F1 French GP - Race 22/06/2008

Third win of the season for Massa

Kimi Raikkonen led away from pole position this afternoon in the 70-lap French Grand Prix and controlled the race from Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa for the first half of the race. However, a right hand side exhaust failure saw Raikkonen suddenly lose a second and a half a lap and Massa was able to cruise ahead and would go onto take a relatively easy third victory of the season.

Massa’s eighth career win moves him to the top of the championship standings with 48 points while Raikkonen was able to finish the race in second position - such was the advantage the Italian team enjoyed this weekend in France. Raikkonen looked fully in control of the race, but second position and the eight points moves him third in the championship standings just five points behind Massa.

While the battle for the race win was not much of a contest, third position remained very much in doubt right until the chequered flag fell. Jarno Trulli took the position in his Toyota, ten seconds behind Raikkonen and fended off an aggressive challenge from Heikki Kovalainen over the closing stages of the race.

For Trulli, his first podium position of the season, was an impressive achievement Toyota this week mourns the loss of former Team Principal Ove Andersson.


Kovalainen finished fourth in the leading McLaren Mercedes from tenth position on the grid after a mature drive that saw the Finn run a long first stint to move through the field and take some much needed points for his title aspirations.

Robert Kubica had a low-key race for BMW Sauber with the F1.08 package clearly not particularly well suited to the demands of the Magny Cours circuit. The Canadian Grand Prix winner shadowed Trulli and Kovalainen across the line to finish in fifth position on a day when team-mate Nick Heidfeld was nowhere. Kubica’s four points in France see him now second to Massa in the overall standings.

A strong race from Mark Webber saw Red Bull Renault score points in its seventh straight Grand Prix as the Australian took the chequered flag in sixth position. Team-mate David Coulthard had a less successful run to ninth position in the second RB4.

Fernando Alonso flattered only to deceive in qualifying yesterday as he was unable to run with the front-runners after starting the event from third position on the grid. An error lapping traffic right at the end of the race saw him run wide at the Adelaide hairpin, handing seventh position to Renault team-mate Nelson Piquet.

For Piquet, seventh position and his first career Formula One points finish, was a solid reward after an error-free Grand Prix weekend. Alonso took the chequered flag two seconds behind Piquet to give Renault three valuable championship points. It was also Alonso's 500th career point in the sport.

The French Grand Prix weekend will be one Lewis Hamilton will be as desperate to put behind him as was his Canadian effort two weeks ago. Starting 13th the McLaren driver found himself side-by-side with Sebastian Vettel on the first lap as he attempted a pass for position, but he had to cut turn seven in order to make the pass stick.

Instead of handing the position back to the Toro Rosso racer, Hamilton and the team carried on and it was therefore unsurprising that he was handed a drive through penalty for his actions. Hamilton went on to finish in tenth position and subsequently drops to fourth position in the championship standings. For whatever reason, Hamilton seems rattled at the mid-season point.

Timo Glock was unable to score points this weekend as he finished 11th in the second Toyota while Sebastian Vettel started 12th in his Toro Rosso and finished in the same position. Nick Heidfeld’s poor spell continued this afternoon as he finished a distant 13th in the second BMW Sauber, more than half a minute behind team-mate Kubica.

Honda did not have a good package for Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button as the former struggled to finish 14th and a lap down while the latter damaged his RA108 early in the race and was probably happy to park the machine for the day.

Over at Williams and the team suffered their least competitive outing in some time. With both FW30s brimmed with fuel at the start Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg struggled to 15th and 16th positions respectively and never showed any real pace. For Rosberg, his season is rapidly turning into a nightmare with just two points from the last seven races.

At the back of the pack, Sebastien Bourdais had a first home Grand Prix to forget in the second Toro Rosso as he finished 17th nearly half a minute ahead of the Force India Ferrari duo of Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil.

Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International

F1 Canadian GP - Race 08/06/2008

Kubica leads home a BMW Sauber one-two!

It’s not often that a mechanical problem towards the back of the field can trigger a chain of events that alters the entire outcome of a race. That is exactly what happened today in the action-packed 70-lap Canadian Grand Prix, a race where BMW Sauber recorded its first Grand Prix win.

The whole complexion of the race changed after Adrian Sutil’s Force India Ferrari ground to a halt on lap 15 with a mechanical problem. A small fire from the front brakes saw the safety car deployed and once the pit lane was opened for business, the top seven runners all headed straight to the pits.

With the safety car still circulating, race leader Lewis Hamilton suffered a slightly slower pit stop than Kimi Raikkonen and Robert Kubica. The Ferrari and BMW pulled up at the end of the pit lane side by side as requested by the red light but Hamilton did not note the situation quickly enough and simply crashed into the back of his championship rival, eliminating Raikkonen and himself from the Grand Prix. Kubica, also waiting at the end of the pit lane after running second to Hamilton during the early laps, waited for the lights to turn green and got back on track with no dramas.

Kubica, made short work of Nick Heidfeld following his pit stop and would then bide his time behind cars that had not pitted on lap 22.
Once the Pole had a clear circuit ahead, he quickly extended his advantage over Heidfeld from 11 to 25 seconds before making his second and final stop and emerging back in the lead – one he would hold to the chequered flag.

It was a fully deserving win, as those pitting just the once in Montreal largely dominated the results. Heidfeld had no answer to Kubica’s pace in qualifying and the same in the race itself, but his second position brings BMW Sauber right up with Ferrari in the constructors’ championship battle.

David Coulthard steered clear of trouble and finished third for Red Bull Renault using a one stop strategy, his first points paying position of the season. It was an important result as the team now move fourth in the championship behind Ferrari, BMW Sauber and McLaren Mercedes.

Timo Glock always seems to go well in Montreal, the scene of his points with Jordan during his first stint in Formula One. Using a one stop strategy the German racer took the chequered flag in fourth position defending all the way to secure valuable points for Toyota.

With Raikkonen eliminated by Hamilton, Felipe Massa charged back through the field after an error in the pits saw him forced to make an additional stop for fuel. The Brazilian racer charged though the field from 17th to finish fifth just behind Glock and he is now tied with Hamilton in second position in the championship.

Jarno Trulli finished sixth in the second Toyota, losing out to Massa on the penultimate lap of race while Rubens Barrichello actually led the race at one point for Honda before his sole pit stop and held on for a seventh place finish and two more points for the team. Sebastien Vettel secured the final point for Toro Rosso Ferrari after starting from the pit lane.

Heikki Kovalainen’s poor weekend continued on race day as he was unable to make much of an impression on the race and finished ninth behind the one stoppers, Kubica and Massa. The result means that McLaren Mercedes do not take any points away from Montreal.

Nico Rosberg threw away more points for Williams as he ran into the back of Hamilton’s stricken McLaren in the pit lane and was forced to make an additional stop for a new front wing on his way to tenth position. With Kazuki Nakajima running into the back of Jenson Button and breaking his wing before crashing in the pits lane, it was a poor race for Williams who now slip behind Red Bull and Toyota in the championship standings. Jenson Button started from the pit lane in his Honda and finished 11th, while Mark Webber took 12th position ahead of Sebastien Bourdais – the final runner - in the second Toro Rosso Ferrari.

It was a poor day for Renault with Nelson Piquet running suffering from brake problems and retiring following a spin, while Fernando Alonso lost his R28 at turn seven and spun into the wall. Alonso was third on track at the time but had yet to make his second stop, so he may have been in contention for lower points after such a strong showing in qualifying. With Sutil stopping on lap 15, Force India team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella made it until lap 53 before spinning into the Armco exiting turn four.

It didn’t rain and the circuit didn’t break up badly as feared but it is a historic day for the BMW Sauber team as they celebrate their first Formula One win. Kubica’s first victory moves him ahead in the championship four points clear of Massa and Hamilton heading to Magny Cours...

Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International