Can world champion Kimi Raikkonen and Casey Stoner win?

Today two of the sports stories have captured my attention. The two great motor racing drivers World champion F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen and Casey Stoner both took the pole position in their qualifying round.

World champion Kimi Raikkonen handed Ferrari their 200th pole position in Formula One in a front row sweep for the Italian team at the French Grand Prix yesterday.

Brazilian Felipe Massa, who took pole at Magny-Cours last year, was second fastest to secure the Italian team’s third one-two in qualifying this season.

The pole, the 16th of Raikkonen’s grand prix career, left the Finn perfectly placed to repeat his 2007 victory at the circuit.

Poland’s Robert Kubica, the championship leader for BMW-Sauber after his victory in Canada earlier this month, qualified seventh but will start sixth because of a 10-place penalty imposed on McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton, who picked up the punishment after crashing into Raikkonen in the Canadian Grand Prix pit lane, qualified third and will start 13th.Read More

World champion Stoner revels in the wet

Reported in DONINGTON (England): World champion Casey Stoner was unstoppable in qualifying at a rain-soaked Donington yesterday to take pole position for today's British Grand Prix.

Stoner, who recorded his first pole of the season at the Catalan Grand Prix two weeks ago before finishing third, set the pace with a time of 1:38.232 on his Ducati, over six-tenths of a second quicker than Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi.

Australia's Chris Vermeulen was third fastest on a Suzuki to make his first appearance on the front row of the grid this season.

The American pair of Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards make up the second row for the race alongside Italian Andrea Dovizioso. Spain's Dani Pedrosa, Rossi's nearest championship rival who trails by seven points, finished ninth.

The poor weather meant Alvaro Bautista's 250cc provisional pole time set on Friday could not be challenged. Italy's Marco Simoncelli and Hector Barbera of Spain complete the front row while championship leader Mika Kallio was 14th.Read More