The second half of another classic Formula One season gets under way tomorrow when the lights go out at the start of the German Grand Prix with, for the first time in 50 years, three drivers neck and neck in the race for the title.

In the silver and black corner is Lewis Hamilton, the Briton, who was in sparkling form during practice at Hockenheim yesterday and was fastest in both sessions, while in the red corner are his two Ferrari rivals, Kimi Raikkonen, the world champion from Finland, and Felipe Massa, from Brazil. Only two points behind this trio is Robert Kubica, the BMW Sauber driver, who is doing his best to stay in touch, but whose car is no match for the McLaren or the Ferrari.

So who is going to win in a season during which there have been some thrilling races, as well as some memorable errors, by each of the protagonists, not least Hamilton and his infamous crash into Raikkonen's car in the pitlane in Canada? The theories are many and varied in a paddock that is relishing what looks as if it will be another battle to the wire to rival last year's, when Raikkonen pipped Hamilton by a point after a tense and dramatic finale at Interlagos in Brazil.

In Formula One the car is more than half the battle and if either McLaren or Ferrari can get a performance advantage, that could be enough to settle matters. Let us hope that this is not the case because the two machines are beautifully balanced in competitive terms. It is hard to predict at which tracks one will prosper and the other will struggle and the role of drivers and race engineers in responding to conditions is critical.

Massa's many critics believe that he has the weakest claim on the title and has benefited more as result of his rivals' mistakes than his ability. The likeable and sporting Brazilian is regarded by the purists as not good enough to drive a Ferrari in Formula One and, even if he is a superb driver in qualifying, he is weak in wet weather - he spun his car five times in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone two weeks ago - and he can crumble when under pressure on the track.

In his favour, however, Massa can point out that, along with Hamilton, he has managed three wins to Raikkonen's two this season, that he drove impressively when winning his third Turkish Grand Prix in succession in Istanbul on May 11 and also did so in the rain in Monte Carlo two weeks later. Massa is hungry for a title that he knows he could have won last year had he not been the victim of some cruel luck, and he has Michael Schumacher helping him focus on doing that.

His team-mate Raikkonen - “The Iceman” - who is earning more than twice Massa's £10million salary, is the hardest to read. Supremely quick with a perfect temperament for Formula One's long game, he should have momentum behind him after winning last year. But Raikkonen's focus is arguably not as intense as either Massa's or Hamilton's and he can switch off. Even as he fights for a second successive title, the Finn has hinted at the possibility of retirement, although, confusingly, he seems to be enjoying himself more at Ferrari than he did at McLaren. Crucially, Raikkonen has not imposed his authority on Massa (unlike Hamilton over Heikki Kovalainen, his McLaren team-mate), so the Ferrari pair are fighting each other as well as Hamilton, which could work in the Briton's favour.

After his epic win at Silverstone, Hamilton is flying high and will be looking for a second successive ten-pointer in Germany tomorrow. It has been an odd season, in which Hamilton has looked more like a rookie than he did last year, with an erratic pattern to his results and unforced errors creeping in.

Hamilton believes that he will play the percentages better this season, however, and he and McLaren, who have also made mistakes, are determined to re-establish the consistent form that marked his debut season. Busy off the track, Hamilton is driven by the dream of becoming world champion, which he believes is his destiny, and missing out last year has only fired him up. The big question is whether he can control that competitiveness and desire and turn it into a steady flow of points to make him Britain's first world champion since Damon Hill in 1996.

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