F1 European GP - Race 24/08/08

Massa dominant in Valencia

Felipe Massa took the chequered flag first at the end of the 57-lap European Grand Prix, but at the time the Brazilian and the Ferrari team were under investigation by the FIA and it was not until some time after the race it became clear exactly who the winner of the 12th round of the championship even was.

The moment in question – and for debate - came as Massa exited his pit box following his second pit stop on lap 38 as he was released into the path of Adrian Sutil who was already coming down the pit lane. It was a close situation and it was certainly unnecessary from Massa who had dominated the Grand Prix from the pole position and was under no real pressure from behind.

The FIA duly placed Massa under investigation and then announced that any penalty would be imposed after the race. That is most unusual as the normal practice is for a driver to receive a drive through penalty within a few minutes of the incident in question. Massa’s did not need to worry much though as he was later simply fined and there was no other penalty.

Regardless of this incident, Massa dominated the race from the pole position and at no time looked under any serious pressure from Lewis Hamilton who shadowed Massa across the line six seconds behind. Hamilton retains the championship lead with 70 points, while Massa moves second in the championship race with 64.


Robert Kubica started third and like those ahead of him, took the chequered flag in the same position in what really was an uninspired event in terms of on-track entertainment despite the excellent new circuit. It was a solid run from Kubica and his six points move him to within striking distance of third position in the drivers’ table.

It was all change for fourth position as Heikki Kovalainen started fifth and actually finished one position higher! The Hungarian Grand Prix winner made up the position at the start of the race as he got the jump on Raikkonen and held the position to the chequered flag as Raikkonen hit further problems as the race progressed.

Raikkonen was content to sit behind Kovalainen throughout the first stint of the race but after his first pit stop found the one-stopping Timo Glock ahead of him on track. Not to be deterred or flustered into action, Raikkonen continued to be patient only for it to all do wrong in his second and final pit stop.

For the first time Raikkonen seemed to sense a bit of urgency as the fuel flowed into the Ferrari. However, the Finn was a little too eager as he left the pits before the fuel hose had been fully removed. The result was a delay in the pits and a crew member slightly injured.

Another disappointment for Raikkonen
It would all prove academic anyway for the unhappy Raikkonen as the Ferrari engine failed in dramatic style a few minutes later as he crossed the start-finish line. Given these engine designs are frozen, it is strange that Ferrari have suddenly found reliability issues...

Jarno Trulli got the jump on Sebastian Vettel in the first round of pit stops and brought his Toyota home in fifth position holding off Vettel by just two seconds by the chequered flag. Timo Glock used a one stop strategy well to finish seventh in the second Toyota after starting 13th.

Nico Rosberg started in ninth position and with Nick Heidfeld sliding back and Kimi Raikkonen failing to finish, scored a valuable championship point for the Williams Toyota team. The point is Rosberg’s first since he finished in the same position in Turkey.

It was a poor race for Nick Heidfeld who finished out of the points in ninth after qualifying one position higher. Taking the option of a long first stint and retaining a two-stop strategy just did not work for the under-pressure BMW Sauber driver.

Sebastien Bourdais finished where he started in tenth position in the second Toro Rosso ahead of Nelson Piquet in the sole surviving Renault. Team-mate Fernando Alonso was eliminated on the first lap of the race when Kazuki Nakajima hit the Renault from behind, causing too much damage for the fan favourite to continue.

It was predictably a tough race for Red Bull Renault with Mark Webber finishing a lap down in 12th position with David Coulthard last in 17th after spinning early on after contact with Giancarlo Fisichella. Jenson Button finished 13th in the leading Honda ahead of Fisichella, Nakajima, Rubens Barrichello and Coulthard. Adrian Sutil failed to finish after nosing into the barrier late in the race, his eighth retirement from 12 starts so far this year.

It wasn’t a good race and was only made worse by the dithering of the FIA with regards to investigations and penalties. It is however Massa’s lucky day today as his dominant run got the result and he has escaped any sanction, despite a potentially dangerous pit incident.

Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International

F1 Hungarian GP - Race 03/08/08

Heartbreak for Massa, Kovalainen’s lucky day!

As a race, the 70-lap Hungarian Grand Prix is always somewhat processional and this year was no exception. However, the race was spiced up by some unexpected issues that took both Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa out of contention and handed Heikki Kovalainen the race win in the very final stages of the race.

Felipe Massa made an electric getaway from third position on the grid passing Kovalainen on the run to turn one and then braking late, passed Lewis Hamilton for the lead around the outside of turn one. It was a tremendous aggressive move and showing that his record breaking pace in the second round of qualifying yesterday was no fluke, the Brazilian was able to pull out a small advantage from Hamilton, a gap of four to five seconds he retained though the first round of pits stops.

Hamilton did not look to have an answer to Massa’s pace but the championship leader’s race took a further nose-dive as the front-left tyre failed on lap 42. Hamilton made his way slowly back to the pits and took the soft tyre for the remainder of the race.

Out front, Massa controlled the pace and allowed Kovalainen to slowly close the gap. It all looked to be perfectly under control until two laps from home when the Ferrari V8 failed in dramatic fashion handing the race win to Kovalainen and leaving Massa distraught.

It was certainly Kovalainen’s lucky day as he recorded his first Grand Prix victory.
The Finn did not have the pace of McLaren Mercedes team-mate Hamilton nor Massa in the Ferrari. Still, it was an error free run which launches his championship tally to within striking distance of the BMW Sauber duo of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica.

Timo Glock drove what is by far the strongest race of his career to finish second for Toyota, Starting from fifth position, Glock made the jump on Kubica and ran with Kovalainen for much of the race and while second position was perhaps a little fortunate, he was a contender throughout the race on pure pace and not a safety car intervention or an abstract fuel strategy.

Kimi Raikkonen finished in third position having followed Fernando Alonso for two-thirds of the race without making much of an impression. Some rapid pit work from the Ferrari crew gave him the track position and he was then able to close the gap to Glock before backing off in the latter stages following team-mate Massa’s engine failure. The result moves Raikkonen ahead of his unfortunate team-mate in the championship race.

It proved to be a pretty good day for the Renault team with Alonso and Nelson Piquet taking the chequered flag in fourth and sixth positions with Hamilton recovering from his puncture to finish in fifth position and score four valuable points. Despite his problems, Hamilton retains the championship lead with 62 points.

Jarno Trulli started ninth and finished in seventh position in the second Toyota while it was a disappointing day for the BMW Sauber team with Robert Kubica sliding back at the start of the race and then in the pit stops to finish in eighth position. Team-mate Nick Heidfeld opted to take a one stop strategy and finished in tenth position from 15th position on the grid.

Red Bull Renault lost further ground to Toyota in the constructors’ championship with Mark Webber finishing in ninth position and David Coulthard 11th behind Heidfeld. Glock’s eight points move Toyota nine clear of Red Bull in the battle for fourth position in the championship.

Jenson Button finished a lap down in 12th position in the leading Honda while Rubens Barrichello made early progress in the second RA108 only for a refuelling issue to drop the Brazilian veteran back down the order to finish 16th. In between, Kazuki Nakajima used a one stop strategy to take the flag in 13th position ahead of Williams-Toyota team-mate Nico Rosberg and the Force India Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella.

Massa was classified in 17th position and now drops eight points behind Hamilton in the championship and three behind team-mate Raikkonen.

Sebastien Bourdais also suffered a refuelling problem and finished three laps down in 18th while team-mate Sebastian Vettel ran wide at the start of the race heading into the final turn on the first lap and dropped down the order. It would matter little as the STR3 soon ground to a halt with yet another mechanical problem. Adrian Sutil suffered a puncture late in the race in the second Force India and retired the VJM01 a few laps later.

Formula One now takes a short break before reconvening in Valencia in three weeks time.

Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International