Lewis Hamilton leaves on a stretcher.

The end of the Nurburgring Grand Prix qualifying session was marked today by the violent accident of Lewis Hamilton.

A front wheel was not properly fixed and went off on the circuit as the driver was accelerating. Then the uncontrollable McLaren-Mercedes driven by Hamilton went straight into a wall. The driver remained conscious and moved his extremities immediatly after the accident. A few minutes later, Hamilton managed to get out of the car and sat on his cockpit at the arrival of the medic team. By precautious measures he was installed on a stretcher with an oxygen mask. Hamilton pointed his thumb up to the fans to inform them that he was O.K.

After all the smoke cleared, Kimi Raikkonen ended up with the pole position. Raikkonen is on a good streak as he won the last two races. Combined with Lewis Hamilton's misadventure during this qualifying session, the drivers championship looks like it will be extremely well disputed until the end of this season.

Also, Hamilton's series of podiums is in jeopardy as he is qualified in 10th position. A question: Will he be able to drive tomorrow? This question will be answered in less than 24 hours.

Nurburgring qualifying session top 10:

Pole: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:31.450
2-Fernando Alonso (McLaren) 1:31.741
3-Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:31.778
4-Nick Heidfeld (BMW) 1:31.840
5-Robert Kubica (BMW) 1:32.123
6-Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:32.476
7-Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) 1:32.478
8-Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:32.501
9-Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) 1:32.570
10-Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:32.833

(Picture: Canadian Press)