Raikkonen beats Alonso to Europe pole

Hamilton had just set the fastest time in the first sector when a loose right front wheel caused his McLaren to slew straight on in the first part of the flat out Schumacher S.

The McLaren sped across the gravel trap and made violent contact with the tyre barrier. The Briton attempted to extricate himself from the cockpit but was clearly in some discomfort and stopped to await medical assistance.

The session was immediately red-flagged while the doctors attended to Hamilton, who waved to the crowd while being stretchered to a waiting ambulance.

He was taken to the medical centre, where it was confirmed that he had escaped without injury, although he must still await clearance from the medical officials to participate in tomorrow's Grand Prix.

The session was halted for nearly half an hour when Hamilton received attention and the tyre barriers were re-assembled.

When the action resumed there was only time for a single flying lap for the remaining contenders.

Felipe Massa moved straight to provisional pole, but was soon usurped by his Ferrari teammate Raikkonen.

Fernando Alonso beat the Ferrari's time in the first sector but a major error in the middle sector meant he could only manage second on the grid behind Raikkonen, who clinched his first pole since the season-opener.

Massa had to settle for third, ahead of the BMWs of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica.

Mark Webber broke into the top six for Red Bull, with Heikki Kovalainen seventh in the best of the Renaults.

The Toyotas took eighth and ninth, with Hamilton placed tenth with the best of his fuel-burning laps.

Jarno Trulli outqualified teammate Ralf Schumacher, but was fortunate to make it into Q3 at all, having spun at the chicane on his final Q2 lap. Despite ending the session on the grass, his previous time proved sufficient for 10th place and a place in the final segment.

While Kovalainen made it into the top ten with his final lap of Q2, his Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella did not get the same improvement, and was pushed back to 13th place, behind the two Williams.

Just 0.018 seconds split Nico Rosberg and Alex Wurz, and both nudged into the top ten near the end of Q2, but were edged back to the sixth row.

Honda's Jenson Button and Red Bull's David Coulthard were the biggest casualties of the first segment.

Button could not find sufficient pace to make the cut and will start 17th, three places behind teammate Rubens Barrichello, while Coulthard rued his team's tactics after having two laps spoilt by being too close to teammate Webber's turbulence, and then being sent out too late to complete his final run.

The combined effect of these problems left him back in 20th on the grid.

Super Aguri were the best of the three small teams in Germany, with Anthony Davidson and Takuma Sato both getting into Q2. They could not progress any further, and will share row eight.

The Toro Rossos took 18th and 19th, Scott Speed ahead of Vitantonio Liuzzi, while the Spykers again filled the final places, with Adrian Sutil 1.4 seconds faster than his temporary teammate Markus Winkelhock.