The Contenders

1: McLaren (1): For the first time in more than two months, we finally got to see a straight-up (semi-uninterrupted) fight between McLaren and Ferrari... and McLaren won in a walk. Even when McLaren screwed up Hamilton's pit strategy, he still blew team red out of the water. Unlike his champion rivals at the moment, he seems totally and completely committed to the cause.

Hamilton looks absolutely unbeatable right now. Even with being that far down after his second pit stop, the race really didn't look all that in doubt. Not only did he beat both Ferrari's with flair, but destroyed Heikki as well. Heikki just couldn't make the car work all weekend. Also, he could have put up a little bit of a fight when Hamilton passed. C'mon, your team orders seem a little bit too obvious Ron.

If McLaren are going to be contenders in the Constructors Championship, Heikki really needs to step up. As for the Drivers Championship, it seems Lewis is the man of moment. However, as we seen thus far, momentum can change at any given race.

2: Ferrari (2): What a difference two races makes. In France, Ferrari looked unbeatable. Now, their car is falling farther and farther behind McLaren with their drivers looking disinterested and disheartened. Massa didn't even lift a whimper as Hamilton screamed by him. Kimi just looks lost and lacks motivation. I don't think Stefano Domenicali's pep talk last week had any effect.

The thing is, they have blown so many opportunities in the first half of the season. McLaren and especially BMW have capitalized on their mistakes. Also, the field is too tight now to afford the occasional slip and still expect a good result. Finally, with tighter, bumpier tracks such as Hungary and Valencia on the horizon, Ferrari are going to have a hard time whereas McLaren have been superior on the rougher tracks. Things don't look good right now. At least they are doing better than...

The Best of the Rest

3: BMW (3): Again, the team was consistent and got results from the weekend. However, the team is now dramatically off the McLaren's and Ferrari's pace. When the team said that they will be testing out their version of KERS in Jerez, it's an indication to me that they shifting resources towards next year's car.

Not to say that this year is a lost cause. Heidfeld continues to struggle in qualifying and makes up for it in the race. It seems the tire warming issues for qualifying that Nick supposedly "solved" have crept up again. As for Kubica, he has been struggling with the car lately. It seems that he has trouble with getting his tires to work as well. Only with him, the problem is that, once his tires are warm, they seem to lose grip.

The team has stated that Monza might be their last hope for another win this year. To be honest, podiums are more of a goal now instead of wins. The teams ahead on the grid have advanced too far. If I were BMW, I would focus on next year and only work on the car enough this year to keep it ahead of the surging midfield. If they go this route, they can do what they have done all season; be there waiting when Ferrari and McLaren make mistakes.

The Midfield:

4: Toyota (4): Poor Glock. He was doing rather well when his suspension gave out on him. That seemed strange because the new Tikle-drome Hockenheim doesn't seem like the type of circuit that taxes the suspension. Anyhow, in the first half of the race he did look good and was in a position to do well.

For Trulli, it was a rather average performance. For qualifying fourth, fell backwards at the start and was quiet for the rest of the race. Still, the Toyota has shown pace on the faster, high-aero tracks which means that there might be some tough times ahead for Toyota until we get to Spa.

5: Red Bull (5): It's amazing, but this was the first mechanical-related retirement for Webber this year. He has had a really solid season thus far and has shown flashes of brilliance. It is going to be fascinating to watch next year what Webber does as Vettel settles into the "A team" at Red Bull. He certainly could do a lot better than DC is managing at the moment.

Red Bull is enjoying a really solid year, despite David's penchant for running into other cars. The bugs that have plagued the car in the past have been worked out by Newey and company. Outside of the suspension problems of earlier this year, the car has been solid. Heck, the retirement by Webber wasn't even a manufacturing error as he picked up too much of the rubbish from Glock's accident. Seeing that they have the pace and experience, we might see another podium out of them yet before the end of the season.

Wait till next year...

6: Renault (8): When I woke up Sunday morning I will admit, I had a little bit of a hangover. Needless to say, I slept through my 5:30 AM alarm to watch the race. When I went on my usual websites to check the results, I couldn't believe it. I actually went to another different website thinking there was an error on the first.

You just have to feel good for Piquet. True, a little bit of luck was involved in this result but he kept his cool and got the podium. Also with this podium, he might have just secured his seat for next year.

Meanwhile, the other half of the team seems to be cracking with frustration. As we learned last year, Alonso does not like to be beaten in equal machinery. Not only that but with Ferrari and Honda rumors floating through the air, what will he do next? By him playing this out till the end of the season, will he hurt himself more with teams becoming frustrated? Already Red Bull has pulled the trigger on Vettel. How many options will he have left? Is the safe bet for him to stomach another year at Renault?

7: Toro Rosso (9): Vettel seems on it now, scrapping his way up to eighth. If anything, he is probably one of the most entertaining racers to watch in the midfield. It's going to be really interesting what he will do in the Renault powered Red Bull versus the Ferrari powered one. As for Bourdais, he seemed absolutely lost out there. The thing is, if the team wasn't in so much limbo right now, he would be gone. Vettel has shown what you can do with that car. Bourdais needs to step up if he wants to have another season in Formula One.

8: Williams (6): Did Rosberg and Nakajima even show up this weekend? They did absolutely nothing out there. Just another limp performance by Williams. Still, they have shown that they have the chassis for the rougher circuits. The next two races might make or break their season.

9: Honda (7): Jenson finished a race... finally. If he wants to keep his job, he must do better. Barrichello was doing a little bit better than Jenson until DC knocked him out of the race. The car doesn't seem there and it is plainly obvious that Brawn is focused on next year.

As for the silly season stuff. I don't know where Honda is going. Both Button and Barrichello have contracts that are up at the end of the season. Alonso is out there but doesn't want to sign a long-term deal. What will Brawn and Fry do? It's going to be interesting to watch.

Minardi

10: Force India (10): Oh Force India, how do I describe your weekend of boredom; well... ahhh... well... ahh... ahh... ahh... oh yeah... it was Sutil's home Grand Prix. Let's just move on. I have run out of things to say about this team. Oh wait, they are getting a new gearbox!

DNF: Super Aguri (DNF): Auto Union: This Saturday will mark the 72nd anniversary of Bernd Rosemeyer's amazing drive at the Nurburgring to win the German Grand Prix in an Auto Union C-Type. I'll just end in asking: Volkswagen, why aren't you in Formula One?