July 03, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 28, 1429

LONDON, July 2: Britain will be willing Lewis Hamilton to win his home grand prix on Sunday and end a depressing run of two races without a point.

After compatriot Andy Murray battled from two sets down to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals, McLaren’s 23-year-old Formula One title hope can follow suit with a comeback of his own at Silverstone.

With a dizzying whirl of social and promotional engagements in the week leading up to the race and a sell-out crowd of 240,000 expected for the three-day event, Hamilton’s profile has never been higher.

Yet the youngster, who took a storming pole position in front of his home crowd in his rookie season last year before finishing third, has played down the soaring expectations.

He has also been at pains to calm fears that the title may be slipping away from him, with Ferrari’s Brazilian Felipe Massa now 10 points clear coming up to the halfway point of the season.

“Kimi (Raikkonen) was 17 points behind with two races to go last year,” Hamilton said on the McLaren Web site (www.mclaren.com) of the Ferrari driver who beat him to the title by a single point last season.

“The fact that he not only came back but also won the title tells you a lot about how unpredictable this sport can be. You can never take anything for granted.

“And that’s why I’m still confident and focused,” added the Briton, who slipped to fourth overall after leading the championship with victory in Australia in March and again in May when he won in Monaco.

“We’ve got 10 races remaining. 100 points - it’s all to play for and I’m ready for it.”

Red Bull’s David Coulthard was the last Briton to win at Silverstone, with McLaren in 2000 and Ferrari have an impressive record at the circuit where they took their first championship victory in 1951.

The Italian team were dominant at the last race in France and Raikkonen, winner in Britain last year, and Massa could prove irresistible again.

Ferrari have won five of eight races so far and been on pole position five times as well.

“Last week we had three very good test days here and we think that we’re competitive,” said team boss Stefano Domenicali.

Raikkonen, third overall and five points behind Massa, is also likely to have a fresh engine - unlike Hamilton - after it was damaged in France.

Engines must last two races in a row, with a 10-place penalty on the starting grid for any unscheduled swap.—Reuters