engine Change - drops 10 places on the grid

This afternoon Lewis Hamilton achieved the most significant milestone of his extraordinary short Formula 1 career so far by storming to his first pole position and even more remarkable as this was his first visit to the circuit GP2 not racing here.  He had started his final flying lap behind his team mate and his joy would appear to be short lived with Fernando Alonso setting faster times in the first two sectors behind him, but the reigning world champion made an an uncharacteristic mistake at the final chicane, got out of shape over the final kerb and was nearly claimed as a victim to the "Wall of Champions’".  Knowing that his chance of pole had vanished Fernando backed off and finished 0.4s behind Lewis.  How costly his error will be will be known tomorrow, but just after qualifying two thirds are polling in favor of Fernando winning the race.  Surprise, especially to Ferrari was Nick Heidfeld who put his BMW third ahead of the two Ferrari's of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, the Italians reckoning that judging by the difference between Heidfeld and his team mate Kubica that the BMW is lighter on fuel than them and that they should be able to finish ahead of the BMW's who had Monaco had not shown good form in the race compared with their qualifying.  Mark Webber was best of the rest in seventh, ahead of the ever impressive Nico Rosberg (Williams), Robert Kubica, Giancarlo Fisichella will start ninth, with Jarno Trulli giving Toyota a boost following its suspension failures in Friday practice by completing the top 10.  Takuma Sato very nearly claimed his second top ten position for Super Aguri finishing 11th. David Coulthard struggled (crabbing under braking) with his Red Bull RB3 throughout qualifying right from the first lap out and Renault's Heikki Kovalainen, after having a blown engine this morning looked to carry too much speed in to turn four and the rear of his R27 stepped out going over the high kerb, sending him spinning in to the outside wall.  The suspension stood up to the impact and the Renault mechanics only had to change a deflated tyre, but the Finn was out in Q3 but his accident at least had allowed DC´s mechanics time to sort his problem out (when Q3 was red flagged) and get him into Q2.

Please Please said Lewis Hamilton as he came out of the last corner yesterday hoping that he could get his first F1 pole position. Hamilton was
slower away off the line than and Alonso looked set to sweep around the outside of the sister McLaren going in to turn one or maybe forced onto
that line by a rapidly starting Heidfeld. Alonso outbraked himself and decided to cut across the grass at the first chicane but appeared to
damage the underside of the chassis which was to cause problems for the rest of the afternoon, Jenson Button stalling at the start, no gears,
having been confident on the grid of picking up some points this afternoon. Lewis had opened up a substantial lead and made his first pit stop
when the first safety car came out when a Spyker crashed into the wall at turn 4.

This was the first of 4 incidents which caused the safety car to come out the worst being on lap 29, when the race went green, the Kubica had an
enormous crash after touching the right-rear wheel of Jarno Trulli’s Toyota on the 180mph approach to the hairpin. Prior to this Alonso and
Rosberg mistakenly made a pit stop when the the safety car came out, were investigated and given a 10 second drive through penalty. Later
Massa and Fisichella as they went to re-join the circuit, they jumped a red light at the exit of the pit lane, whilst Kubica waited, an infringement
that led to the Ferrari and Italian driver being black flagged with just 19 laps to go. (Later it was reported that Kubica had sustained a broken
leg).

To cap a quite extraordinary afternoon Sato challanged Alonso in the closing stages out braking Alonso into the final chicane with two laps to go to take sixth, Fernando Alonso possibly yielding rather than making in issue out of the place, attempting "damage limitation" to the afternoon. Fernando said afterwards mistakes were inevitable as he tried to make up lost ground, out-braking himself at turn one for a four time, the last time letting Kimi through. He added about Lewis win - “Very lucky as well as we were on very similar strategies and if the safety car comes one lap before the stop we would have been eighth and ninth today."

There is a "refran" (saying in Spain) that men commit the same mistakes twice, and it would appear that if he had indeed tried to take Hamilton
into the first corner that he had made the same mistake as in Barcelona. The team, and drivers, are trying to play down the pressure between
the two drivers, but it can only increase. Lewis Hamilton drove a faultless race despite all the pressure and deserves being "nominated driver of
the day", but close must be Nick Heidfeld and of course Alexander Wurz who had started twentieth on the grid and in the poles Sato was second
favorite for this nomination. Monday - Sato overtakes Hamilton as Driver of the day 60.1 % (3178) v 28.97 % (1532). Walker Murray reckons
that Lewis Hamilton could be the 2007 World Champion who says that he is "on another planet". Will Bernie be running an event on Mars in the not too distant future?