NUERBURGRING, Germany, July 21 (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton's rivals said they were taking nothing for granted despite being handed a rare opportunity to make up ground on the championship leader in Sunday's European Grand Prix.

McLaren's Hamilton, who has notched up nine successive podium finishes in an extraordinary debut season, crashed heavily on Saturday and will start 10th if given the all-clear on Sunday morning by Formula One's medical delegate.

Team mate and double world champion Fernando Alonso, 12 points adrift of the 22-year-old British rookie, starts second with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa on pole position and third respectively.

"Anything can happen tomorrow," said Raikkonen, winner of the last two races. "Similar things can happen to us."

Alonso agreed and added: "Sometimes when you open a gap...you have opened it because the others have problems...maybe tomorrow the three of us could have problems in the gear box and nobody scores points."

Until Saturday, Hamilton had barely put a wheel out of place while Raikkonen and Massa, who is fourth in the championship, have both failed to finish races. Alonso too has had his share of misfortune.

Raikkonen has twice in the past led at the Nuerburgring for McLaren, his former team, only to be sidelined by mechanical failures.

Although both Ferrari drivers and the Spaniard had expected Hamilton to stumble at some point, they took no pleasure in the circumstances.

Hamilton ploughed off into the tyre wall after his front right tyre blew, a failure blamed by the team on a faulty wheel gun that left a nut loose.

"For sure it's not the way we want to do the racing," Raikkonen said when asked if he were looking forward to the chance to narrow Hamilton's 18-point lead.

"But that's a part of racing," added the Finn.

"Sometimes you have an accident, sometimes it is not your fault, sometimes it is your mistakes but it all counts. The main thing is that he's okay and probably is going to race tomorrow."