RED TIDE; Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen strikes again.(Competition)

Byline: NIGEL ROEBUCK

Ferrari's F2007 Formula One car thrives through long, fast corners, and there are plenty of them at Silverstone-even more so than at the previous race at Magny-Cours in France. Add that to the fact that Ferrari finally has a car setup that suits Kimi Raikkonen, and the result is two wins in seven days.

Before the season began, Raikkonen was heavily favored for the world championship, and he duly won the season opener in Australia. But the victory wasn't wholly convincing; for the next few weeks, Raikkonen struggled to keep up not only with McLaren-Mercedes' Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton but also with his own teammate, Felipe Massa.

At the U.S. Grand Prix, Raikkonen showed signs of a return to form, still only fourth in the top four but right on Massa's heels. And since F1 returned to Europe, he has been unstoppable.

Raikkonen never uses two words where one will suffice, but he enjoys Silverstone, particularly Copse Corner-taken flat out in seventh by the very brave or the certifiable-and the Becketts complex, where the g-forces are cruel. "It means a lot to win a race here, and it wasn't too hard. I had a good car all day,'' Raikkonen said, then added, "All weekend, in fact.'' He even smiled for the second time in a week.

In what was a pretty dull British Grand Prix-Silverstone does not provide many overtaking opportunities-Hamilton was the first of three leaders. Before a crowd swelling with pride at the local hero's presence, Hamilton excelled in qualifying and stole the pole from Raikkonen and Alonso in the session's dying seconds.

British fans got what they came to see and went home in high anticipation of a home victory, but as soon as the first pit stops were done, it was clear Hamilton had nothing for Raikkonen or teammate Alonso, who commanded the race's middle stint.