Kimi Raikkonen recorded his second win of the season this afternoon as he made best use of his two-stop strategy to vault ahead of Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa in the final round of pit stops.
Starting from third position, Raikkonen got the jump on Lewis Hamilton and trailed Massa until the Brazilian peeled off to the pits. Raikkonen, with three laps more fuel on board and Massa now on the softer tyre for the final stint, was able to turn his two second deficit into a two second advantage.
With Raikkonen taking the win, he, Massa, Hamilton and Alonso now all have two wins each. For Massa, his second position will be a disappointment after leading much of the race, but the eight points are most welcome.
Hamilton was unable to make any real challenge on the Ferrari team. After losing a position at the start of the race he dropped back a little in each stint but significantly opted for a three stop strategy which dropped him back from ten seconds to just over 30 at the chequered flag.
For the championship, it was a good race for Hamilton however as Fernando Alonso finished just seventh so he therefore extends his championship advantage from ten to 14 points heading to the British Grand Prix next weekend.
Robert Kubica ran a solid two stop race to finish in fourth position in his BMW Sauber.
Team-mate Nick Heidfeld had an altogether busier time of it as he held back Alonso in each of his stints in what was some of the closest racing during the 70 lap event. Heidfeld took the chequered flag in fifth position extending BMW Sauber’s advantage over rivals Renault.
Giancarlo Fisichella finished in sixth position but for Alonso, brave driving which at times bordered on the reckless, two points is not a good result.
One point for Jenson Button and Honda however is a great result after a traumatic first half of the season. Starting 12th, Button made good use of a very long first stint to vault ahead of Nico Rosberg and Ralf Schumacher to claim Honda’s first point of the season.
Nico Rosberg started ninth and finished in the same position in what was a frustrating race for the Williams Toyota team. Team-mate Alex Wurz was never a factor after his poor qualifying run yesterday as he trailed home 14th.
Ralf Schumacher battled hard with Rubens Barrichello for much of the race and finally got ahead in the final set of stops. Schumacher finished in tenth position ahead of the second Honda.
For Toyota however it was not a good day as Jarno Trulli threw away his race on lap one as he drilled into the back of the unfortunate Heikki Kovalainen ending his day on the spot. Kovalainen would drop half a minute behind the field as a result and went on to finish a distant 15th. It was a bit of a non-event for the Red Bull Renault team with Mark Webber and David Coulthard unable to make any real progress on the way to 12th and 13th positions.
Takuma Sato finished in 16th position in his Super Aguri Honda. Team-mate Anthony Davidson eliminated himself and Tonio Liuzzi on the first lap as he tipped the Toro Rosso Ferrari into a spin and then struck the car as he went by. Scott Speed retired with a gearbox failure in his Toro Rosso.
Adrian Sutil was the final finisher in 17th position while Spyker Ferrari team-mate Christijan Albers retired after inexplicably leaving the pit with his fuel hose still attached…
It is the end of the road for Magny Cours in terms of hosting the French Grand Prix. Hopefully next season, France – with its impressive motorsport heritage - will be represented in the Formula One World Championship.
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
1. K.Raikkonen
2. F.Massa
3. L.Hamilton