Lewis on track for treble

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Aug 3, 2008 | by BYRON YOUNG

LEWIS HAMILTON roared "we are not afraid of Schu" as he trounced his rivals in red yet again The championship leader made it a third consecutive pole position for today's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old is joined on the front row for the first time this season by teammate Heikki Kovalainen, who re-signed on Thursday.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa starts third with Kimi Raikkonen lined up in sixth.

Hamilton brushed off concerns that Ferrari will step up a gear after bringing Michael Schumacher onboard to help develop the car.

He said: "It's a compliment to us, for me it makes it even more of a challenge. I'm not worried at all."

Ferrari's challenge started well this season but is going downhill. Raikkonen insisted their revival needs to start here, but his mind appeared to be somewhere else once he climbed into the cockpit.

Massa said: "It was not a fantastic day for us. We need to work very hard, everyone is already working day and night. We were fastest in the second qualifying, so that is a promising sign."

Hamilton has now beaten Ferrari in the rain, on the sweeps of Silverstone, the heat of Hockenheim and now around the twisting confines of the Hungaroring.

The team; sturnaround since Magny Cours has been one of total domination.

Hamilton said: "I'm not surprised, we had a couple of dodgy races and we've made good steps forward. I feel more comfortable in the car than ever.

"It would be great to have a 1-2 in the race. The team deserve it and Heikki and I do too."

If Hamilton wins, he will be the first British driver since Damon Hill in 1996 to win three races on the trot.

TODAY'S GRID

1 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren 1:20.889

2 Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren 0:00.996

3 Felipe Massa, Ferrari 0:01.047

4 Robert Kubica, BMW 0:01.137

5 Timo Glock, Toyota 0:01.182

6 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 0:01.372

7 Fernando Alonso, Renault 0:01.554

8 Mark Webber, Red Bull 0:01.588

9 Jarno Trulli, Toyota 0:01.623

10 Nelson Piquet, Renault 0:02.227

11 Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso

12 Jenson Button, Honda

13 David Coulthard, Red Bull

14 Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso

15 Nico Rosberg, Williams

16 Nick Heidfeld, BMW

17 Kazuki Nakajima, Williams

18 Rubens Barrichello, Honda

19 Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India

20 Adrian Sutil, Force India