Hamilton aims to go clear at top of championship with Hockenheim win

Lewis Hamilton was celebrating two weeks ago with a brilliant victory at the British Grand Prix

'Of course I want to do well here,' he said. 'The support we get in Germany is amazing and it would be great to have a one-two.'

That would make up for some of the disappointments of the past, with McLaren's last win at Hockenheim coming a decade ago with Finland's Mika Hakkinen in 1998.

The team's last two appearances there have been disappointing, with Hakkinen's compatriot Kimi Raikkonen starting both times on pole but failing to win either.

The Finn is now the world champion with Ferrari and is looking to reassert his authority with a third victory of the season after a dismal Silverstone weekend and previous disappointments in France, Canada and Monaco.

Raikkonen could have won the last three races and been streets ahead of his rivals at the halfway point of the championship if luck had gone his way.

Instead, Hamilton crashed into his stationary car in the Montreal pitlane, an exhaust failure cost him the lead in France and Ferrari wrecked his race with the wrong tyre choice in Britain.

McLaren's current Finn Heikki Kovalainen, who took his first pole at Silverstone and is still chasing his first win, will be another obstacle to his chances on Sunday.

'We really need to win this one,' Raikkonen said on his personal website.

'Last week we had a very productive test and tried various new parts. Judging by the lap times it's going to be very close again, but I feel Ferrari will be very competitive and we are fighting for the win,' he added.

Ferrari's Finn will be hoping for a typically hot Hockenheim weekend.

'For us, the hot weather suits fine. Our car prefers the hot temperatures and in the long run it's not that hard on tyres,' he said.

Ferrari won the last grand prix at the circuit in 2006 with Michael Schumacher leading Brazilian team mate Massa in the seven-times world champion's farewell to the home crowd before retirement.

Massa needs another strong performance after doing his reputation no good by spinning five times in the wet at Silverstone while Hamilton lapped him.

BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld is Germany's best chance of a home winner but it is likely to require special circumstances for him to take a first victory, even if his team are still second to Ferrari in the constructors' standings.

The home crowd are otherwise spoilt for choice, with five German drivers in action and making up a quarter of the starting grid.