Of course the German, sorry European, GP was dominated by the weather. THE image of the race for me was the Safety Car accelerating smartly out of the way as Tonio Liuzzi's Toro Rosso hurtled towards it at a ridiculous speed, totally out of control. The hapless Italian bounced off a tractor then joined the large number of drivers parked in the gravel at turn one, including (appropriately) Swampy Button and Lewis Hamilton.

Another amazing sight was the crane picking Hamilton's Macca up, popping it back down on the track, whereupon he snuck it into first and drove smartly off, his engine having ticked over happily for several minutes. It's good to see that we Brits are still capable of great automotive engineering, so well done to the Ilmor engine lads in Brixworth.

This was the race where the wheels quite literally came of Il Fenomeno's dream debut. In Q3 he seemed very anxious to get past Massa, who quite rightly wasn't having any and the next thing you knew Hamilton was in the barrier. I thought initially that the pressure had finally got to him and he'd dropped it, then it looked like a stub axle or something had broken, but it turned out that a faulty wheel gun was to blame - the wheel nut had not been tightened up properly and the wheel had come off.

Lewis was immediately seen to wiggle his legs but there was a great deal of anxiety all round until the announcement came that he was unhurt and could race. This was a salutary reminder after Kubica's miraculous escape in Canada that F1 is still a dangerous game. As far as I could see one major difference between the two shunts was that none of the crushable structures were able do their job for Hamilton because of the angle the car went in. Also, are old tyres and conveyor belting really the best crash protection the 21st Century can offer?

The Toro Rosso of Scott Speed was another to end up in the most expensive scrap yard in the world. The American, like all of the drivers, was unhurt by the off but alleged furious team boss Franz Tost thumped him when he got back to the pits. If true, this may have been a touch unfair but I'm sure the STR boss's frustration with Speed has been building up for some time. In my opinion Speed and Liuzzi have been useless, neither of them have done anything worth a cormorant (or similar) and the skids are clearly under both of them, or maybe that should be skateboards?

Dead Bull's "yoof" policy is clearly as tattered as their customers' jeans with the failure of those two at Toro Rosso, and the oldest swingers in town now being employed by the "A" team, Whingey Webber later scoring their first podium of the year. The policy has shown that the "Xtreme sports, Yo Dude, Sk8ter Boi" approach just does not work in the intensely disciplined world of Formula One. Contrast Toro Rosso's scruffy Herberts with Lewis Hamilton, who positively radiates perfection and sheer application. Lewis' approach is clearly the same as Michael Schumacher's and we can see it when ruthlessness breaks through the diffident charm - and that's how it's got to be.

It's ironic that McLaren & Bimmer, surely two of the squarest teams in F1, are doing so well with their young drivers and doubly ironic that Vettel is a Dead Bull protégé. Wonder why they don't sack Speed now and put him in a TR? [On 31st July Toro Rosso announced that they're doing exactly that - Ed.] Triply ironic is that it looks like ChampCar (or whatever it's called this week) Champion Sebastien Bourdais will be driving for them next season - he's French and their glop is banned in France. It's clear that decisions which are solely marketing led do not work in F1 even today, and when the flag drops the BS still stops, even when it's the Red kind!

Hamilton was the one of Championship leaders worst affected by the weather. Starting from tenth place he rocketed through the rabbits until he came across the battling Bimmers, who tripped over each other and Lucy clipped the spinning Kubica, picking up a puncture. This drawback was largely overcome when it rained and everyone had to stop as well but then he had his off, which was adjudged to have put him a lap down, he then cleverly unlapped himself behind the Safety Car - but dived in for dry tyres! This is the traditional racer's move to attempt to gain leverage from tricky conditions but it seems that in these days of wooden control tyres it just doesn't work. Lewis struggled the whole race through and came home ninth and out of the points, indeed off the podium, for the first time in his GP career.

Poleman Räikkönen [at last a Fazza gets a mention! - Ed] suffered from the weather too, sliding clean past the pit lane entry when it rained which effectively put him a lap down. This turned out to be the least of his problems as the F2007 conked out with hydraulic problems on lap 34 - nil points. Things went better for Massa and he looked to have the race in his pocket until a few laps from the end when it rained again and everyone dived into the pits for inters. Alonso was soon all over him like a rash, Massa defended robustly and the two banged wheels, but the Champion was not to be denied and barged past to win.

The two had words (in Italian) on the way up to the podium, for which Fred later had the grace to apologise - he admitted he was a bit worked up. It seems that Phil's final set of tyres had a nasty imbalance which caused a severe vibration in the car - it's incredible that things as small as a set of tyres and a wheel gun could so drastically affect the outcome of the race and possibly the Championship.

All this means that Alonso has closed to within two points of Hamilton, both drivers and the team are ahead of Ferrari and you have to say that McLaren look to have the stronger package.

It's a Funny Old World...

1. The FIA has decided - at least for now - that the Macca package did not benefit from technical information stolen from Ferrari. Here is the judgment, you figure it out, I can't. Neither can Ferrari, who are furious and have hired Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner who led the inquires into corruption in English football and the death of Princess Diana, to investigate. Stevens and Quest (the forensic firm he heads) are expected to focus on helping Ferrari assemble evidence in their civil action, brought at the High Court, against McLaren chief designer Coughlan. Here's the FIA's judgement:

"The WMSC is satisfied that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes was in possession of confidential Ferrari information and is therefore in breach of article 151c of the International Sporting Code,"

"However, there is insufficient evidence that this information was used in such a way as to interfere improperly with the FIA Formula One World Championship. We therefore impose no penalty.

"But if it is found in the future that the Ferrari information has been used to the detriment of the championship, we reserve the right to invite Vodafone McLaren Mercedes back in front of the WMSC where it will face the possibility of exclusion from not only the 2007 championship but also the 2008 championship."

2. Watching Lewis trundling round in an old Mercedes-Benz with Fred made me laugh out loud with delight. Their sponsors from 1934-1939 would have been OK with a Spaniard, did tolerate a Briton, but someone of Afro-Caribbean descent!

3. The scorching weather at Laguna Seca where the US MotoGP was taking place the same day was was in marked contrast to the scene at the Nürburgring. Casey Stoner won brilliantly for Ducati, so at least one Italian team which shares sponsors and tyres with Ferrari had a good day. The Yamaha of Valentino Rossi was crippled by unsuitable tyres. The Japanese, Michelin shod team is sponsored by.... Fiat.

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