The Hockenhiemring has made a successful return into Formula One with yet another action-packed race, mostly thanks to Timo Glock and McLaren. The race marks some significant changes in the seasons setup but lets take a look at all the action last week in Germany.
Free Practice One
Formula One made its return to Hockenheim in the rain. The rain stopped in time for the start of the session, but the track stayed wet. The usual routine began, Adrain Sutil was first out for an installation lap followed by most of the other drivers before they all dived back to the pits. The real action started quicker than normal, especially considering the conditions. Sebastain Vettel was keen to get started at his home race and set the first time of the day. He was shortly followed by Lewis Hamilton who promptly spun. Once most drivers were out, the wet conditions on track began to dry quickly making each lap a fastest lap. Nearly 15 drivers led the session at some point including all 5 home German drivers. BMW's Robert Kubica tried to restore some normality in the time but failed after spinning at the first turn and becoming the only driver of the session to make contact with a wall. Normality was restored, however, when the Ferraris left the pits and Felipe Massa came out on top. The Brazilian was still leading by the end of the session but a lap from McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen pushed Massa down to second. Lewis Hamilton then showed McLarens superiority taking first from his teammate and ending the session in a McLaren 1-2.
Free Practice Two
The track dried up and the weather improved for the second session of Practice at the Hockenheimring. Hamilton wasted no time in going strait back to the top of the time sheets with Kovalainen again slotting in behind. Honda's Rubens Barrichello attempted a fight with McLaren but spun on track. The Ferraris the headed out, with Kimi Raikkonen visibly struggling. He couldn't get enough pace to beat his Ferrari teammate who pushed his way into second. Barrichello then had another spin followed by a few problems at the last turn for Hamilton and German driver, Timo Glock. Glock caught a bit of air before hitting the ground with a bump. Massa was not nearing Hamilton's time, getting closer with each lap. He eventually took first but not by enough as Hamilton once again stole first place with his final lap. Massa and Raikkonen completed the session second and third with Kovalainen fourth and Webber coming out on top of Alonso in the battle for fifth.
Free Practice Three
The weather stayed dry for the final session of practice in Germany. Honda's Jenson Button set the first benchmark with the Toyotas following behind. Toro Rosso were next out and Sebastian Bourdais set the first time before leaving the track and letting Vettel through to go fastest. Hamilton quickly took the top spot before Vettel forgot he was in a Toro Rosso and beat the McLarens time. The Finnish drivers then left the pits, Kovalainen easily taking first whilst Raikkonen continued to struggle in fifth. The last 10 minutes were filled with action, Massa went fastest and this time Hamilton couldn't match the time but his teammate could. Kovalainen finished first and Massa, Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel made up the top five.
Qualifying
The wind picked up for the start of qualifying and the possibility of rain increased later on.
Session One
With five minutes of the session gone, Vettel set the first notable time in front of Rosberg and Glock leaving three German drivers on top. The Ferraris were on top for most of the session with Webber hanging on to third. Hamilton made a little error at the hairpin but still too first from Massa. The Brazilian fought back to first and stayed there with Raikkonen also beating Hamilton's time and ending up in second. Attention then focused on the battle for survival. Coulthard, Boudais, Trulli, Rosberg and Glock all made in into Quali two with some fast times. Nakajima scraped into 14th leaving Button with it all to do. He also could only manage 14th. Alonso moved up to tenth leaving and Button just made it though. Nakajima, Piquet, Barrichello, Sutil and Fisichella were excluded from the rest of Qualifying.
Session Two
Surprisingly, Ferrari were the first to head out in session two of qualifying with Massa still faster than a struggling Raikkonen. The McLarens then sandwiched Massa with Hamilton first and Kovalainen second whilst Raikkonen slipped to fifth behind Alonso. Vettel made his way into the pole shootout in eighth whilst Robert Kubica moved up to fifth. Coulthard also got through but Heidfeld, Button and Rosberg couldn't get out of the drop zone. Glock, Heidfeld, Rosberg, Button and Bourdais failed to make it into the pole shootout.
Session Three
Trulli was the first to set a time for the deciding 10 minutes of qualifying, faster than the Red Bull drivers and Vettel. Raikkonen was now visibly struggling to set fast times and only just went faster than Trulli. Massa then crossed the line nearly a second faster. Raikkonen's final and deciding lap put him in second right behind Massa. Massa then went even quicker. Kovalainen slipped in between the two Ferraris but Hamilton was going even faster and took pole. Trulli and Alonso took fourth and fifth pushing Raikkonen down to sixth and Vettel finished between the two Red Bulls in ninth.
Race
Massa pressured Hamilton of the the start but he turned defensive when Kovalainen tried to pass and let Hamilton go. Kubica had a good start and when the cars reached the hiarpin, Kovalainen hit the breaks early allowing Kubica to get past both Alonso and Trulli into fourth. Alonso was desperate to get past Trulli and when he reached the second lap he pushed to hard and ran wide allowing Raikkonen past. Coulthard had a terrible start and had dropped to 14th behind Button. He was right behind the Honda but Button was putting up a fight and not letting him through. After a few failed attempts Coulthard did get past. Hamilton had now built a big lead and entered the pits. It looked like he would come out in front of Trulli but the Toyota driver went defensive and Hamilton ended up behind. The Brit then overeacted slightly and nearly crashed into the back of the Toyota. Trulli pitted on the next lap. Within the next few laps everyone pitted except Piquet who was on a one-stop strategy. The race then settled down with Hamilton pulling away further each lap. As Glock attempted the final turn his right rear suspension failed and he hit the concrete wall on the other side of the track and crossed the track again. He was winded and debris was left all over the track. The Safety Car was deployed. Everyone entered the pits except Hamilton and Piquet. Piquet had left the pits just before the safety car was released and had moved up to third behind Hamilton and Heidfeld. McLaren said Hamilton would not pit during the safety car which caused confusion as he still needed to make his second stop. Button came out just behind Hamilton and when lapped cars overtook, he was unable to as he had not been lapped by the race leader. Mark Webber left the pits with smoke pouring out of his Red Bull and was forced to retire. The saftey car returned to the pits and Coulthard ended up behind the second Honda of Barrichello. They crashed and Rubens retired. Hamilton finnaly had his pitstop around 15 seconds ahead of Piquet. It wasn't enough and he rejoined in fourth behind Piquet, Massa and Kovalainen. He easily passed Kovalainen in what looked like team orders. Massa didn't put up too much of a fight and was passed. Piquet was happy to settle for second. Hamilton won the race in front of Piquet, Massa, Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Raikkonen, Kubica and Vettel.
Championship
The Championship order stays the same but the points stretch out with Hamilton on 58, Massa on 54, Raikkonen on 51, Kubica on 48 and Heidfeld on 41. Piquets season changes for the better. He is ahead of the Williams and Toro Rosso drivers plus Coulthard and Button McLaren once again close up to BMW, two ponts behind.
Showing posts with label Race Coverage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Race Coverage. Show all posts
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
French Grand Prix '08
Although the Magny-Cours circuit does not usually produce the most exciting races, with the Ferrari dominance seeming never-ending, this years French Grand Prix proved much more entertaining then predicted. First F1 takes you through the events of the race and all the other action of the weekend.
The 10 place penalties from Canada mean Hamilton would start from 13th whilst Rosberg would start from last. The other McLaren driver, Heikki Kovalainen, got a 5 place penalty for blocking Webber in Quali one and would start from 10th. Jenson Button had some last minute problems and started from last. 
Free Practice One
Nico Rosberg set the first flying lap but it took nearly half the session for free practice one to really get going with McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen taking the early top spot. His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, beat just beat his time, but it wasn't long before Ferrari took the top spot that seems to be reserved for them at the French track. Massa consistantly beat Hamilton's time and finished on top whilst Kovalainen went off track, very nearly hitting the wall. He hung on to second until Hamilton shoved him down to third. Kimi Raikkonen completed the session in fourth with the star of Canada, Robert Kubica, just behind. Jarno Trulli continued his art of spinning but held on to seventh and Fernando Alonso kept sixth despite a rather spectacular engine failure.
Free Practice Two
Unlike FP1, we weren't left waiting around for action, as the drivers headed out for flying laps immediately. Kubica set the first time, beaten by the McLarens of Kovalainen and then Hamilton. Alonso found himself in second until Ferrari decided to join the fun and the next best spot was taken by Massa and then Raikkonen. The drivers then began to take to the gravel with Hamilton going very wide. Trulli and Sutil both followed the McLaren in the gravel and Alonso also went a bit too far off the track whilst Toyota's Timo Glock caught a bit too much air through the chicane. The Ferraris did get the jump on the McLarens but their efforts were overshadowed by that of Fernando Alonso who pulled out a terrific lap, taking fastest of the session. Raikkonen, Massa and Hamilton were behind in second, third and fourth whilst an impressive drive from the Toro Rosso of Sebastain Vettel left him in fifth. Robert Kubica rounded of the top six.
Unlike FP1, we weren't left waiting around for action, as the drivers headed out for flying laps immediately. Kubica set the first time, beaten by the McLarens of Kovalainen and then Hamilton. Alonso found himself in second until Ferrari decided to join the fun and the next best spot was taken by Massa and then Raikkonen. The drivers then began to take to the gravel with Hamilton going very wide. Trulli and Sutil both followed the McLaren in the gravel and Alonso also went a bit too far off the track whilst Toyota's Timo Glock caught a bit too much air through the chicane. The Ferraris did get the jump on the McLarens but their efforts were overshadowed by that of Fernando Alonso who pulled out a terrific lap, taking fastest of the session. Raikkonen, Massa and Hamilton were behind in second, third and fourth whilst an impressive drive from the Toro Rosso of Sebastain Vettel left him in fifth. Robert Kubica rounded of the top six.
Free Practice Three
The third and final practice session of the week dawned at Magny-Cours in fine weather. The normal lengthy wait kicked off Saturday morning. Toro Rosso's Sebastian Bourdais set the first timed lap at his home Grand Prix. Vettel joined him to have a short-lived battle at the top before Raikkonen came out. The world champion couldn't manage to beat Renault's Nelson Piquet. The Brazilian driver quickly took first, before Hamilton ended his stay at the top. David Coulthard squeezed into the top 3 but Piquet was the big surprise, taking first place back. Many tried, but nobody could beat Piquet's time. He finished first in front of Webber, Vettel and Rosberg. Raikkonen settled for fifth.
Qualifying
Both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will suffer ten place grid penalties from wherever they qualify, after the now infamous pit lane crash in Canada.
Session One
Just a few minutes into the first session of qualifying and to nobodies surprise, the Ferraris were on top with Massa leading Raikkonen. They were both beaten by the McLarens but Felipe Massa managed to split them in half a few seconds later. The British team felt they had done enough and headed back to the pits but Ferrari stayed out. Massa went even faster near the end of the session, beating Hamilton. Heidfeld found himself in a dangerous place, 18th position on his final lap. He lived to fight another day after securing 12th. Massa, Raikkonen and Trulli finished as the top three. Nakajima Button, Barrichello, Fisichella and Sutil ended their day.
Session Two
With seven minutes left in the second session of qualifying, Hamilton became the first of the front-runners to set a time. He arrived in second, below his former teammate, Alonso. Both Toyotas, Red Bulls, Toro Rossos and Renaults had completed a lap time with few surprises. Raikkonen led Ferrari back to the 1-2 spot they keep returning to, with Massa behind going 1 tenth faster. Kovalainen could only manage 8th. Ferrari went back to the pits to get ready for Quali 3. With the time nearly up, Coulthard, Vettel, Bourdais, Piquet and Rosberg were all in the drop zone with both BMW's in serious danger of joining them. Rosberg and Vettel did not improve, Piquet did and knocked Heidfeld into danger. Piquet went strait back down, thanks to Coulthard. Kubica stayed safe meaning Piquet, Heidfeld, Vettel, Bourdais and Rosberg failed to make the cut for the third and final session.
Session Three
The session started with yet another one of Jarno Trulli's spins, ruining Mark Webbers lap. With only 4 minutes of the pole shootout left, the first of the pole contenders set a time. Felipe Massa went to the top with Alonso and Coulthard slotting in behind him. Raikkonen then completed his first lap to beat Massa's time whilst Hamilton could only manage sixth after going wide. Once the session ended, Raikkonen was on provisinal pole but all his rivals still had a lap in hand, as did he. Massa just went slower to take second with Alonso taking third. Raikkonen aborted his final lap to save fuel as he already had pole. Hamilton finished in third with Kovalainen in sixth and Kubica seventh.
The 10 place penalties from Canada mean Hamilton would start from 13th whilst Rosberg would start from last. The other McLaren driver, Heikki Kovalainen, got a 5 place penalty for blocking Webber in Quali one and would start from 10th. Jenson Button had some last minute problems and started from last. A light shower hit the French circuit during the warm-up lap and rain was predicted over the next 30 minutes.
Race
Raikkonen kept Massa behind him from the start. Alonso had a terrible start from third being taken by Jarno Trulli and then Robert Kubica. Button had a good start but made contact with Sutil, damaging his Honda. Hamilton didn't make any places up round the first few corners. He took Sebastain Vettel but then ran off the track and could have taken an advantage. He then made contact with his teammate, Kovalainen, and passed him a few laps later. Hamilton's next target was Piquet but he simply could not get pass the Renault, despite Piquet going wide a few times. The Ferrari's were now in a class of thier own with Trulli filling the gap between the Italian cars and the rest of the field. Hamilton was issued a drive-though penalty for gaining an advantage when passing Vettel. He dedided to take it while he was stuck behind Piquet and rejoined thirteenth. Jenson Button ran wide and broke off his front wing. He was forced to retire. Hamilton was now behind Alonso, who had pitted, and forced his way past the Reanult making contact. Kovalainen pit and rejoined just behind Piquet. The Brazilain had problems starting his car and Heikki took the place. In the lead of the race, Kimi Raikkonen was slowing enormously allowning Massa to catch up right behind him. The problem was a loose exhaust pipe and he let Massa though to take lead of the race. Raikkonen managed to continue. Kovalainen was now up to fourth and when it started to rain lightly, Trulli's Toyota slowed down to allow Heikki to pile the pressure on him. After a few failed attempts to get past, on the final lap, Kovalainen looked like he would get past but Trulli went defensive. They almost touched but the McLaren went wide, handing the podium place to Trulli. Massa won the race, Kubica finished in fifth, with Hamilton only managing tenth.
Championship
With Massa winning the race, the drivers championship get another new leader with Kubica splitting the Ferraris and hanging on to second. In the constructors, Toyota climb into the top five, removing Williams. Ferrari again pull far ahead and with the next track also a Ferrari one, the Italian team should be happy. With the championship so open, it'll be intresting to see which way it'll swing next time at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.
Sunday, 15 June 2008
Canadian Grand Prix '08
Although perhaps not matching up to Monaco or Canada '07, the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix proved to be the race of the underdogs with a result that leaves the championship wide open. The threat of Rain, Marmots or a destroyed track all stayed away, but that didn't stop some super action over the weekend. Its that time again to look at all the action.
During qualifying the track had been unable to cope with the F1 cars and was breaking up. This had been seen before at Canada but never this early in the weekend. Serious worries were beginning to rise and emergency repairs were made to the track overnight, with the surface at turn 10 looking a complete mess. Just prior to the race, many teams and drivers were unsure whether the track would last the duration of the race.
Championship
Kubica's win now puts him in control of the Drivers championship. Massa pushes in front of Raikkonen and is joint second with Hamilton. BMW are now only three points away from Ferrari in the constructors championship with McLaren now 20 points clear of the leaders. Red Bull leapfrog Williams with David Coulthard third place. After the pit lane incident, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will be penilised 10 places from wherever they qualify at the next race which is in Magny-Cours, France.
Free Practice One
The track had been declared wet at the beginning of the session and was still lightly raining. As you would expect, the action got underway slowly, with nobody interested in risking the conditions despite the option of a free gearbox and engine change. The Williams, Hondas and Toyotas were fighting for the top spots when the cars did start to leave the pits, but the front runners stayed in the comfort of their garages whilst the track dried out. With 15 minutes to go, most drivers had set a fast lap and the Ferraris were about to put themselves at the top. McLaren were yet to set a time. Raikkonen went quickest, he was demoted to second by Rosberg, until Raikkonen finished his second lap stealing first place back. Hamilton eventually left the pits but was unable to match Kimi's time, pushing himself in third. Massa was the only one capable of taking first from his teammate, setting the fastest time of the session. Kubica, Kovalainen and Heidfeld were behind in second, third and fourth with the World Champion in fifth.
Free Practice Two
The track had dried during the lunch break and teams looked likely to head out earlier than the in morning session. The front runners headed out almost immediately once the pit lane light went green. Hamilton took the early lead after a few minutes of chaos with most drivers setting times. The Ferraris came out to join his at the top of the time sheets a little later. A few drivers struggled slightly with Glock, Fisichella and Kubica all coming too close to the walls. Webber, Kovalainen and Alonso also spun their cars with Glock and Alonso being forced to retire from the session. Piquet stopped before the entrance to the pit lane with smoke pouring out of the Renault. Felipe Massa also retired after being forced to pull off the track. The car was undamaged but was still at threat from the marshalls after some embarrassing attempts to remove the car off track, seeming completely unaware of how to get the Ferrari out of the way. Massa ended up pulling his own car to safety as the attention began to turn back to the times. Kubica set the fastest time, but had to settle for second, again. This time it was Lewis Hamilton that took the top spot for McLaren. Raikkonen, Kovalainen and Massa took third, fourth and fifth.
The track had been declared wet at the beginning of the session and was still lightly raining. As you would expect, the action got underway slowly, with nobody interested in risking the conditions despite the option of a free gearbox and engine change. The Williams, Hondas and Toyotas were fighting for the top spots when the cars did start to leave the pits, but the front runners stayed in the comfort of their garages whilst the track dried out. With 15 minutes to go, most drivers had set a fast lap and the Ferraris were about to put themselves at the top. McLaren were yet to set a time. Raikkonen went quickest, he was demoted to second by Rosberg, until Raikkonen finished his second lap stealing first place back. Hamilton eventually left the pits but was unable to match Kimi's time, pushing himself in third. Massa was the only one capable of taking first from his teammate, setting the fastest time of the session. Kubica, Kovalainen and Heidfeld were behind in second, third and fourth with the World Champion in fifth.
Free Practice Two
The track had dried during the lunch break and teams looked likely to head out earlier than the in morning session. The front runners headed out almost immediately once the pit lane light went green. Hamilton took the early lead after a few minutes of chaos with most drivers setting times. The Ferraris came out to join his at the top of the time sheets a little later. A few drivers struggled slightly with Glock, Fisichella and Kubica all coming too close to the walls. Webber, Kovalainen and Alonso also spun their cars with Glock and Alonso being forced to retire from the session. Piquet stopped before the entrance to the pit lane with smoke pouring out of the Renault. Felipe Massa also retired after being forced to pull off the track. The car was undamaged but was still at threat from the marshalls after some embarrassing attempts to remove the car off track, seeming completely unaware of how to get the Ferrari out of the way. Massa ended up pulling his own car to safety as the attention began to turn back to the times. Kubica set the fastest time, but had to settle for second, again. This time it was Lewis Hamilton that took the top spot for McLaren. Raikkonen, Kovalainen and Massa took third, fourth and fifth.
Free Practice Three
Heidfeld, Raikkonen, Rosberg and Kubica were the drivers taking the top spot once Saturday's action got underway. Hamilton, Nakajima, Glock, Piquet and Barrichello also set some fast times during the session but couldn't manage to get past second. With roughly 15 minutes to go,
everyone was out to show their pace for qualifying and just as the battle at the top started to take shape, the session was red-flagged. Sebastain Vettel had made heavy contact with the wall in his Toro Rosso and the track was covered in debris. The session was restarted but once the drivers had headed back out and began their flying laps, Sebastain Bourdais hit the barriers, leaving Toro Rosso with two cars to fix for Qualifying. His impact was much lighter but it still brought out the yellow flags, leaving Rosberg as fastest for the Saturday practice. Behind him were Raikkonen, Hamilton, Massa and Nakajima.
Heidfeld, Raikkonen, Rosberg and Kubica were the drivers taking the top spot once Saturday's action got underway. Hamilton, Nakajima, Glock, Piquet and Barrichello also set some fast times during the session but couldn't manage to get past second. With roughly 15 minutes to go,
everyone was out to show their pace for qualifying and just as the battle at the top started to take shape, the session was red-flagged. Sebastain Vettel had made heavy contact with the wall in his Toro Rosso and the track was covered in debris. The session was restarted but once the drivers had headed back out and began their flying laps, Sebastain Bourdais hit the barriers, leaving Toro Rosso with two cars to fix for Qualifying. His impact was much lighter but it still brought out the yellow flags, leaving Rosberg as fastest for the Saturday practice. Behind him were Raikkonen, Hamilton, Massa and Nakajima.Qualifying
After his crash in Free Practice Three, Sebastian Vettel would not take part in qualifying as his car was not fixed in time. He will start from the pit lane on Sunday. His teammate, Sebastain Vettel, would be given a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox after his crash.
Session One
The Ferrrais were the first to set a few quick laps, with Raikkonen and then Massa taking first during the session. McLaren couldn't match that with Hamilton only just scraping his way into fifth. The McLarens eventually broke the first place barrier and secured a 1-2 position. There were no real surprises in the mid-field but the biggest surprise of the session was Jenson Button who had been struggling all weekend so far. He was having a hard time in 19th (last) place. He returned to the pits with gearbox problems. In the last few minutes, Trulli spun at turn one but still made it through comfortably. The last five places would be taken by Bourdais, Sutil, Fisichella, Button and Vettel.
Session Two
Kovalainen was the first to set a time in session two of qualifying with Rosberg taking first not long after. Jarno Trulli ruined drivers attempts to knock the Williams driver off the top, after spinning again. He managed to avoid damaging his Toyota and continued. Rosberg did eventually leave first as Hamilton and Raikkonen made appearances on top. Lewis stayed on top with the Ferrari's behind and Alonso in the Renault in second. Jarno Trulli failed to make Session three for the first time this season after spinning for the third time. Webber also spun but made contact with the walls. He had made it into Q3 but his car was now damaged. Eliminated from the rest of Qualifying were Glock, Nakajima, Coulthard, Trulli and Piquet.
Session Three
Mark Webber's car was not fixed in time for the start of Session Three so he would start from 10th on the grid. Hamilton took the early lead with Renault's Fernando Alonso joining him in second. Alonso was eventually pushed down by Raikkonen though. With Massa in fifth and Rosberg in fourth the Pole shootout was on. At the end of the session, Kimi Raikkonen competed his fastest lap but it was not enough to beat Hamilton and he slotted in second. Everyones attention suddenly turned to BMW as Robert Kubica had unexpectedly beaten Hamilton's time. Lewis was still on a lap though, and he took pole by a massive margin, over half a second. The top ten from Qualifying in Canada were:
During qualifying the track had been unable to cope with the F1 cars and was breaking up. This had been seen before at Canada but never this early in the weekend. Serious worries were beginning to rise and emergency repairs were made to the track overnight, with the surface at turn 10 looking a complete mess. Just prior to the race, many teams and drivers were unsure whether the track would last the duration of the race.Jenson Button had a gearbox change after his qualifying problems and would start behind Sebastain Vettel in the pit lane.
Race
The race got underway cleanly with no incidents and no position changes with the top three. Nico Rosberg passed Fernando Alonso for fourth whilst Rubens Barrichello moved into seventh after taking Nick Heidfeld and Heikki Kovalainen. Heikki took the place back quickly, and eventually Nick did too. Timo Glock and Mark Webber dropped back, whilst Nelson Piquet made contact with Jarno Trulli forcing his way through. Lewis Hamilton was now pulling away from Robert Kubica at the front. Adrain Sutil pulled off the track with problems. His car was partly on the track but not on the racing line so the saftey car did not come out. His car then caught fire and the saftey car was brought out ruining Hamilton's lead. The top five then entered the pits in order. Hamilton, Kubica, Raikkonen, Rosberg and Alonso. Hamilton had a bad stop and Kubica
and Raikkonen were released in front of him and next to each other. They drove down the pit lane side by side but stopped at the end as the red light was on. Hamilton did not realise the red light was on and didn't see the stopped cars until it was too late. He steered away from Kubica but crashed into the back of Raikkonen. Rosberg was following Hamilton and crashed into the back of him. Kubica pulled away whilst the championship leaders retired from the race. Rosberg continued but pitted after the next lap for a new front wing. Once the saftey car returned to the pits, the top ten in the race were yet to pit leading to some unuasal race leaders. Barrichello, Coulthard, Trulli and Glock all lead the race before pitting. Heidfeld also lead, he pitted and came out in front of his BMW teammate, Kubica. They were now the main race contenders. Heidfeld's car was full of fuel and Kubica passed him quite easliy, Heidfeld was probaly asked to let him pass by the team. Once everyone had pitted, Kubica took the lead with Heidfeld second and Alonso third. The Spaniard immideatly put pressure on Heidfeld and it looked like Fernando would take third before he pushed too hard and spun. He made contact with the wall and was forced to retire. Then Kubica pitted for his final stop. If he came out in front of Heidfeld then he would stay in front until the end of the race. He stayed in first comfatbley making a BMW 1-2 look highly lightly. Meanwhile at the turn 10 hairpin, Barrichello was taken by Kovalainen for fourth but Massa managed to slip past both of them round the hairpin and made it stick, giving Ferrari some relief. Fisichella then spun and hit the wall, retiring, and the question of the saftey car was once again raised. Massa and Kovalainen were brought in on the belief there would be a saftey car but there wasn't and the drivers dropped back down the order. Jenson Button was having a good race in fifth despite starting in last but he also came in, ending his chance of points. Massa made his way back to fifth, but attention turned back to the front as BMW and Robert Kubica secured thier first win, and with Heidfeld behind, it was a BMW Sauber 1-2 finish. David Coulthard took the remaining place on the podium.
The race got underway cleanly with no incidents and no position changes with the top three. Nico Rosberg passed Fernando Alonso for fourth whilst Rubens Barrichello moved into seventh after taking Nick Heidfeld and Heikki Kovalainen. Heikki took the place back quickly, and eventually Nick did too. Timo Glock and Mark Webber dropped back, whilst Nelson Piquet made contact with Jarno Trulli forcing his way through. Lewis Hamilton was now pulling away from Robert Kubica at the front. Adrain Sutil pulled off the track with problems. His car was partly on the track but not on the racing line so the saftey car did not come out. His car then caught fire and the saftey car was brought out ruining Hamilton's lead. The top five then entered the pits in order. Hamilton, Kubica, Raikkonen, Rosberg and Alonso. Hamilton had a bad stop and Kubica
and Raikkonen were released in front of him and next to each other. They drove down the pit lane side by side but stopped at the end as the red light was on. Hamilton did not realise the red light was on and didn't see the stopped cars until it was too late. He steered away from Kubica but crashed into the back of Raikkonen. Rosberg was following Hamilton and crashed into the back of him. Kubica pulled away whilst the championship leaders retired from the race. Rosberg continued but pitted after the next lap for a new front wing. Once the saftey car returned to the pits, the top ten in the race were yet to pit leading to some unuasal race leaders. Barrichello, Coulthard, Trulli and Glock all lead the race before pitting. Heidfeld also lead, he pitted and came out in front of his BMW teammate, Kubica. They were now the main race contenders. Heidfeld's car was full of fuel and Kubica passed him quite easliy, Heidfeld was probaly asked to let him pass by the team. Once everyone had pitted, Kubica took the lead with Heidfeld second and Alonso third. The Spaniard immideatly put pressure on Heidfeld and it looked like Fernando would take third before he pushed too hard and spun. He made contact with the wall and was forced to retire. Then Kubica pitted for his final stop. If he came out in front of Heidfeld then he would stay in front until the end of the race. He stayed in first comfatbley making a BMW 1-2 look highly lightly. Meanwhile at the turn 10 hairpin, Barrichello was taken by Kovalainen for fourth but Massa managed to slip past both of them round the hairpin and made it stick, giving Ferrari some relief. Fisichella then spun and hit the wall, retiring, and the question of the saftey car was once again raised. Massa and Kovalainen were brought in on the belief there would be a saftey car but there wasn't and the drivers dropped back down the order. Jenson Button was having a good race in fifth despite starting in last but he also came in, ending his chance of points. Massa made his way back to fifth, but attention turned back to the front as BMW and Robert Kubica secured thier first win, and with Heidfeld behind, it was a BMW Sauber 1-2 finish. David Coulthard took the remaining place on the podium.Championship
Kubica's win now puts him in control of the Drivers championship. Massa pushes in front of Raikkonen and is joint second with Hamilton. BMW are now only three points away from Ferrari in the constructors championship with McLaren now 20 points clear of the leaders. Red Bull leapfrog Williams with David Coulthard third place. After the pit lane incident, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will be penilised 10 places from wherever they qualify at the next race which is in Magny-Cours, France.
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Monaco Grand Prix '08
Last weekend saw an epic Monaco Grand Prix take place in the streets of Monte-Carlo. The Teams and Drivers faced changing weather conditions as the Monaco circuit once again proved its self to be the most challenging track and the Ultimate in street racing. Lets try to calm down enough to take a look at the whole weekend in detail.
Free Practice One
The first two practice sessions took place earlier than normal on Thursday. The Torro Rosso's were the first out, with Sebastain Bourdais beating his teammate time. The other teams began to join them and eventually the Ferrari's and McLaren's made their way out of the pit lane. The Ferrari's went strait to the top but didn't stay there long as Lewis Hamilton jumped up into first. Meanwhile, David Coulthard was halfway round his first full lap when he pulled to the side of the road, failing to set a time. Red flags brought a halt to the session with half an hour left. A drain cover had become loose on the circuit and was leaking. 17 minutes later the session restarted. The yellow flags were waved not long after, as Jarno Trulli became the first casualty of the Monte Carlo barriers. He broke his rear suspension. Nick Heidfeld also had to retire around the same time, due to a mechanical problem. At the front, Hamilton was still leading but with ten minutes remaining it was Kimi Raikkonen that stole his lead. Hamilton failed to respond and finished second. Kovalainen was third ahead of Massa and Rosberg.
Free Practice Two
Free Practice two got underway in slightly warmer conditions to FP1. The Williams drivers were first to set quick time, knocking BMW's Nick Heidfeld to third. Raikkonen and Hamilton continued their fight for the top from the Morning session. Hamilton's first lap was faster than the world champion's time. Nico Rosberg wasn't happy in third, however, and pushed his way back up to second in front of Kimi Raikkonen. Felipe Massa was trying hard to match his team mate's time. He ended up trying a little too hard, though, and collided with a bollard on the track. Then Nico Rosberg was pushed back down to third by Fernando Alonso. Rosberg switched to the super-soft tyres and forced his way past Hamilton into first. Trulli hit the wall for the again but his car was undamaged and he continued. Piquet spun into the barriers but, surprisingly, he also continued. His team mate then did exactly the same thing at exactly the same corner but he was going slightly faster and did damage his car. The rear wing was hanging of the car and he had to shake it off to get round the lap. The session was red flagged whilst the debris was cleared. When the session was restarted, most of the drivers had switched the the super-softs. Raikkonen pulled himself back up to third and Hamilton did one better than in Session one, finishing on top. Rosberg stayed in second with Massa and Kovalainen in fouth and fifth.
Free Practice Three
Heavy rain had fallen overnight and when Saturday dawned, the track was wet. The session was declared wet with more rain expected during FP3. Felipe Massa was first to set a time, with Rosberg behind in second. Raikkonen came out to go right up to first but Massa took the position back. The McLarens stole Ferrari's limelight, however. Hamilton went to the top, continuing his performance from Thursday. Kovalainen was going even faster and forced Lewis down to second. He continued his pace and just before he finished a second faster lap, he spun. The rear of the car was damaged but he was unharmed. The session was red flagged whilst the car was removed. Once the session was restarted, it had begun to rain heavier. Everyone stayed in the pit lane until the last few minutes but nobody could match Heikki's time. He finished first with Hamilton in second. Raikkonen, Rosberg and Kubica were third, fourth and fifth.
Qualifying
The track had dried between the morning practice session and quali one there was a 20% chance of rain throughout the whole of qualifying. The air temperature was slightly hotter.
Session One
Heikki Kovalainen was the first of the front-runners to set a time. The Ferrari's then came out and Massa stole first from Heikki. Kovalainen took the position back only to be again demoted to second by Nico Rosberg. Raikkonen and Hamilton both had brief apperances at the top but it was Heikki Kovalainen that took the lead towards the end of the session. Felipe Massa wasn't done though and proved that Ferrari were in with a chance by beating Heikki to first. Hamilton finished in third. Eliminated from the rest of qualifying were Bourdais, Piquet, Vettel, Sutil and Fisichella.
Session Two
With the threat of rain increasing, the drivers headed out earlier than normal to get some laps in. Fernando Alonso was the first out to set a time. He was beaten by Kimi Raikkonen who was in turn beaten by Felipe Massa. Nico Rosberg slotted into third. It looked like Lewis Hamilton was about to smash in first but he had a slight wobble and only managed third. Nico Rosberg moved up into first later on in the session, but most mid-field drivers left it to the last minute. Towards the end of the session, the drivers in danger of dropping out made their last chance flying laps. Before some of the could get round, however, a tyre was seen making its way along the track at speed. The yellow flags came out as David Coulthard had slamed into the barrier at the exit from the tunnel and flown down the exit road. He was unhurt. The top three were Massa, Rosberg and Hamilton. Glock, Button, Heidfeld, Nakajima and Barrichello failed to get to the top-ten knockout.
Session Three
David Coulthard would not take part in the third session of qualifying, despite setting a fast enough time, after his car was was wrecked during the high-speed accident in Quali two. Kovalainen was first to set a time which was pushed to second by Hamilton. It was Raikkonen that had set the fastest time, however, once all the drivers had been out. Both Massa and Kubica made small mistakes put they slotted in third and second. With nearly a minute of the session left, Kimi Raikkonen completed his lap of a 1:15.815. Then, to most peoples surprise, both McLarens failed to match that time. Perhaps even more surprising though, it was Felipe Massa that stole first from Raikkonen with a 1:15.787 to take pole position for the race. Kimi settled for second with the McLarens on row 2.
Race
After qualifying both Giancarlo Fisichella and David Coulthard joined Sebastian Vettel in the list of drivers with 5 place grid penalties. Coulthard started from 15th whilst Fisichella started from last. It had rained in the city streets overnight and just before the drivers headed of on their parade lap it began raining again. It didn't take long for the track to get wet. Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren stalled on the grid before the warm-up lap and was made to start from the pits. All the drivers made their way round the parade lap safely and lined up on the grid with a Kovalainen shaped gap at the back of row 2. Raikkonen didn't get the best of starts when the lights went out. His hesitation let Hamilton take his second place. Massa did get a good start and stayed in first. Rosberg lost his front wing by touching Alonso at the hairpin. Button and Glock also lost their front wings and all three dived into the pits. Hamilton was trying hard to keep up with Massa and he hit the barriers, deflating his right rear tyre. He also pitted by suprisingly came out in 5th. Alonso also damaged his tyre after hitting a barrier and pitted. David Coulthard ended his weekend after aquaplaining in to the same barriers and Sebastain Bourdais ended up copying him, slamming into the back of the Red Bull after aquaplaing himself. The saftey car came out whilst the car was retrived. Raikkonen was given a drive-through once the saftey car went back in the pits. He didn't have his tyres fitted before the three minutes prior to when the race began. Alonso had switched to extreme-wet tyres during his stop and was quickly making his way back up the order. He was being held up by Heidfeld until he had had enough. The Spainard tried to take Nick at the hairpin and got it badly wrong. He collided with the German causing traffic behind. Heidfeld escaped without damage but Alonso returned to the pits for another front wing. Meanwhile, at the front, Felipe Massa made a mistake going into turn one. He recovered quickly but not in time the stop Robert Kubica pass him, and take the lead of the race. Kubica pitted from second and would have come out behind Raikkonen, had the world champion not been distracted and, similar to his team mate, run strait ahead at turn one. Massa pitted from the lead and managed to get back past Kubica, taking second. Hamilton was now leading the race. Meanwhile, Adrain Sutil had stayed out of trouble and was up to fifth. He set the fastest lap of the race so far. Both Renaults pitted and switched to the dry tyres. The track was still wet but drying quickly. It seemed they switched too soon, though. Both drivers struggled and Piquet ended up in the wall and retired. As the track dried, more drivers switched to the dry compound and evantually the race leader, Lewis Hamilton, pitted and changed to the dries. He had enough of a lead to keep first. Massa then pitted but this time failed to stay in front of Kubica, dropping to third. Hamilton's massive lead was about to ruined as the Williams of Nico Rosberg crashed heavily into the barriers spreading debris all over the track. Rosberg was unhurt but the saftey car was released again. Once the race restarted, Adrain Sutil had managed to climb to fourth place in his Force India, leading Raikkonen. With eight laps left, Kimi lost control leving the tunnel. He managed to fight the car down the end of the strait but slammed into the back of Sutil. Both drivers made it round to the pits. Raikkonen rejoined outside the points in ninth but Sutil was forced to retire. Hamilton won the race with Kubica second and Massa third.
Championship
With Hamilton winning the race and Raikkonen failing to score points, Lewis regains control of the championship. McLaren pull ahead in the constructors championship, now ahead of BMW by two points. Montreal, Canada is the next stop on the calendar.
Free Practice One
The first two practice sessions took place earlier than normal on Thursday. The Torro Rosso's were the first out, with Sebastain Bourdais beating his teammate time. The other teams began to join them and eventually the Ferrari's and McLaren's made their way out of the pit lane. The Ferrari's went strait to the top but didn't stay there long as Lewis Hamilton jumped up into first. Meanwhile, David Coulthard was halfway round his first full lap when he pulled to the side of the road, failing to set a time. Red flags brought a halt to the session with half an hour left. A drain cover had become loose on the circuit and was leaking. 17 minutes later the session restarted. The yellow flags were waved not long after, as Jarno Trulli became the first casualty of the Monte Carlo barriers. He broke his rear suspension. Nick Heidfeld also had to retire around the same time, due to a mechanical problem. At the front, Hamilton was still leading but with ten minutes remaining it was Kimi Raikkonen that stole his lead. Hamilton failed to respond and finished second. Kovalainen was third ahead of Massa and Rosberg.
Free Practice Two
Free Practice two got underway in slightly warmer conditions to FP1. The Williams drivers were first to set quick time, knocking BMW's Nick Heidfeld to third. Raikkonen and Hamilton continued their fight for the top from the Morning session. Hamilton's first lap was faster than the world champion's time. Nico Rosberg wasn't happy in third, however, and pushed his way back up to second in front of Kimi Raikkonen. Felipe Massa was trying hard to match his team mate's time. He ended up trying a little too hard, though, and collided with a bollard on the track. Then Nico Rosberg was pushed back down to third by Fernando Alonso. Rosberg switched to the super-soft tyres and forced his way past Hamilton into first. Trulli hit the wall for the again but his car was undamaged and he continued. Piquet spun into the barriers but, surprisingly, he also continued. His team mate then did exactly the same thing at exactly the same corner but he was going slightly faster and did damage his car. The rear wing was hanging of the car and he had to shake it off to get round the lap. The session was red flagged whilst the debris was cleared. When the session was restarted, most of the drivers had switched the the super-softs. Raikkonen pulled himself back up to third and Hamilton did one better than in Session one, finishing on top. Rosberg stayed in second with Massa and Kovalainen in fouth and fifth.
Free Practice Three
Heavy rain had fallen overnight and when Saturday dawned, the track was wet. The session was declared wet with more rain expected during FP3. Felipe Massa was first to set a time, with Rosberg behind in second. Raikkonen came out to go right up to first but Massa took the position back. The McLarens stole Ferrari's limelight, however. Hamilton went to the top, continuing his performance from Thursday. Kovalainen was going even faster and forced Lewis down to second. He continued his pace and just before he finished a second faster lap, he spun. The rear of the car was damaged but he was unharmed. The session was red flagged whilst the car was removed. Once the session was restarted, it had begun to rain heavier. Everyone stayed in the pit lane until the last few minutes but nobody could match Heikki's time. He finished first with Hamilton in second. Raikkonen, Rosberg and Kubica were third, fourth and fifth.
Qualifying
The track had dried between the morning practice session and quali one there was a 20% chance of rain throughout the whole of qualifying. The air temperature was slightly hotter.
Session One
Heikki Kovalainen was the first of the front-runners to set a time. The Ferrari's then came out and Massa stole first from Heikki. Kovalainen took the position back only to be again demoted to second by Nico Rosberg. Raikkonen and Hamilton both had brief apperances at the top but it was Heikki Kovalainen that took the lead towards the end of the session. Felipe Massa wasn't done though and proved that Ferrari were in with a chance by beating Heikki to first. Hamilton finished in third. Eliminated from the rest of qualifying were Bourdais, Piquet, Vettel, Sutil and Fisichella.
Session Two
With the threat of rain increasing, the drivers headed out earlier than normal to get some laps in. Fernando Alonso was the first out to set a time. He was beaten by Kimi Raikkonen who was in turn beaten by Felipe Massa. Nico Rosberg slotted into third. It looked like Lewis Hamilton was about to smash in first but he had a slight wobble and only managed third. Nico Rosberg moved up into first later on in the session, but most mid-field drivers left it to the last minute. Towards the end of the session, the drivers in danger of dropping out made their last chance flying laps. Before some of the could get round, however, a tyre was seen making its way along the track at speed. The yellow flags came out as David Coulthard had slamed into the barrier at the exit from the tunnel and flown down the exit road. He was unhurt. The top three were Massa, Rosberg and Hamilton. Glock, Button, Heidfeld, Nakajima and Barrichello failed to get to the top-ten knockout.
Session Three
David Coulthard would not take part in the third session of qualifying, despite setting a fast enough time, after his car was was wrecked during the high-speed accident in Quali two. Kovalainen was first to set a time which was pushed to second by Hamilton. It was Raikkonen that had set the fastest time, however, once all the drivers had been out. Both Massa and Kubica made small mistakes put they slotted in third and second. With nearly a minute of the session left, Kimi Raikkonen completed his lap of a 1:15.815. Then, to most peoples surprise, both McLarens failed to match that time. Perhaps even more surprising though, it was Felipe Massa that stole first from Raikkonen with a 1:15.787 to take pole position for the race. Kimi settled for second with the McLarens on row 2.
Race
After qualifying both Giancarlo Fisichella and David Coulthard joined Sebastian Vettel in the list of drivers with 5 place grid penalties. Coulthard started from 15th whilst Fisichella started from last. It had rained in the city streets overnight and just before the drivers headed of on their parade lap it began raining again. It didn't take long for the track to get wet. Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren stalled on the grid before the warm-up lap and was made to start from the pits. All the drivers made their way round the parade lap safely and lined up on the grid with a Kovalainen shaped gap at the back of row 2. Raikkonen didn't get the best of starts when the lights went out. His hesitation let Hamilton take his second place. Massa did get a good start and stayed in first. Rosberg lost his front wing by touching Alonso at the hairpin. Button and Glock also lost their front wings and all three dived into the pits. Hamilton was trying hard to keep up with Massa and he hit the barriers, deflating his right rear tyre. He also pitted by suprisingly came out in 5th. Alonso also damaged his tyre after hitting a barrier and pitted. David Coulthard ended his weekend after aquaplaining in to the same barriers and Sebastain Bourdais ended up copying him, slamming into the back of the Red Bull after aquaplaing himself. The saftey car came out whilst the car was retrived. Raikkonen was given a drive-through once the saftey car went back in the pits. He didn't have his tyres fitted before the three minutes prior to when the race began. Alonso had switched to extreme-wet tyres during his stop and was quickly making his way back up the order. He was being held up by Heidfeld until he had had enough. The Spainard tried to take Nick at the hairpin and got it badly wrong. He collided with the German causing traffic behind. Heidfeld escaped without damage but Alonso returned to the pits for another front wing. Meanwhile, at the front, Felipe Massa made a mistake going into turn one. He recovered quickly but not in time the stop Robert Kubica pass him, and take the lead of the race. Kubica pitted from second and would have come out behind Raikkonen, had the world champion not been distracted and, similar to his team mate, run strait ahead at turn one. Massa pitted from the lead and managed to get back past Kubica, taking second. Hamilton was now leading the race. Meanwhile, Adrain Sutil had stayed out of trouble and was up to fifth. He set the fastest lap of the race so far. Both Renaults pitted and switched to the dry tyres. The track was still wet but drying quickly. It seemed they switched too soon, though. Both drivers struggled and Piquet ended up in the wall and retired. As the track dried, more drivers switched to the dry compound and evantually the race leader, Lewis Hamilton, pitted and changed to the dries. He had enough of a lead to keep first. Massa then pitted but this time failed to stay in front of Kubica, dropping to third. Hamilton's massive lead was about to ruined as the Williams of Nico Rosberg crashed heavily into the barriers spreading debris all over the track. Rosberg was unhurt but the saftey car was released again. Once the race restarted, Adrain Sutil had managed to climb to fourth place in his Force India, leading Raikkonen. With eight laps left, Kimi lost control leving the tunnel. He managed to fight the car down the end of the strait but slammed into the back of Sutil. Both drivers made it round to the pits. Raikkonen rejoined outside the points in ninth but Sutil was forced to retire. Hamilton won the race with Kubica second and Massa third.
Championship
With Hamilton winning the race and Raikkonen failing to score points, Lewis regains control of the championship. McLaren pull ahead in the constructors championship, now ahead of BMW by two points. Montreal, Canada is the next stop on the calendar.
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Turkish Grand Prix '08
>See our Turkish Race Preview
The Turkish Grand Prix is over. After some of the best overtaking seen in the sport for a long time and strategy choices that made the race go right down to the last laps, the Istanbul Park circuit remains a popular all-round track and a place for Felipe Massa to improve his Career. Lets have look at all the action over the weekend from free practice one to the chequered flag.
Free Practice One
The Turkish Grand Prix got underway with some unusual weather. As well as a chance of rain, the air temperature only was only 14 degrees at the start of the session. This weather was rare for Turkey and not expected by the teams. Giancarlo Fisichella was the first out to start the installation laps in his Force India, however he left the pit lane before the session has began and whilst the red light was still on. Race control decided to penalise him three grid places for the race. Fisichella seemed to be the only driver eager to get going though. Some last-minute track cleaning had left the circuit wet and it took 40 minutes before anybody decided to head out. Sebastain Bourdais was the first out once the track had dried. Kovalainen was the first to set a quick time before the drivers started to struggle with the conditions and low tire temperatures. Trulli, Hamilton and Massa spun whilst many other drivers ran wide. Massa eventually beat Heikki's time, pushing him down to second. Hamilton set third fastest with his former teammate, Fernando Alonso in fourth. Jenson Button finished fifth and his record-breaking teammate started his weekend in eighth.
Free Practice Two
During the Friday lunch break, rain hit the circuit. The rain cleared in time for Free Practice Two however, and most of the track had dried. Kimi Raikkonen wasted no time in setting off and posted the fastest time of 1:27:54. Not long after, the red flags came out after Mark Webber went wide at the exit to turn 6 in his Red Bull. He made heavy contact with the barriers, wrecking the front end of his car. The Australian was unhurt in the accident. Jenson Button continued his good form when the session was restarted slipping into seventh. Alonso and Boudais made a journey on the grass but their mistakes were overshadowed by Timo Glock who lost his Toyota's nose whilst attempting to rejoin the track after running wide in turn 4. Massa failed to beat Kimi's time towards the end of the session slotting in second and so did Heikki Kovalainen with his best lap slower than the Ferrari's. Lewis Hamilton did manage to split the Ferrari's, however, and David Coulthard beat Heikki's time to finish fourth, wrapping up Friday's action.
Free Practice Three
Saturdays action got underway, well, very slowly actually. When the drivers finally left their pit garages it was Lewis Hamilton that set the first time to beat. Eventually all the drivers, but Coulthard, had set a time and the battle at the top were between the Renaults. The McLarens managed to get in front of them taking the top spots whilst Kimi was not where he wanted to be struggling down the grid. Massa manged to get in front of the McLarens taking the lead. With roughly half an hour left, David Coulthard left the Red Bull garage and quickly went up to third. When the last few minutes arrived Coulthard slid into first only to be pretty much immediately beaten by his Australian teammate who finished in first making up for his crash on Friday. Alonso also beat Coulthard managing second meaning the top three all had Renault engines in the back of their car. Rosberg finished fourth in front of Massa, Trulli and Hamilton.
Qualifying
After Super Aguri's withdrawal from the sport, only five drivers will drop out of sessions one and two instead of six. No rain was predicted for the whole of qualifying before session one began.
Session One
Timo Glock was the first to set a quick time and stayed in first until the Ferrari's and McLaren's left the pits. Raikkonen beat the Toyota's time. He was in beaten by Kovalainen who in turn was beaten by Hamilton. Massa was in fourth. Suprisingly, the Ferrari's went out again despite confirming themselves in session two. Massa improved to beat Hamilton's time and finish in first. Trulli slotted in fourth and the BMW's finished 7th and 9th. Knocked out of the first session were Nakajima, Piquet, Bourdais, Fisichella and Sutil.
Session Two
Nothing much happened at the beginning of Quali 2 with nobody bothering to set a fast time until the last ten minutes. Alonso, Webber, Trulli and Coulthard were the first few to set a time only to have them smashed by Kimi Raikkonen who stayed in front for the rest of the session. Massa, Hamilton and Kovalainen failed to beat him time on their best laps. Kovalainen did improve to beat his British teammate whilst Robert Kubica split the Ferrari's pushing Massa to third. Rosberg, Barrichello, Button, Vettel and Glock were refused entry to the top ten knockout.
Session Three
Timo Glock was the first driver to set a time, five minutes into the session. Lewis Hamilton wasted no time in beating the Toyota Driver's time of 1:30.299, taking the lead. Raikkonen, Kubica and Alonso all set times ahead of Hamilton but their efforts were overshadowed by Felipe Massa who set a super fast time of 1:27.896. Hamilton started to have problems keeping control of the car and pitted to change his tyres to the slower harder compound. He failed to beat Massa's time with a 1:27.923. Kovalainen did manage to beat Massa's time, just, with 1:27.808. Massa crossed the line next and smashed the time set by the McLaren driver, securing pole position for the third year in a row with 1:27.617. Kimi Raikkonen finished in fourth in front of Robert Kubica.
Race
The drivers completed their formation lap and lined up on the grid, waiting for the lights. Which took a very long time to come on. Massa made a good start to retain the lead with no challenges. Hamilton made an even better start behind him, though easily taking his teammate for second place. Both Kovalainen and Raikkonen dropped down another place after Robert Kubica took them for third. Kimi dropped down even more places after being boxed in by Heikki on turn 1. Meanwhlie, at the back, Giancarlo Fisichella went into turn 1 way too fast and flew over the top of Kazuki Nakajima's Williams to retire for the third time in a row in a first corner crash at Turkey. Nakajima managed to get to the pits with no rear wing but was forced to retire. The safety car was brought out whilst debris from the crash was cleared. When the pit lane reopened, Sutil pit for a new front wing after losing it in his teammates accident. Vettel pit for a puncture and so did second place starter, Heikki Kovalinen who re-entered the race in last place. Kimi Raikkonen started making his way back up the field, taking Alonso for fourth. The Spanish Renault driver was the first in the pits rather early. Hamilton had done a good job keeping up with Massa, he was next in the pitlane. His stop was very short, suggesting a three-stop strategy. Meanwhile, Kovalainen began his journey back up the grid, passing Sutil and Vettel. Massa pit and came back out infront of Hamilton. Kubica also pit from third. Raikkonen began his work and after his stop, he left the pit lane infront of Kubica moving him up to third. Meanwhile, right at the front, Lewis Hamilton overtook Felipe Massa to take the lead of the race. He began to pull away at an astonishing rate form Massa, again suggesting he was three stopping and he was lighter on fuel. He wasn't leading for long however, as he made his way to the pits confiming he was on a three stopper. He rejoined third. Bourdais spun and buried himself in the gravel, but then the attention was back on Kovalianen. He took Timo Glock just before the end of the lap, but Glock didn't give up and repassed him. Heikki took him again down the main strait. More action was taking place just ahead. Nelson Piquet was trying hard to get past Jenson Button. Evantually he did and Kovalainen took the advantage and got past Button too. Massa, Kubica and Raikkonen all made thier second stop with no troubles. Then Hamilton made his third and final stop and came out infront of Kimi, snatching third from the iceman. The last piece of action came, rather unsuprisingly, from Kovalainen. He passed Rosberg, only for Nico to come back at him like Glock did. Heikki passed him again for eigth and a championship point. Kovalainen still had to make a stop, however, and finished twelth. Massa won his third Turkish Grand Prix in a row. Hamilton came second with Raikkonen third. The retirements were Fisichella, Nakajima and Bourdais.
Championship
Kimi Raikkonen stays on top in the Drivers Championship and Felipe Massa has pulled himself right back into contention. He is equal on points with Hamilton in second. In the Constuctors, Ferrari are 19 points from BMW and McLaren are now 2 behind the German team. Next we move to the most glamourous and one of the most popular locations on the calendar. The Monte-Carlo street circuit, Monaco.
The Turkish Grand Prix is over. After some of the best overtaking seen in the sport for a long time and strategy choices that made the race go right down to the last laps, the Istanbul Park circuit remains a popular all-round track and a place for Felipe Massa to improve his Career. Lets have look at all the action over the weekend from free practice one to the chequered flag.
Free Practice One
The Turkish Grand Prix got underway with some unusual weather. As well as a chance of rain, the air temperature only was only 14 degrees at the start of the session. This weather was rare for Turkey and not expected by the teams. Giancarlo Fisichella was the first out to start the installation laps in his Force India, however he left the pit lane before the session has began and whilst the red light was still on. Race control decided to penalise him three grid places for the race. Fisichella seemed to be the only driver eager to get going though. Some last-minute track cleaning had left the circuit wet and it took 40 minutes before anybody decided to head out. Sebastain Bourdais was the first out once the track had dried. Kovalainen was the first to set a quick time before the drivers started to struggle with the conditions and low tire temperatures. Trulli, Hamilton and Massa spun whilst many other drivers ran wide. Massa eventually beat Heikki's time, pushing him down to second. Hamilton set third fastest with his former teammate, Fernando Alonso in fourth. Jenson Button finished fifth and his record-breaking teammate started his weekend in eighth.
Free Practice Two
During the Friday lunch break, rain hit the circuit. The rain cleared in time for Free Practice Two however, and most of the track had dried. Kimi Raikkonen wasted no time in setting off and posted the fastest time of 1:27:54. Not long after, the red flags came out after Mark Webber went wide at the exit to turn 6 in his Red Bull. He made heavy contact with the barriers, wrecking the front end of his car. The Australian was unhurt in the accident. Jenson Button continued his good form when the session was restarted slipping into seventh. Alonso and Boudais made a journey on the grass but their mistakes were overshadowed by Timo Glock who lost his Toyota's nose whilst attempting to rejoin the track after running wide in turn 4. Massa failed to beat Kimi's time towards the end of the session slotting in second and so did Heikki Kovalainen with his best lap slower than the Ferrari's. Lewis Hamilton did manage to split the Ferrari's, however, and David Coulthard beat Heikki's time to finish fourth, wrapping up Friday's action.
Free Practice Three
Saturdays action got underway, well, very slowly actually. When the drivers finally left their pit garages it was Lewis Hamilton that set the first time to beat. Eventually all the drivers, but Coulthard, had set a time and the battle at the top were between the Renaults. The McLarens managed to get in front of them taking the top spots whilst Kimi was not where he wanted to be struggling down the grid. Massa manged to get in front of the McLarens taking the lead. With roughly half an hour left, David Coulthard left the Red Bull garage and quickly went up to third. When the last few minutes arrived Coulthard slid into first only to be pretty much immediately beaten by his Australian teammate who finished in first making up for his crash on Friday. Alonso also beat Coulthard managing second meaning the top three all had Renault engines in the back of their car. Rosberg finished fourth in front of Massa, Trulli and Hamilton.
Qualifying
After Super Aguri's withdrawal from the sport, only five drivers will drop out of sessions one and two instead of six. No rain was predicted for the whole of qualifying before session one began.
Session One
Timo Glock was the first to set a quick time and stayed in first until the Ferrari's and McLaren's left the pits. Raikkonen beat the Toyota's time. He was in beaten by Kovalainen who in turn was beaten by Hamilton. Massa was in fourth. Suprisingly, the Ferrari's went out again despite confirming themselves in session two. Massa improved to beat Hamilton's time and finish in first. Trulli slotted in fourth and the BMW's finished 7th and 9th. Knocked out of the first session were Nakajima, Piquet, Bourdais, Fisichella and Sutil.
Session Two
Nothing much happened at the beginning of Quali 2 with nobody bothering to set a fast time until the last ten minutes. Alonso, Webber, Trulli and Coulthard were the first few to set a time only to have them smashed by Kimi Raikkonen who stayed in front for the rest of the session. Massa, Hamilton and Kovalainen failed to beat him time on their best laps. Kovalainen did improve to beat his British teammate whilst Robert Kubica split the Ferrari's pushing Massa to third. Rosberg, Barrichello, Button, Vettel and Glock were refused entry to the top ten knockout.
Session Three
Timo Glock was the first driver to set a time, five minutes into the session. Lewis Hamilton wasted no time in beating the Toyota Driver's time of 1:30.299, taking the lead. Raikkonen, Kubica and Alonso all set times ahead of Hamilton but their efforts were overshadowed by Felipe Massa who set a super fast time of 1:27.896. Hamilton started to have problems keeping control of the car and pitted to change his tyres to the slower harder compound. He failed to beat Massa's time with a 1:27.923. Kovalainen did manage to beat Massa's time, just, with 1:27.808. Massa crossed the line next and smashed the time set by the McLaren driver, securing pole position for the third year in a row with 1:27.617. Kimi Raikkonen finished in fourth in front of Robert Kubica.
Race
The drivers completed their formation lap and lined up on the grid, waiting for the lights. Which took a very long time to come on. Massa made a good start to retain the lead with no challenges. Hamilton made an even better start behind him, though easily taking his teammate for second place. Both Kovalainen and Raikkonen dropped down another place after Robert Kubica took them for third. Kimi dropped down even more places after being boxed in by Heikki on turn 1. Meanwhlie, at the back, Giancarlo Fisichella went into turn 1 way too fast and flew over the top of Kazuki Nakajima's Williams to retire for the third time in a row in a first corner crash at Turkey. Nakajima managed to get to the pits with no rear wing but was forced to retire. The safety car was brought out whilst debris from the crash was cleared. When the pit lane reopened, Sutil pit for a new front wing after losing it in his teammates accident. Vettel pit for a puncture and so did second place starter, Heikki Kovalinen who re-entered the race in last place. Kimi Raikkonen started making his way back up the field, taking Alonso for fourth. The Spanish Renault driver was the first in the pits rather early. Hamilton had done a good job keeping up with Massa, he was next in the pitlane. His stop was very short, suggesting a three-stop strategy. Meanwhile, Kovalainen began his journey back up the grid, passing Sutil and Vettel. Massa pit and came back out infront of Hamilton. Kubica also pit from third. Raikkonen began his work and after his stop, he left the pit lane infront of Kubica moving him up to third. Meanwhile, right at the front, Lewis Hamilton overtook Felipe Massa to take the lead of the race. He began to pull away at an astonishing rate form Massa, again suggesting he was three stopping and he was lighter on fuel. He wasn't leading for long however, as he made his way to the pits confiming he was on a three stopper. He rejoined third. Bourdais spun and buried himself in the gravel, but then the attention was back on Kovalianen. He took Timo Glock just before the end of the lap, but Glock didn't give up and repassed him. Heikki took him again down the main strait. More action was taking place just ahead. Nelson Piquet was trying hard to get past Jenson Button. Evantually he did and Kovalainen took the advantage and got past Button too. Massa, Kubica and Raikkonen all made thier second stop with no troubles. Then Hamilton made his third and final stop and came out infront of Kimi, snatching third from the iceman. The last piece of action came, rather unsuprisingly, from Kovalainen. He passed Rosberg, only for Nico to come back at him like Glock did. Heikki passed him again for eigth and a championship point. Kovalainen still had to make a stop, however, and finished twelth. Massa won his third Turkish Grand Prix in a row. Hamilton came second with Raikkonen third. The retirements were Fisichella, Nakajima and Bourdais.
ChampionshipKimi Raikkonen stays on top in the Drivers Championship and Felipe Massa has pulled himself right back into contention. He is equal on points with Hamilton in second. In the Constuctors, Ferrari are 19 points from BMW and McLaren are now 2 behind the German team. Next we move to the most glamourous and one of the most popular locations on the calendar. The Monte-Carlo street circuit, Monaco.
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