Our sister site, Chicken Dinner, thinks Lewis will win on Sunday. We disagree, but we’re not going to kick off or anything

The betting experts over at Chicken Dinner list 11 reasons why they think Lewis will win this weekend. Their evidence is compelling, even if we disagree (we say lewis will finish second; and judging from the above photo, taken today at Silverstone, the McLaren star agrees with us): read the story

Earlier today, we predicted that Kimi Raikkonen will win in Britain again.

Being a democratic bunch, we’re not about to go Mugabe on your collective ass. So who do you think will win on Sunday? Vote below…

Grid Crasher previews this weekend’s race at Silverstone

1. It will rain on Sunday afternoon That’s what the expert weather folks say, and who are we to doubt them. A wet GP is an unpredictable GP - but that’s not going to stop us from making another nine rash predictions…

Honda’s chief geek reveals what Alonso really wants

Amid speculation that cash-rich Honda could be Nando Alonso’s next destination, Ross Brawn, the team’s principal, admits that “every team” would be interested in signing the former double world champion for 2009 - hmm, not sure Ron Dennis would agree, but we take Brawn’s point.

“Honda is no different, of course,” Brawn told the Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell.

“Fernando is a very good driver that everyone would like to have sitting in their car,” said the man who was formerly Ferrari’s technical director.

“(But) I know what team he would like to go to, everyone does [i.e. Ferrari]. The reality is that, before we can talk seriously with him, the situation with Ferrari must be resolved.”

Saturday & Sunday will be wet, warn forecasters

The long-range weather forecast predicts that Friday at Silverstone will feature sunny spells, but conditions will worsen over the following 24 hours with rain forecast for Saturday (quali) and Sunday (race day). Temperatures are also set to drop sharply, with a high of around 16C on Sunday… so this is what it feels like to be a weatherman.

With Ferrari set to dominate a dry race, the Scuderia’s rivals - including title challengers Lewis Hamilton and Robert Kubica - will surely be delighted at the prospect of a wet, unpredictable race.

Brazilian sets pace on first day at British GP circuit

Ferrari’s in-form Felipe Massa was the quickest man at Silverstone yesterday, as a three-day test got underway. Massa clocked a best lap of 1:20:188 (he completed 71 laps in all) in fine conditions, just under three-tenths of a second ahead of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen.

Kovi completed 90 laps for McLaren, whose car featured some new aero parts, as well as testing a new fuel and lubricant formulation. Heikki will also be in action today (more on that later) before he hands over to team-mate Lewis Hamilton on Thursday.

Full timesheet below…

Grid Crasher’s tells you who’s staying, and who’s going…

Now is the time of the season when the F1 rumour mill goes crazy. Will Alonso leave Renault at the end of the year? Will Kimi actually retire? Is Nelson Piquet Jnr history? What is the point of Timo Glock? So many questions, no concrete answers.

Here is our take on what the 2009 driver line-ups will look like…

More fuel for the anti-McLaren conspiracy theorists

Part of Kimi Raikkonen’s exhaust fell off during the French GP, but should he have been allowed to drive round with it hanging off in the first place? It could have flown off in any direction. Worst case scenario: it hits another driver, or a steward, or a spectator.

Okay, the chances of that happening are very slim indeed, but why do we get the nagging feeling that had it been a McLaren, then different action may have been taken? Hmm… (strokes beard pensively)

Charlie Whiting should have at least ordered a black-and-orange flag, forcing Kimi into the pits; some might say the Ferrari driver deserved to see a full black flag.

The best pics from Magny Cours

Nick Heidfeld and Bobby Kubica enjoy a cheese and wine tasting session. Nick, in particular, seems to be having a fine time. Question (we have asked it before): why do the poor BMW drivers always get to do the shittiest PR set-ups? You wouldn’t catch Kimi Raikkonen sat in a field before a GP, with a wooden tray of brie and grapes laid out in front of him.

More pics this way…

Who got lost in France?

Five winners:

1. Felipe Massa (1st) Won a race that he didn’t really deserve to win, though that’s no criticism of Ferrari’s No.2, who could yet win the world title - especially if Kimi continues to have zero luck.

2. Nelson Piquet Jnr (7th) Wouhou, at last! Junior brings his Renault home in a points-paying position. Now we could see a totally different Piquet. Or not.

Poor quali by Lewis & Kovi points to Ferrari 1-2

A poor performance by both McLaren drivers in yesterday’s qualifying session for today’s French GP means that a Ferrari 1-2 is almost inevitable, reliability permitting. Kimi Raikkonen (pole) and Felipe Massa (second) did a solid job in locking down the front row, but they were put under no pressure from Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen. Hamilton was fastest of the non-Ferrari cars, but he ran wide and could have possibly grabbed a vital pole. He later apologised to his team, saying “I didn’t do a good job at all”.

With Hamilton already pushed down the grid, this was seen as a chance for Kovalainen to step up and put some heat on Ferrari, but he did an average job, qualifying only sixth-fastest. At this rate, we’d be surprised if McLaren hang on to him for 2009.