Believe the hype

Hamilton: Pass master

Hands up who thought he'd blown it? Yes, us too.

But Lewis Hamilton then demonstrated just why he's leading the drivers' championship after a masterful comeback – of sorts – in the German Grand Prix.

Yes, he's probably got the better car but he also appears to have the talent to use it to its full potential.

Hamilton had been cruising to victory at Hockenheim and was some 12 seconds ahead of his rivals until Timo Glock lost a wheel, spun out of control and deposited little bits of his Toyota all across the track.

The safety car came out, the pack caught up with Hamilton and all the others took advantage of the slowdown to nip into the pits for their final stops. McClaren bosses, however, told Lewis to stay out.

That appeared to have scuppered his chances. When the race restarted, it was estimated that Hamilton would need to build a 23-second gap in order to make his own final stop.

When Hamilton pulled in, it left him in fifth place and five seconds behind title rival Felipe Massa with just 17 laps to go. And then began his masterclass in overtaking. His McClaren teammate was first, unsurprisingly putting up no challenge.

Then Nick Heidfeld hit the pits, leaving Hamilton third – and taking around a second a lap off Massa. He finally caught the Ferrari driver at the hairpin and took second on the inside, sending Massa on to the grass.

Massa challenged again but Hamilton again held his line and zipped away to close down leader Nelson Piquet. And three laps later, Hamilton had the lead and eventually won by over five seconds.

'I didn’t plan on making it so exciting,' said Hamilton afterwards.

It was a similar tale at the Royal Birkdale where the overnight leader Greg Norman let his early dominance slip and Ian Poulter looked to have taken control... but then along came defending champ Padraig Harrington.

Holding his nerve, Harrington blasted away the opposition with an impressive closing round to retain the Claret Jug, the first European to achieve that feat for 102 years.

'It’s brilliant to come back and defend,' said Harrington, demonstarting a clear grasp of understatement. 'I convinced myself I could win and I stayed focused and managed to get the job done.'

If Harrington hadn't won, he admitted he'd liked to have seen Greg Norman, 53, become the oldest Open champion.

'It would have been a fantastic story. He’s been a great champion during his career and this would have been the icing on the cake. When guys like him get a bit of spark back like that they can really play.'

Norman finished third. And then went home with his wife Chris Evert so we doubt the disappointment lasted too long.

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