European Grand Prix 2008 Predictions

The two Friday Practice sessions clearly showed that Ferrari have the pace this weekend. I expect Felipe Massa to have full confidence in his ability after his impressive performance at the Hungaroring three weeks ago. But, I’m sure the reliability issues which stopped him from winning in Hungary, will be in the back of his mind throughout the weekend.

Another factor that goes in Ferrari’s favour is the hot temperatures. During the afternoon practice session on Friday, the air temperature was 44 degrees centigrade with the air temperature reaching highs of 30. We have already seen that track temperatures can have a huge influence on the result of the race as, at the Hungaroring, Ferrari only found speed as the weekend progressed and the weather heated up.

The reason for Ferrari’s pace in the heat, is that they are able to look after their tyres much more effectively than their rivals. The Spanish heat will mean that tyre wear could play an important part in the outcome of the race, especially seeing as Bridgestone have selected their softest tyre compounds for the race at the Circuito Urbano Valencia.

On the other hand, Team McLaren are on a role after a string of dominant race wins this season. Lewis Hamilton has declared his love for street-style circuits on many occasions, so coming to a circuit that resembles Montreal must give him confidence. During Friday practice, Lewis’s ability to learn and adapt to new circuits shone through. He was able to nail the circuit immediately, and recorded consistently quick times throughout the day.

Like Hamilton, Kubica is able to master new circuits very quickly and he is another driver who is a fan of Montreal. The quickest time set by Robert in P2 was a 1:40.149, which put him down in eighth place after Timo Glock in the Toyota and Fernando Alonso in the Renault set blisteringly fast laps in the 1:39’s. I expect Kubica to be fighting with Alonso during Sunday’s race, but I will be surprised if he manages to get on the podium.  

There is a very high chance that we will see the safety car on track during the European Grand Prix. There are three points of the circuit which sees drivers reach 185mph, and the circuit being lined with walls, the smallest mistake can turn into a big accident in the blink of an eye. This could play into the hands of the midfield runners and could produce another surprising result, as the people who fail to get into the third qualifying session will be be able to factor a safety car into their race strategy.

All of these elements paint a confusing picture and makes it very difficult to predict a result. I feel Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen will come away with a race win. Felipe Massa does better on circuits that are familiar to him and his inconsistency will probably let him down. I think we can expect Lewis Hamilton to be standing on the podium at the end of the weekend, but I see him on the second step.

My Prediction:

1. Kimi Raikkonen

2. Lewis Hamilton

3. Felipe Massa