* Engine Change - drops 10 places on the grid

Lewis Hamilton pulled it out in the last minute of qualifying to snatch pole position from his team mate Fernando Alonso who had appeared to have the edge over the rookie.  Low cloud looked as if the qualifying session could be postponed, possibly until tomorrow, but in the advent the cars left the pit lane at 2.00 pm despite the helicopter pilot not having sufficient visibility to take off.  In Q1 Lewis had a bad time and it was touch and go whether or not he would get into Q2., but at the last minute he put in a lap that was good enough for Q1 (4th fastest).  Having found his lines around the track he set the fastest time in Q2 but in Q3 it looked as if Fernando Alonso was the stronger of the two.  Hamilton making an early stop for fresh intermediate Bridgestones, but was 0.243s slower than Alonso, and failed to improve with his next run.  Alonso with his last lap of the session improved his time by 0.101s. Hamilton making a very late final pit visit for a slightly worn set of intermediates.  It was going to have to be an all or nothing dash for the chequered flag to jump the two Ferraris of Raikkonen, disrupted by traffic and a slight gearbox problem and Massa and of course his team mate.  He set the fastest time of all in the first sector, extended his margin over Alonso to 0.2s in the middle third (where Raikkonen had been fastest of all), and then did just enough in the last split to snatch pole by 0.070s., having to swerve around a slower moving car on 1.5 km the pit straight.  In the wet conditions Jenson Button and Toro Rosso rookie Sebastian Vettel., giving Toro Rosso its first ever top ten start, shone and if there are similar conditions tomorrow, both drivers could have good results.  With Nico Rosberg having an engine change Jenson moves up a place and Giancarlo moves up to tenth place.  With just two points separating the two McLaren drivers it should be an exciting race tomorrow.

* Liuzzi given 25s penalty, promoting Sutil to 8th

The first 19 laps of the race were run behind the safety car and thereafter Lewis Hamilton drove perfectly to win, after being hit by Robert Kubica and his chances of being world champion look almost certain after his team mate Fernando Alonso lost it on the exit of turn five and smashed into the outside wall. having earlier been tapped into a spin by Sebastian Vettel.  Vettel looked almost certain for a podium finish until, behind the safety car he rain into the back of Mark Webber causing both of the Red Bull cars retirement.  The Ferrari´s had got it wrong at the start having put on intermediate wets when the FIA had ordered wets and had to come in to change them and Kimi refueling to the end.  From the back in the early stages Raikkonen drove brilliantly and during the latter stages overtaking David Coulthard and crawled all over his fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen using all of the track, and off it in his attempt to wrest the second place, but the rookie deservedly took the honors, aquaplaning the Renault to the chequered flag.  Felipe Massa had been lying third before he came in for an unexpected fuel stop and during the last lap kept the crowd on their feet with his duel with Robert Kubica, the Brazilian taking sixth, despite a drive through penalty and 3 other pit stops and the Pole seventh ahead of Vitantonio Liuzzi giving Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari their first point.  Adrian Sutil drove well to bring the Spyker into ninth ahead of Rubens Barichello finishing in front of his team mate Jenson Button who had driven well in the earlier stage until his front wing was knocked off.  David Coulthard used all of his experience to take an impressive fourth place for Red Bull