Valencia still a puzzle for Hamilton

LEWIS HAMILTON will continue to piece together his Valencia Street Circuit jigsaw puzzle today as he bids to strengthen his Formula One world championship lead.

Hamilton ended the first two 90-minute practice sessions ahead of tomorrow’s European Grand Prix with the fifth-best time of the day behind Ferrari’s world champion and title rival Kimi Raikkonen.

The Finn set a time of one minute 39.477 seconds for the 5.4km track that winds its way through the marina of Spain’s third-largest city, with Hamilton 0.235 seconds adrift.

There was one spin from the McLaren star in the morning, but the 23-year-old was not alone in making a mistake as virtually all the drivers did so at some stage during the day as they attempted to get to grips with what is virgin territory.

Hamilton, who leads Raikkonen by five points in the standings, said: “It’s quite a nice track, a bit slippery, but I enjoyed it. It was quite unusual at the beginning because everything was so new, even though I’d walked the circuit.

“When you’re in the car the corners come a lot quicker than you anticipate. I just took time to get used to that, taking notes of braking points, bumps and how much kerb I could use.

“The two long straights give you time to cool your tyres, then there are slower corners which demand you get your braking right. It is tricky, but not hard to memorise. I’ve taken things step by step, trying to improve the car’s balance. “All the time I was out there I was learning new things. It’s just a matter of finding all the pieces and putting the puzzle together.”

Hamilton will look to improve further in today’s final hour-long practice session ahead of qualifying.

“I feel good,” added Hamilton. “We’ve had a good day, apart from one little spin, and I think we’ve started on the right foot. We’ve slowly increased our pace and got though the testing programme.”

Meanwhile, Jenson Button is confident he will survive the axe should Honda succeed in luring Fernando Alonso to the team.

Honda boss Ross Brawn has made no secret of his admiration for the double world champion who is currently enduring a lean time on his return to Renault this season.

Alonso has also made clear his dissatisfaction with regard to the team’s lack of progress, with the Spanish star a lowly eighth in the drivers’ standings with just 18 points. That has led to the 27-year-old being consistently linked with Ferrari, but with Kimi Raikkonen seemingly set to see out his contract, it is unlikely a vacancy will arise until 2010 at the earliest.

That leaves Alonso with few options for next season if he decides to walk away, with Honda seemingly the front-runners. The Japanese manufacturing giants are one of the very few teams who could afford to pay his salary, currently reputed to be £12m (€15m) per year. Should Honda tempt him, if only for a season, that would leave one race seat available for either Button or Rubens Barrichello.

Although the 36-year-old Brazilian is out-performing the Britain, Button was not worried about the safety of his place: “I’m not worried about myself. In a way it’s good the team are talking to someone like Alonso who has a lot of experience. They’re going to talk to other drivers, that’s natural, but I’m happy with my position in the team.”