Length: 4.574 km
Number of Laps: 67 (306.458 Km)
Best Lap: K. Raikkonen - 1'13''780 (2004, Mclaren)
Record Pole: M. Schumacher - 1'13''306 (2004, Ferrari)
2005 Pole: K. Raikkonen - 1'14''320 (Mclaren)
2005 Podium: F. Alonso - JP. Montoya - J. Button

The Finn had looked strong during practice and had been rated an outside chance to challenge for the top position, but it was the manner in which he claimed P1 that had eyebrows raised.

Carrying a race fuel load, Raikkonen managed to set his fastest time of the entire weekend, a scintillating one minute and 14.070 second lap, that had the highly-fancied Ferrari of Michael Schumacher beaten at every sector mark.

Schumacher, in the end, finished a close second with a one minute and 14.205 second time, followed by his teammate Felipe Massa, one minute and 14.569.

Ferrari seemed set to dominate the final phase of qualifying after Massa demolished the field in segment one, and Schumacher followed suit with a time quicker than the 2005 pole position result in segment two.

However, with race fuel the Italian-based pair couldn’t quite repeat their earlier pace and Raikkonen, who looked to be running rather light on fuel, was virtually unchallenged for pole.

The Scuderia looked solid for Sunday though, with the consistency of pace setting a very strong foundation for a tilt at Hockenheim’s victory.

For Raikkonen Sunday presents a bid to not just win the race, but finish a German Grand Prix for the first time in his career.

Though McLaren didn’t appear to have the same car pace as their rivals with Raikkonen’s result a contrast from that of his teammate Pedro de la Rosa.

De la Rosa wasn’t weak, he just didn’t have the killer time that the Finn mustered and finished ninth fastest, almost two seconds off the pace.
He was also compromised after coming together with Toyota’s Ralf Schumacher midway through the final segment, which did damage to the right-rear of his car.

However Schumacher’s Toyota sustained the heavier of the damage with streering and suspension problems on the left-front assembly.

The team were forced to pull the TF106 into the garage with just seven minutes remaining and only got the German out in time to complete one flying lap.

It was a lap that gave Ralf the last laugh and eighth position, a hundredth of a second up on de la Rosa.

Ahead was the Renault of Fernando Alonso, who, on his 25th birthday, couldn’t match the pace of his major rivals.

It was one of the afternoon’s other surprises, the sheer pace of the session, that caught the Spaniard off guard and had him quickly on the back foot.

He made it into the top 10 shootout by less than a tenth of a second and fell pray to the mind games of Michael Schumacher to be further agitated.

Schumacher, the master of psychological battle, muscled his way out in front of the Renault as both cars exited the pit lane, seizing the advantage of clear air and angering his rival in the fight for the world championship.

Alonso’s reaction was another surprise, jumping on the radio to lament the German, asking his team if they’d ‘seen what Michael did?’.

The usually mega-strong Spaniard’s mind was clearly not on the job and it cost him as first his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella and then the two Honda’s got the better of him on the timesheets.

Honda’s results suggested a mini resurgence with Button finishing a very solid fourth fastest, and Barrichello not far behind in sixth.

The team had suffered badly at previous events but looked more comfortable on the Hockenheim circuit during both practice and qualifying.

For a similar result on Sunday though the team will have a hard fight with the field so closely matched.

Indeed it was yet another surprise that the times were so close, creating one of the most exciting qualifying sessions so far this season.

The top 10 could have easily been different with both Red Bull and Williams making serious bids for glory that had Honda, Toyota, and even Renault looking over their shoulders.

David Coulthard was the sole entrant for Red Bull, but couldn’t match his earlier heroics in the final segment to finish 10th.

Mark Webber (11th) was the lead representative for Williams and missed out on a place in the final fight by less than a tenth of a second.

So for Sunday the early picture is of a very interesting battle.

Raikkonen most likely leading the field off the line but then, after making an early stop for fuel, most likely surrendering the lead to Schumacher and Ferrari.

Further back Renault will be looking to charge toward the front to limit championship damage but the likes of the Hondas and Ralf’s Toyota could stand as major stumbling blocks in their way.

Jarno Trulli (Toyota) and Christijan Albers (Midland) are the two men who have had engine changes so far this weekend.

Scott Speed (Toro Rosso) is the other possibility though engine damage after his qualifying shunt should be minimal.