KEY POINTS:
The scene is set for another head-to-head battle between McLaren and Ferrari as the sparring comes to an end at the European Grand Prix.
The arch-rivals shared the spoils in practice at the Nurburgring and both were feeling confident.
Ferrari have won five races this season to McLaren's four but McLaren have established a commanding 25-point lead in the constructors' championship.
They also lead the drivers' championship through Britain's Lewis Hamilton, whose rookie performances have taken Formula One by storm this season.
However, it is Ferrari who carry the momentum into this weekend's action. Kimi Raikkonen has won the last two grands prix for them in France and Britain and Brazilian Felipe Massa has also been performing well of late and remains a threat for the drivers' championship.
Raikkonen clocked the fastest time in the second practice session at the Nurburgring but typically the Finn is remaining level-headed going into the weekend.
"I'm reasonably happy," said Raikkonen. "We have proved we are competitive in pure terms on this circuit and we will have to wait to understand exactly where we are compared to our main rivals.
"I think there is still room for improvement in terms of the handling of the car which is nevertheless good on both types of tyre we have here. The weather, especially the wind, made the second session a bit complicated but this problem was the same for everyone."
Raikkonen has mostly unhappy memories of the Nurburgring, where he has suffered reliability problems on several occasions, most famously in 2005 when a suspension problem forced him to surrender the lead on the final lap of the race.
Reigning world champion Fernando Alonso has been overshadowed at McLaren by the emergence of Hamilton and he still does not seem entirely comfortable in the team, though he does lie second in the driver standings.
Competitive without being spectacular in practice at the Nurburgring, Alonso still managed to cause a stir by suggesting that Hamilton is clear favourite for the world title.
"There are still four drivers fighting for the championship," said Alonso. "All of them have opportunities to win but the one with the best is Lewis because he's first and leading with 12 points.
"I'm not worried because I will try my best in the championship to win as many races as I can and I will not give up until the last moment.
"Experience will help for sure because sooner or later, there will be some difficult weekends, maybe even this one."
As he has most things this season, however, Hamilton saw it coming.
"What does favourite mean? That's different people's opinions. For me, I've my own set of beliefs and I know what I can do. That's for me to keep to myself."
Take that, Fernando.
