The last two races at the Hockenheimring in Germany and Silverstone in the UK appear to have been a turning point in the 2008 title chase.

Lewis Hamilton, who had very difficult weekends in the two races prior (in Canada and France), appeared to be succumbing to title pressure. Even in qualifying for the British Grand Prix, Hamilton could only manage fourth place in front of his home crowd – while his Finnish teammate, Heike Kovalainen, put in a stunning lap to take pole position.

But all that changed on race day. With the English summer in full swing and the rain coming down at the start, Hamilton rocketed off the line and attempted to take the lead immediately. He was forced behind his teammate for a few laps but got the better of him on lap 4. Thereafter, Hamilton was unbeatable.

Raikkonen in his Ferrari looked like he could challenge for the lead but a crucial mistake in Ferrari strategy meant that Kimi dropped back. While Lewis was firmly in control, the rain claimed several victims. Ferrari’s other title contender, Feliepe Massa, ironically looked like a fish out of water on the wet track. He spun no less than five times during the race and finished in 13th and last place on track – two laps down from Hamilton.

Hamilton, meanwhile, lapped everyone all the way up to the podium positions – including two world champions, Alonso and Raikkonen. His dominant performance in the wet not only demonstrated his talent yet again but also his maturity and mental strength. Any doubts about his ability to win the world title, especially after the conclusion of the title last year, will have vanished after Silverstone. He put in the kind of performance seen only from the greats like Senna and Schumacher. Hamilton’s ability to slide the car at will is one of the defining features of his driving style – even in the dry. In the wet, this enables him to push the envelope more than other drivers, and use his driving style to slide the car into the corners in a controlled fashion. It’s meant that he’s won three of the last four wet races.

Another master in the wet is veteran Rubens Barrichello. He was the only driver to overtake Hamilton at Silverstone, albeit to unlap himself. Barrichello’s team took the decision to put full wets on his car – enabling him to be as much as 10 seconds per lap faster than everyone else at certain times during the afternoon. This allowed him to clinch his 62nd podium position – his last was with Ferrari at Indianapolis in 2005. No doubt after Silverstone, Ferrari will be missing master strategist, Ross Brawn, now team boss at Honda, more than ever.

After the race, Mark Webber was vociferous in his criticism of the current Safety Car rules, which have changed multiple times already this season but have yet to be resolved to the liking of the drivers. Webber says all the drivers dislike the unpredictability of the consequences resulting from the Safety Car being deployed – the FIA will consider once again how to tweak the existing rules.

Force India meanwhile appear to have settled into their role as backmakers for the second half of this season – Dr. Mallya saying that he would rather concentrate on next year since they have a lot to gain in 2009, especially considering the magnitude of rule changes.

With Ferrari mystified by their lack of pace and Lewis Hamilton on top of the world once again, it remains to be seen if the tide shifts once more in the coming races. Considering the season so far, I wouldn’t bet against it.