Dominant Hamilton closes in on the title
Lewis Hamilton completely dominated the 56-lap Chinese Grand Prix to inch closer to the world championship on a day when Ferrari and Felipe Massa simply had no answer to the pace of the leading McLaren Mercedes. Heading to the season finale in Brazil, Hamilton leads the championship by seven points from Massa who was this afternoon gifted second position by Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
Hamilton launched into the lead from pole position and quickly established a three second lead from the chasing Raikkonen. Running third, Massa dropped away to 15 seconds behind Hamilton by the first round of pit stops, a gap that the McLaren driver would manage to the chequered flag...
Hamilton’s fifth victory of the season at Shanghai International Circuit also marks the fifth straight winner at this venue. As Hamilton celebrates his most dominant win of the season, Ferrari can only look back on this even and admit they simply did not have the pace with the F2008 package. The silver-lining is that extend the lead from McLaren in the constructors’ championship to 11 points.
"The team have done a phenomenal job really preparing the car and making steps forward," beamed Hamilton. "We came here and the car felt fantastic all weekend and I owe so much to the guys not just at the track but back home. They have done a phenomenal job and the car is really a dream to drive.
"
"I got into turn one quite clear, I took it easy the first few corners then I started to bridge the gap," he continued. "Fortunately we were just very, very consistent and I think every lap was faster and very, very few errors throughout the whole run, therefore I was able to create a gap and from there it was pretty smooth sailing."
Raikkonen chased Hamilton hard in the first stint of the race, but lap by lap lost a little ground. Massa ran third until the closing stages of the race when Raikkonen backed off and allowed his team-mate through into second position. That pretty much is the story of the Chinese Grand Prix, a race as devoid of incident and accident as the Japanese Grand Prix a week ago was full of it.
"We saw that Lewis was a bit stronger in the beginning of the race," explained Massa. "I mean he was stronger during the whole race but in the beginning he just started to pull away, maybe two or three tenths sometimes per lap, and then this made for sure his race much more comfortable. For us we were completely driving on the limit trying to reduce the gap but it was not possible. So today unfortunately Lewis had the better car for the whole weekend..."
Massa glossed over Raikkonen backing off to allow him through for the second position. "I was quite strong and then I caught him and I passed him, so that was the good part of the race," the Brazilian stated.
Raikkonen however was a little more honest with his assessment of the situation: "I know what the team expects and I know what we want which are results," he said. "It is racing and I have nothing to lose or win in a way. I am driving for the team, so it is a normal situation."
Fernando Alonso started and finished in fourth position in the leading Renault, battling ahead of Heikki Kovalainen on the long back straight on the first lap to regain the position. Alonso’s points streak now moves him ahead of the ever-unfortunate Kovalainen in the championship as the Finn saw his hopes of finishing fifth dashed as he picked up a front right puncture on lap 36 and dropped down to 17th position before opting to retire the McLaren.
Nick Heidfeld led home BMW Sauber team-mate Robert Kubica to claim the fifth position. Kubica now has 75 points and drops out of the championship chase on a weekend when the F1.08 package simply did not have the pace of the ever-improving Renault or the top two teams in the sport. The decision to focus on 2009 for the second half of the season has been costly for BMW Sauber.
Timo Glock used a one stop strategy well to claim two championship points for Toyota. It was largely a disappointing day for the German-based squad as Jarno Trulli, starting from seventh, turned in on Sebastien Bourdais at the first turn and eliminated himself from the race. Bourdais himself was pushed back down the order and would take the chequered flag in 13th position after a strong recovery drive.
Nelson Piquet claimed the final point in the second Renault after using the more traditional two-stop strategy, albeit with a very long first stint. The result confirms that Renault has clinched fourth position in the constructors’ championship. After starting sixth, it was a disappointing race from Sebastian Vettel who finished ninth in his Toro Rosso Ferrari, eight seconds behind Piquet’s Renault.
Red Bull Renault leaves Shanghai with no points as well. David Coulthard ran a one stop strategy to finish tenth while Mark Webber’s aggressive fuel strategy in qualifying compromised his race and the Australian finished 14th in the sister RB4.
Rubens Barrichello does not have a very good car in the Honda RA108, but the Brazilian veteran drove a very strong race to finish 11th while team-mate Jenson Button finished his low-key weekend down in 16th position. Barrichello is fighting for his future in Formula One and based on recent events, he is the stronger of the two Honda drivers.
It was a pretty rotten weekend for the Williams Toyota team. Kazuki Nakajima made best of a one strop strategy to finish 12th from 17th on the grid while the reverse was true for team-mate Nico Rosberg on his two stop strategy. Starting 14th, the Singapore Grand Prix runner-up actually lost a position and finished a disappointing 15th.
Giancarlo Fisichella had a lonely race at the back of the field following the early retirement of Force India Ferrari team-mate Adrian Sutil. Something of a mobile chicane for the race leaders, Fisichella finished a lap down on Hamilton and 48 seconds behind 16th placed Button.
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One more round to go, off to Interlagos
Hamilton may have the advantage heading to Brazil as he enjoys a seven point advantage in the championship. But it is still far from over, as this was the very same advantage he took to the season finale last year. And we all know what happened on that particular day...
"It is not finished yet," Massa declared. "Until it is finished, we know that in sport many things can happen. We just need to concentrate on our job and try to win the race and then what’s happened has happened."
"That’s our concentration for the last race and that’s the way we are going to approach it knowing we are still fighting for the drivers’ championship. Then we are in a reasonably good position for the constructors’ championship. I think those are quite important for us, so we are going to do everything we can to achieve our target and then we will see what will happen..."
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
F1 Japanese GP - Race 12/10/2008
Fantastic Fernando takes Fuji!
While the two championship protagonists made a mess of the 67-lap Japanese Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso steered clear of trouble to take his 21st career win from Robert Kubica and Kimi Raikkonen. While it was a tremendous drive from Alonso, the race will be remembered for the lap one antics of pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa...
Hamilton made a poor start from the pole position and vigorously chopped across team-mate Heikki Kovalainen on the long run to the first turn with Kimi Raikkonen challenging for the position on the outside. Hamilton missed his braking point and ran wide forcing Raikkonen to the outside of the circuit and allowing Kubica and Alonso through to take the lead.
Having dropped down the order Hamilton battled hard with Massa, taking the position into turn ten on the first lap. The Brazilian ran wide and then launched his F2008 across the chicane before making contact with the McLaren. Massa continued but Hamilton had been tipped into a spin and dropped to the rear of the field.
Massa would get a drive through penalty for running into Hamilton while the championship leader would also get a penalty for running wide and compromising Raikkonen at the start of the race. Both Hamilton and Massa did not have their finest of days...
While Hamilton choked and Massa saw red, Kubica calmly picked up the pieces and led the opening laps of the race from Alonso but it was the Renault driver that emerged from the first round of pit stops ahead and the Spaniard would then pull clear of the BMW Sauber driver to take the chequered flag with a comfortable five second margin.
It was a great result for the Renault team, who had been battling with Toyota for fourth position in the constructors’ championship, as Nelson Piquet had by far his strongest Grand Prix to date from 12th position on the grid to finish a fine fourth.
Kubica’s second position closed him to within six points of Massa and while the Pole had no answer to the pace of Alonso, it was another solid drive to keep BMW Sauber in the hunt for the constructors’ championship. The Hinwil-based team are now just seven points behind McLaren and 13 behind Ferrari.
Kimi Raikkonen pushed hard for Ferrari after losing ground on the opening lap courtesy of Hamilton. The defending champion attempted several passes on Kubica for second position in the closing stages of the race but could never complete the manoeuvre. Still, with Hamilton finishing out of the points and Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren failing whilst running third, Ferrari regain the lead in the constructors’ championship by six points with two rounds remaining.
Jarno Trulli carried the flag for Toyota today as Timo Glock was forced to retire his TF108 early in the race. Trulli lost out to Piquet in the pit stops and finished in fifth position ten seconds clear of Sebastien Bourdais in the leading Toro Rosso Ferrari.
Sebastian Vettel finished seventh in the second STR3 while Massa recovered to take the chequered flag in eighth position. The Brazilian may however lose that position as he and Bourdais made contact late in the race as the Massa turned in on the Toro Rosso driver at the first turn and subsequently placed himself under investigation. As it stands, Massa’s single point for eighth position closes the gap to Hamilton to six points in the championship chase.
Mark Webber used a one-stop strategy to finish ninth in his Red Bull Renault while team-mate David Coulthard suffered a suspension failure at the start of the race and crashed heavily. With both drivers out of the points, Red Bull loses further ground to sister team Toro Rosso as they battle over sixth position in the constructors’ championship.
Nick Heidfeld finished tenth in the second BMW Sauber ahead of Nico Rosberg in his Williams Toyota. Hamilton was unable to recover from the dramas of lap one and finished 12th ahead of the one-stopping Honda duo of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button. Kazuki Nakajima was the final runner in 15th position in the second Williams after contact on lap one saw the Japanese racer forced into the pits prematurely.
Adrian Sutil suffered a right rear puncture and was forced to retire while Giancarlo Fisichella was soon out of the race in the second Force India Ferrari with a mechanical problem to make it five retirements from the field of 20.
Fernando Alonso heads to the Chinese Grand Prix next weekend on the back of two impressive wins, while Hamilton retains his title lead over Massa by six points despite a costly error this afternoon in Japan.
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
While the two championship protagonists made a mess of the 67-lap Japanese Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso steered clear of trouble to take his 21st career win from Robert Kubica and Kimi Raikkonen. While it was a tremendous drive from Alonso, the race will be remembered for the lap one antics of pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa...
Hamilton made a poor start from the pole position and vigorously chopped across team-mate Heikki Kovalainen on the long run to the first turn with Kimi Raikkonen challenging for the position on the outside. Hamilton missed his braking point and ran wide forcing Raikkonen to the outside of the circuit and allowing Kubica and Alonso through to take the lead.
Having dropped down the order Hamilton battled hard with Massa, taking the position into turn ten on the first lap. The Brazilian ran wide and then launched his F2008 across the chicane before making contact with the McLaren. Massa continued but Hamilton had been tipped into a spin and dropped to the rear of the field.
Massa would get a drive through penalty for running into Hamilton while the championship leader would also get a penalty for running wide and compromising Raikkonen at the start of the race. Both Hamilton and Massa did not have their finest of days...
While Hamilton choked and Massa saw red, Kubica calmly picked up the pieces and led the opening laps of the race from Alonso but it was the Renault driver that emerged from the first round of pit stops ahead and the Spaniard would then pull clear of the BMW Sauber driver to take the chequered flag with a comfortable five second margin.
It was a great result for the Renault team, who had been battling with Toyota for fourth position in the constructors’ championship, as Nelson Piquet had by far his strongest Grand Prix to date from 12th position on the grid to finish a fine fourth.
Kubica’s second position closed him to within six points of Massa and while the Pole had no answer to the pace of Alonso, it was another solid drive to keep BMW Sauber in the hunt for the constructors’ championship. The Hinwil-based team are now just seven points behind McLaren and 13 behind Ferrari.
Kimi Raikkonen pushed hard for Ferrari after losing ground on the opening lap courtesy of Hamilton. The defending champion attempted several passes on Kubica for second position in the closing stages of the race but could never complete the manoeuvre. Still, with Hamilton finishing out of the points and Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren failing whilst running third, Ferrari regain the lead in the constructors’ championship by six points with two rounds remaining.
Jarno Trulli carried the flag for Toyota today as Timo Glock was forced to retire his TF108 early in the race. Trulli lost out to Piquet in the pit stops and finished in fifth position ten seconds clear of Sebastien Bourdais in the leading Toro Rosso Ferrari.
Sebastian Vettel finished seventh in the second STR3 while Massa recovered to take the chequered flag in eighth position. The Brazilian may however lose that position as he and Bourdais made contact late in the race as the Massa turned in on the Toro Rosso driver at the first turn and subsequently placed himself under investigation. As it stands, Massa’s single point for eighth position closes the gap to Hamilton to six points in the championship chase.
Mark Webber used a one-stop strategy to finish ninth in his Red Bull Renault while team-mate David Coulthard suffered a suspension failure at the start of the race and crashed heavily. With both drivers out of the points, Red Bull loses further ground to sister team Toro Rosso as they battle over sixth position in the constructors’ championship.
Nick Heidfeld finished tenth in the second BMW Sauber ahead of Nico Rosberg in his Williams Toyota. Hamilton was unable to recover from the dramas of lap one and finished 12th ahead of the one-stopping Honda duo of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button. Kazuki Nakajima was the final runner in 15th position in the second Williams after contact on lap one saw the Japanese racer forced into the pits prematurely.
Adrian Sutil suffered a right rear puncture and was forced to retire while Giancarlo Fisichella was soon out of the race in the second Force India Ferrari with a mechanical problem to make it five retirements from the field of 20.
Fernando Alonso heads to the Chinese Grand Prix next weekend on the back of two impressive wins, while Hamilton retains his title lead over Massa by six points despite a costly error this afternoon in Japan.
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
A1GP Zandvoort - Feature race 05/10/08
France storms to victory in rain-soaked feature race
A1 Team France has claimed the first Feature race victory of the season in extremely wet conditions at Circuit Park Zandvoort in The Netherlands.
From third on the grid Loïc Duval put in a mature drive to take France's 15th win. Sprint race winner Fairuz Fauzy finished second for Malaysia, losing time in the first pit stop due to a problem with the left-rear wheel. Earl Bamber put in an outstanding performance this weekend on his race debut for A1 Team New Zealand claiming third, his second podium finish of the day.
With the rain continuing to fall the decision was made to start the Feature behind the Safety Car instead of the usual grid start due to the standing water around the circuit. The race ran this way for two laps before the Safety Car pulled off an and it was Sprint race winner Fairuz Fauzy who had the best view as the pack headed into Turn 1, with those behind having almost no visibility due to the spray.
Charlie Kimball got caught out in the terrible wet conditions spinning the USA entry at Turn 6 but continuing on track. After a couple of attempts, France made a move on New Zealand passing Bamber cleanly down the pit straight and tucking in front of Black Beauty as the pair headed into the first corner on lap four.
China also had a spin at Turn 2 under pressure from Ireland, who started in 15th after failing to finish the Sprint race.
A lap later, Adam Carroll lost the back end of the Ireland car and aquaplaned into the gravel, ending a disappointing weekend for the team after looking promising in qualifying.
Meanwhile, local hero Jeroen Bleekemolen passed Bamber for third, much to the delight of the cheering Dutch crowds. Current A1GP champion Switzerland looked to be in trouble when Neel Jani dived into the pit lane for an unscheduled stop due to a suspected gear selection problem. Up at the front, Malaysia was building a comfortable margin in the lead, now 1.760s ahead of France, making the order Malaysia, France, Netherlands, New Zealand after lap five.
With wet weather continuing to test the drivers, lap seven brought about another incident as Italy and South Africa came together. Italy's Fabio Onidi made a mistake spinning across the kerb and into Adrian Zaugg's South African car taking them both out of the race.
China dropped further back down the field after being given a drive-through penalty for overtaking under a yellow flag while Malaysia extended its lead over France to 2.4 seconds.
On lap eight the first pit window opened with race leader Malaysia making the first scheduled stop of the day but lost time due to a problem with the left-rear wheel. Bleekemolen also had a problem changing a wheel but eventually got back on track. Australia had a quick stop with France now leading from New Zealand and Portugal.
A1 Team Korea, making its A1GP debut this weekend, moved into the top ten by passing Satrio Hermanto in the Indonesian car making the order now France, New Zealand, Portugal, Malaysia, USA, Lebanon, Netherlands, Australia, Monaco, Korea.
With the rain still pouring Netherlands moved up ahead of Lebanon for sixth with the pair both managing to stay on track despite getting extremely close through Turn 13.
On lap 15 France finally came in for its first pit stop and after a quick one retained the lead, as Jeroen Bleekemolen headed back into the pits for the second time, with the team looking to replace the steering wheel. He continued but had to pit later to make the change.
Korea had a minor spin on lap 17, just before Portugal crashed out after just taking the lead. Filipe Albuquerque had a big crash at the quick final turn resulting in the Safety Car being deployed for the first time in the race. As the field closed up, the order was France, Malaysia, New Zealand, Lebanon, Australia, USA, Netherlands, Monaco and China.
After a couple of laps for the debris to be cleared the Safety Car was in and the field bunched up ready for the re-start. Korea managed to get going again after its earlier spin, being guaranteed a point on its debut event due to so many retirements.
With racing back underway, Netherlands was now right on the back of USA and Australia, and moved ahead of USA for sixth place when Charlie Kimball slid off line at the back of the circuit. On lap 19 Lebanon was running fourth with Daniel Morad, on his debut for the team, looking to score the team's first-ever point in A1GP.
As the second pit stop window approached France held a 4.587-second lead from Malaysia, New Zealand, Lebanon, Australia, Netherlands, USA, Monaco, China and Korea.
John Martin was pushing hard to catch Lebanon, which was made easier when Morad had a 360-degree spin gifting the position to Australia as he tried to get back up to speed. The Netherlands began dropping back as Jeroen Bleekemolen appeared to be having gear-shifting problems.
On lap 27 the pit window opened, with Loïc Duval now with a 6.3-second lead over Malaysia as Fauzy came in for his second stop. Australia and Lebanon both pitted with Lebanon retaking fifth. France made a great stop and Duval retained the lead heading into the final third of the race.
With the terrible conditions causing problems for a number of teams the race was turned into a timed event with nine minutes remaining.
On lap 31 Charlie Kimball put in a fantastic run in the Andretti Green Racing-run US car to record the fastest lap of the race with a 1m 47.115s, but only a lap later he ended up in the gravel at Turn 5 making it a bittersweet end to the Californian's weekend.
With the order now France, Malaysia, New Zealand, Lebanon, Australia, Monaco, Netherlands, the clock continued to tick down but with the weather making things really tough for all the drivers there was a huge crash on the main straight. Lebanon's Daniel Morad lost control of his car, and spun into the back of China's Ho-Pin Tung. Both cars careered at speed into the tyres at Tarzan, bringing out the Safety Car for the second time.
The 17th car made an appearance in the closing stages of the race as Brazil came out for the final laps due to the repairs taking so long after the Sprint race crash.
As the time ran out the cars were released to take the chequered flag with A1 Team France taking its first victory since last February in Australia. Malaysia and New Zealand completed the podium with Malaysia and France joint championship leaders.
A1 Teams Korea and Monaco both scored on their debut, much to the delight of both teams and Daniel Morad scored the first-ever points for A1 Team Lebanon despite not finishing the race.
France's Loïc Duval said: "The weekend was really difficult, we received the car yesterday morning and we were in the car for the first time during qualifying so everything was brand new and today it was a really, really tough race. It was hard with the safety car but at the end everything went well and the mechanics did a great job."
Malaysia's Fairuz Fauzy said of his two podium results: "It's been a dream start to the season for A1 Team Malaysia. We were certainly hoping to have a good performance here, and two podiums are just great. The weather conditions were treacherous today, which made it difficult for all of us, but that makes it all the more rewarding. There is something extra special when you are driving for your nation, so I'm very proud of our achievements today. It's been a real team effort and I'm delighted that we are leaving Zandvoort leading the championship."
New Zealand's 18-year-old Earl Bamber commented on his fantastic weekend: "It was always going to be a tough weekend. There is a lot more horsepower from the Powered by Ferrari car and I think it's just been a challenge for all the drivers to get around and finish the Feature race. It's been a fantastic weekend for me though, the team did a great job all weekend with the car, and we still managed to hold third position after a mishap with the wheel nut. It was a little bit slow to come off in the pit stop but the guys handled it well and we got back out and still finished on the podium."
"We had a lot of power boosts left in the bag just in case the Safety Car came out later on and we could challenge for second place," he added. "But we ran out of time on the clock unfortunately so that's the way it goes, we will live to fight another day."
The very final words on what has been a hard but rewarding first weekend of Season Four for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport came from the Chairman, Tony Teixeira: "I have always loved the Dutch and I do so even more after this weekend. We had our dramas getting here, but I never doubted we would make it and want to say a big thank you to everyone who made this possible."
"The weather was dreadful, but this did not stop the fans coming to see the races in their tens of thousands with the patriotic orange clearly visible in the packed grandstands," Teixeira remarked. "All the teams have been working day and night to put on the show and they did us proud today."
Zandvoort - Feature race results:
Pos Driver A1 Team Laps Time Gap
1. Loïc Duval France 36 11:58.723 -
2. Fairuz Fauzy Malaysia 36 12:01.011 +2.288
3. Earl Bamber New Zealand 36 12:01.432 +2.709
4. John Martin Australia 36 12:05.052 +6.329
5. Jeroen Bleekemolen Netherlands 36 12:06.996 +8.273
6. Clivio Piccione Monaco 34 12:03.356 +2 Laps
7. Jin Woo Hwang Korea 33 12:28.432 +3 Laps
8. Daniel Morad Lebanon 32 03:15.216 +4 Laps
9. Ho Pin Tung China 31 03:14.803 +5 Laps
10. Charlie Kimball USA 30 59:04.806 +6 Laps
11. Filipe Albuquerque Portugal 15 29:34.235 +21 Laps
12. Satrio Hermanto Indonesia 12 26:14.548 +24 Laps
13. Adrian Zaugg South Africa 5 11:00.955 +31 Laps
14. Fabio Onidi Italy 5 11:01.706 +31 Laps
15. Felipe Guimaraes Brazil 5 12:03.879 +31 Laps
16. Adam Carroll Ireland 4 09:17.297 +32 Laps
17. Neel Jani Switzerland 4 09:52.638 +32 Laps
Fastest lap: A1 Team USA set the fastest lap (1m47.115s) of the Feature race with a speed of 155.5 kph on lap 30.
2008/09 A1GP points standings:
Pos A1 Team Points
1. Malaysia 22
2. France 22
3. New Zealand 18
4. Netherlands 11
5. Australia 8
6. Monaco 5
7. Switzerland 4
8. Korea 4
9. South Africa 3
10. USA 3
10. Lebanon 3
12. Italy 2
13. China 2
Next race: A1GP Chengdu, China, 7-9 November 2008.
D.B. © CAPSIS International
A1GP Zandvoort - Sprint race 05/10/08
Malaysia takes first victory of new season
A1 Team Malaysia has won the first race of the 2008/09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season at Circuit Park Zandvoort in The Netherlands. In a rain-soaked Sprint race, Fairuz Fauzy came from fourth on the grid to take the team's first victory since Season Two, which was 27 races ago.
After initially taking the lead from The Netherlands, Earl Bamber put in a great drive on his race debut for A1 Team New Zealand to take second place with Loic Duval storming through from 11th on the grid to take the final podium position for A1 Team France.
Pole-sitter Jeroen Bleekemolen struggled in the extremely tricky conditions finishing fourth as the red flag came out to end the race.
In a thrilling start to the new season, the drama began before the cars even crossed the start line after doing two laps behind the Safety Car due to the atrocious conditions. On an extremely wet track, Ireland spun in the final corner with Monaco's Clivio Piccione running into him, so putting the pair out the race before it had even started.
As the new Powered by Ferrari cars came down the pit straight for the rolling start, the action behind gave the front row duo of the Netherlands and New Zealand a comfortable gap as they came across the start line for the first time.
Lebanon's Daniel Morad ran wide in the first corner, narrowly avoiding USA's Charlie Kimball, as both drivers made their race debut for their respective nations.
A lap later, Korea's Jin Woo Hwang collided with John Martin at the first corner while making an ambitious move down the inside of the Australia car which left both in the gravel and Korea out of the race, with a fine and a drop to the back of the grid for race two for causing an avoidable accident and trying to overtake under a yellow flag.
Malaysia and Switzerland battled it out for third with Neel Jani getting ahead of Fauzy on lap four. From 16th on the grid, and having only done a few laps this weekend, China's Ho Pin Tung was putting in a stunning drive to challenge Italy for seventh by lap five. China claimed the position taking the inside line through turn 11 and began chasing down South Africa.
Out at the front the race was really on with newcomer Bamber pushing the Netherlands for the lead. On lap seven the 18-year-old made a great move trying to go around the outside of Bleekemolen through the chicane. The Netherlands ran off the circuit while trying to defend the position but with a better run out the corner Bamber grabbed the lead.
As the rain continued to fall, Malaysia were flying, re-taking third from Switzerland before passing local hero Bleekemolen for second. Fauzy then set about closing the gap to New Zealand who was still in the lead. France moved up to fourth as Loic Duval took advantage of a mistake from Switzerland.
At the start of lap nine the order at the front was now New Zealand, Malaysia, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, China, South Africa and Italy.
Fauzy, whose car was working really well in the wet conditions, was right on the gearbox of Bamber and on lap nine made his move, snatching the lead through turn eleven. Meanwhile, France stole the final podium position from Netherlands.
China's tremendous charge came to an end on lap ten when the back end got away from Ho Pin Tung and he spun coming out of the final corner, crashing out of fifth. With Brazil also crashing the red flag was brought out, taking the final race classification back to the end of lap 10.
Race winner A1 Team Malaysia's Fairuz Fauzy said: "I am so happy to take this win. It was very difficult on the track today and made even more challenging with the lack of experience we have with this new car, but we have worked really hard as a team and now we have a fantastic win. We start from pole position for the next race as well, so I hope we can have more success, but if the weather stays like this it will be another huge challenge for everyone. I'm looking forward to it!"
A1 Team New Zealand's Earl Bamber said: "Its pretty atrocious conditions this morning. We got a good start and then managed to get past the Netherlands. He (Bleekemolen) got on some oil which made him have a slow exit so I got down the outside into the chicane and then as he out-braked himself he ran wide and I managed to get in front. It was a good pass, but pretty close. We held the lead for quite a while but then Fairuz was just a little bit quicker and got past me on the infield. I think second is good and hopefully we can make some changes for this afternoon and see what happens with the weather."
Third-placed Loic Duval driving for A1 Team France said: "It's very difficult to see anything but I'm really happy. We received the car yesterday, but just ran in the qualifying session so to finish on the podium today its great for us. Everything is possible for this afternoon so I am confident now. We lost a lot of laps yesterday morning, so this morning we had the chance for an extra test. We managed to work on the car and I think it's been quite fair with the amount of laps everybody has had."
Jeroen Bleekmolen was disappointed not to be on the podium in front of his home crowd: "When you start from pole you want to win the race, so it didn't go to plan. The first few laps were alright but then I lost a lot of grip and people passed me on the outside, inside and everywhere so we need to find more grip and hopefully we can do better the second race. It's really great to see the fans and even with this weather they are still here enjoying it so I hope I can give them a good result this afternoon."
With this afternoon's Feature race grid determined by the Sprint finishing order, Malaysia is in pole position to aim for a double victory in the opening weekend of the new season.
Zandvoort - Sprint race results:
Pos Driver A1 Team Laps Time Gap
1. Fairuz Fauzy Malaysia 10 19:44.533 -
2. Earl Bamber New Zealand 10 19:48.007 +3.474
3. Loic Duval France 10 19:50.803 +6.27
4. Jeroen Bleekemolen Netherlands 10 19:57.966 +13.433
5. Neel Jani Switzerland 10 20:01.429 +16.896
6. Adrian Zaugg South Africa 10 20:05.458 +20.925
7. Fabio Onidi Italy 10 20:06.747 +22.214
8. Charlie Kimball USA 10 20:08.683 +24.15
9. Filipe Albuquerque Portugal 10 20:13.960 +29.427
10. Daniel Morad Lebanon 10 20:23.462 +38.929
11. John Martin Australia 9 21:12.004 +1:27.471
12. Ho Pin Tung China 9 18:09.652 +1 Lap
13. Felipe Guimaraes Brazil 9 19:24.409 +1 Lap
14. Jin Woo Hwang Korea 3 07:27.249 +7 Laps
15. Satrio Hermanto Indonesia 2 05:27.400 +8 Laps
16. Adam Carroll Ireland 2 05:58.094 +8 Laps
17. Clivio Piccione Monaco 1 02:48.422 +9 Laps
Fastest lap: A1 Team France set the fastest lap (1m45.939s) of the Sprint race with a speed of 157.2 kph on lap six.
2008/09 A1GP points standings:
Pos A1 Team Points
1. Malaysia 10
2. New Zealand 8
3. France 7
4. Netherlands 5
5. Switzerland 4
6. South Africa 3
7. Italy 2
8. USA 1
D.B. © CAPSIS International
F1 Singapore GP - Race 28/09/08
The cards fall for Fernando Alonso!
The first ever Formula One night race saw Fernando Alonso take a stunning victory from 15th position on the grid on a day when a safety car and pit errors turned the tables in favour of the former champion and the Renault team.
Ironically, the fuel pressure failure on Alonso’s R28 in qualifying yesterday combined with the antics of team-mate Nelson Piquet, forced a risky strategy and a timely safety car respectively that gave the former champion the chance he grasped to claim his 20th Grand Prix win.
The 61-lap race saw Felipe Massa dominate the opening laps of the race, pulling away from championship rival Lewis Hamilton with some ease to enjoy a comfortable four second advantage. That advantage was swiftly turned into a massive deficit after Nelson Piquet planted his Renault firmly in the wall and brought out the first safety car of the race.
While the unfortunate Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg were forced to pit whilst the safety car was on track and the pit lane closes, Massa, Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen were able to wait for the pits to open before they all stopped together for that critical first stop.
Not for the first time this year there was a big error in the Ferrari team as Massa received the signal leave the pit, only to find the fuel hose still attached, crew in the way and the ever unfortunate Adrian Sutil motoring down the pit lane.
Massa came to a halt at the end of the pit lane and waited on the team to come and collect the fuel hose before he could continue.
That put Massa to the back of the field and the subsequent drive through penalty for a dangerous release, remarkably similar to Valencia where he received no penalty, effectively ended his race. The Brazilian would take the chequered flag in 13th position and lose ground in the title race.
Alonso meanwhile had opted to take the soft tyre for an aggressive first stint and had pitted ahead of the safety car. This vaulted him up to fourth position on track behind two drivers who had yet to pit at all and Rosberg who was soon to take a stop and go penalty for pitting while the pits were closed.
The race played out and Alonso duly took the lead, controlled the pace and took the chequered flag ahead of Rosberg who despite the penalty, finished just three seconds behind the race winner. Rosberg was perhaps fortunate that he was able to pull a large advantage at the restart of the race, thus nullifying to a large extent his drive through penalty.
Lewis Hamilton extends his championship advantage from Massa from one point to seven with three rounds remaining as he finished in third position. Hamilton did not seems to have the pace to challenge for the race win, but the errors from the Ferrari team handed him a nice advantage and has given McLaren Mercedes the lead in the constructors’ championship.
Timo Glock finished fourth for Toyota, gaining positions as other expected front-runners fell by the wayside. Team-mate Jarno Trulli opted for a one stop strategy but a gearbox problem in the closing stages cost the Italian further points, something the team will note now that Renault has moved fourth in the constructors’ championship.
It was a difficult race for BMW Sauber with Nick Heidfeld salvaging a sixth position but the drive through penalty for Robert Kubica while running fourth destroyed his race and he finished out of the points in 11th position.
Red Bull Renault looked to be set for a haul of points with Mark Webber running just behind Alonso before the RB4 lost gears and Webber was forced to retire. David Coulthard finished seventh in the sister machine, losing ground in his final stop as he too tried to leave the pits before the fuelling was fully complete.
The final point went to Kazuki Nakajima who drove a solid race in his Williams Toyota, holding off Jenson Button’s Honda to the chequered flag.
Heikki Kovalainen had a race to forget as he lost out at the first turn and dropped down the order before losing further ground in the first round of stops. The Finn was tenth at the chequered flag ahead of Kubica, Sebastien Bourdais, Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Apart from Piquet, other notable non-finishers included Kimi Raikkonen who threw away fifth position with four laps remaining as he bounced across the kerbs at turn ten and into retirement. Raikkonen’s fourth straight race without points ends his slim championship hopes making it a two horse race between Hamilton and Massa for the 2008 crown.
Adrian Sutil brought out the second and final safety car period 12 laps from home as he nosed the Force India into the barriers just as Massa recovered from a spin at the very same turn while Rubens Barrichello succumbed to mechanical woes just after his first pit stop.
The Formula One circus now packs up and heads to Fuji Speedway for the Japanese Grand Prix which takes place in two weeks time.
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
F1 Italian GP - Race 15/09/08
Vettel dominates at Monza!
Sebastian Vettel made history this afternoon at the Italian Grand Prix as he dominated the 53-lap event taking the chequered flag 12 seconds ahead of Heikki Kovalainen. In doing so, Vettel becomes the youngest Grand Prix winner in the history of the sport and launches the Toro Rosso Ferrari team ahead of both Williams Toyota and Red Bull Renault in the constructors’ championship.
It was a flawless drive from the young German racer from the pole position in tricky conditions once again. The race started behind the safety car but even at the end of the first racing lap, Vettel had pulled a two second advantage over Kovalainen in the McLaren Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton aside, Vettel never looked like anything other than a race winner.
Heikki Kovalainen was never a contender for the race win which will be a concern for the Finn on a day when he had a great chance of securing his first win on merit. Like Vettel he used a standard two stop strategy switching from full wet tyres to intermediate tyres for his final stint.
Robert Kubica drove a smart race from 11th position to finish third, just eight seconds behind Kovalainen. The BMW Sauber driver made great use of a one stop strategy to vault ahead of those stopping twice and unlike some, had enough fuel to ensure that his one and only stop was at the optimum time for the switch from wet to intermediate tyres.
Fernando Alonso ran a similar strategy to Kubica and was the second driver today to change to the intermediate rubber as the circuit started to dry from the mid-way point.
It was another excellent run from the former champion as he took the chequered flag, less than four seconds behind Kubica.
Nick Heidfeld also has a strong run in the second BMW Sauber, but lost ground to Kubica at the start and then drove a strong race and managed to fend off a sustained attack to finish in fifth position.
Felipe Massa started sixth and finished in the same position on a more traditional two-stop strategy. Massa’s undoing was the timing of his pit stops that dropped him behind the one-stopping Heidfeld, a position he would not be able to recover from. The Brazilian will not be too unhappy with the result however, as he takes another small nibble out of Lewis Hamilton’s championship lead.
Starting 15th, Hamilton had it all to do and the McLaren driver came very close to making it a major upset this afternoon at Monza. Hamilton took enough fuel on board ahead of the race to go the distance with one stop. However he did not take enough fuel to choose the ideal time for that stop. With the circuit drying, Hamilton pitted ahead of some of the other one-stoppers and took a second set of full wet tyres. Had the rain continued, he would have been able to challenge Vettel for the victory. As it was, Hamilton had to make an unscheduled stop to take on the intermediate tyres and he would finish in seventh position.
Hamilton retains the lead in the championship but now the gap to Massa is just one point heading to Singapore in two weeks time.
Mark Webber ran third early in the race in the leading Red Bull Renault, but lost out to the one stopping cars and his race was also hindered by a quick spin exiting the Ascari chicane. Webber took the final point for eighth position but that final point was not enough stop sister team Toro Rosso moving ahead in the constructors’ championship.
Kimi Raikkonen spent much of the race running in the lower mid-field and it was only in the closing laps that the Ferrari driver was able to make progress. Raikkonen took the chequered flag in ninth position after a so-so run and therefore loses further ground to Kubica, Massa and Hamilton in the championship standings.
Nelson Piquet used a one-stop strategy to finish tenth in the second Renault ahead of Timo Glock in the leading Toyota. Glock, like team-mate Jarno Trulli in 13th, paid the price for running two stops.
After much promise in practice and qualifying, it was a poor race day for the Williams Toyota team with Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg finishing a disappointing 12th and 14th ahead of Jenson Button in the leading Honda.
A clash between David Coulthard and Kazuki Nakajima cost the former as he was forced to pit his Red Bull for repairs a few laps from home. Coulthard still managed to finish ahead of the second Honda of Rubens Barrichello.
Sebastien Bourdais could well have secured a podium position this afternoon at Monza, but the Frenchman stalled his Toro Rosso on the dummy grid and then went a lap down before the team could restart the STR3. Bourdais was classified 18th a lap ahead of Adrian Sutil in the surviving Force India Ferrari.
Amazingly, given the conditions, Giancarlo Fisichella was the only driver to retire from the race. Fisichella, battling with Coulthard, clipped the Red Bull at the first chicane and at the end of the lap the front wing on the VJM01 failed sending the Italian veteran into the gravel and retirement.
It was a fantastic day for Sebastian Vettel and Toro Rosso Ferrari on what was a great day for the sport.
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
F1 Belgian GP - Race 07/09/08
Drama, penalties and controversy at Spa Francorchamps!
It was a most dramatic day in the Ardennes once again and this time the action extended beyond the chequered flag. Rain ahead of the 44-lap Belgian Grand Prix and then in the final stages of the race turned the 13th round of the world championship on its head and effectively ended Kimi Raikkonen’s championship hopes. Lewis Hamilton slithered across the line to record what was to be his ninth victory of his career. However, this being Formula One, there would be a few more twists and turns before nightfall at Spa Francorchamps and Felipe Massa was later handed the race win by the race stewards.
It was Raikkonen who made the best of the tricky conditions on the first lap to move from fourth position on the grid to take the race lead at the start of the second lap as pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton spun his McLaren Mercedes at La Source.
Raikkonen took control of the race but was unable to shake Hamilton with the gap fluctuating between two seconds and six seconds throughout the bulk of the race. The turning point - in terms of racing - came three laps from home as light rain began to fall and immediately Raikkonen was forced to back off allowing Hamilton to close right in and challenge for the lead into the final turn with just over two laps remaining.
Hamilton attempted the pass around the outside of the right-left turn – formerly the ‘bus stop’ - but with no room as Raikkonen took his normal racing line, Hamilton was forced off track before rejoining on the main straight. Not deterred, Hamilton pounced and made a clean pass on the Ferrari driver into La Source.
This is the move that would later cost the McLaren driver the race victory as it was determined that he had in fact gained an advantage over his Ferrari rival on the run to the first turn.
With the rains now falling harder and the race just a lap and a half from its conclusion, Hamilton and Raikkonen pushed as hard as they dared in the conditions but both were forced to take avoiding action as Nico Rosberg’s Williams Toyota spun and rejoined in front of them. Hamilton took to the grass and rejoined while Raikkonen had a quick spin before resuming.
Seconds later Raikkonen lost the Ferrari for a second and final time and spun into the retaining wall on the approach to the final turn. Hamilton slithered around the final lap to take the chequered flag ahead of Felipe Massa . It was a sensational final few laps of the race only soured by the post race penalties.
Massa started the race from the front row of the grid but was not able to challenge leaders Hamilton and Raikkonen, but with the latter sliding into retirement on the penultimate lap and Hamilton being given a 25 second time penalty post race, the Brazilian was able to pick up ten points and keep his championship challenge on track.
Third position on track fell to Nick Heidfeld and BMW Sauber after they opted to pit ahead of the final lap and change to intermediate tyres in the tricky conditions. Lapping significantly faster than those who did not pit, Heidfeld cut through the pack to take the flag in third position, just 24 seconds behind Hamilton and 14 seconds behind Massa. Given another lap and Heidfeld could well have taken the race win. With the post-race adjustments, Heidfeld was declared the runner-up to Massa.
It was a similar situation for Fernando Alonso on the final lap as he finished in a strong fourth position for Renault beating the Toro Rosso Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel by a fraction of a second across the line to take the position.
Robert Kubica had a tough weekend in Belgium but will be relatively happy to at least pick up some points with sixth position ahead of Sebastien Bourdais who amazingly started the final lap in third position. In the wet conditions, there was no holding back those on the intermediate tyre but it remains to be seen how he lost position to Vettel and Kubica. With six points on the board, Toro Rosso Ferrari now move ahead of the struggling Honda team in the constructors’ championship.
Timo Glock finished in eighth position for Toyota but like Hamilton would later take a post-race penalty dropping him out of the points. It was a disappointing day for team-mate Jarno Trulli in the sister TF108. The Italian made a stunning getaway from the grid from 11th position, gaining more than half a dozen positions on the run to La Source. Sadly for the Toyota squad, Bourdais ran into the back of Trulli under braking and the Italian would suffer with handling issues for the remainder of the race.
Mark Webber finished ninth, eighth in the points, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen and there was some justice in that as the McLaren driver attempted a pass early in the race that sent Webber spinning down the order. Kovalainen, who made a dreadful start from third position on the grid, would serve a drive through penalty for his actions and then go off on the final lap at turn eight. Kovalainen now heads to Monza without adding to his points tally and sliding further down the points standings.
David Coulthard finished 11th in the second Red Bull Renault ahead of Nico Rosberg in the leading Williams. Adrian Sutil was 13th in his Force India Ferrari ahead of Kazuki Nakajima, Jenson Button, Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella. Rubens Barrichello retired from the race with a gearbox failure while Piquet spun off into the barriers early in the race.
For Raikkonen, his failure to finish effectively ends his title hopes making it a two-horse race heading to the Italian Grand Prix next weekend. That race has been made a whole lot closer with Massa being promoted winner of the Belgian Grand Prix. Hamilton still leads the championship but by just two points as the Ferrari team head home to Monza...
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
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
F1 German GP - Race 20/07/08
Hamilton wins from Piquet
The first half of the 67-lap German Grand Prix was a walk in the park for pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton as he quickly established a comfortable lead over Felipe Massa. However, the deployment of the safety car on lap 36, combined with some strange decision making, made Hamilton’s eighth career win rather more dramatic than McLaren would have thought. With Nelson Piquet finishing second in the Renault, it is a day to remember at Hockenheimring.
Hamilton made a solid start from the pole position and was able to pull a ten second advantage in the first 15 laps from Massa who was unable to put together consistent laps in his Ferrari. The first round of pitstops came and went and nothing really changed with Hamilton backing off by a second a lap at the front to keep the gap to Massa consistent.
Timo Glock had made best use of a long first stint before pitting and ran in eighth position when the right rear suspension failed on his TF108 exiting the fast final turn. The Toyota spun and made very heavy contact with the inside retaining wall on the pit straight before rebounding across the circuit and coming to rest on the grass. As ever, Glock seems to have little luck, but thankfully he seems not to have sustained any serious injury.
With the safety car deployed and the pit lane opened on lap 38, nearly everyone headed to the pits for a second round of pit stops.
Hamilton however did not pit and at the restart, had a clear aim of extending his advantage over Massa to more than 20 seconds, the time needed for his second and final stop.
The McLaren driver pushed hard but could however only get the gap out to 15 seconds before pitting and exited the pits behind team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, Massa and Piquet.
Kovalainen did not make much of an issue letting Hamilton ahead and soon Hamilton was right on the back of Massa’s Ferrari. Heading to the hairpin on lap 57, Massa did not protect the inside line and Hamilton was through. The procedure was repeated just three laps later on Piquet and the race victory was there for Hamilton.
The McLaren Mercedes, in the hands of Hamilton, was the class of the field today in Germany and even an error on strategy did not stop Hamilton from taking his eighth career victory.
Piquet has been under pressure to perform at Renault this year and after qualifying 17th and then running 18th in the early stages, it seemed that there would be little he could do from that position. However, using a one stop strategy compared to the two of every other runner - plus the timing of the safety car - gave him a chance to shine.
Piquet grabbed the opportunity with both hands and ran at the front of the field for the first time in his short Formula One career. The Brazilian may not have had an answer to the pace of Hamilton, but his excellent second position is a very timely boost for Renault and his own career prospects.
It was a disappointing race from Massa who never had the pace to stay with Hamilton. I was however a surprise to see him making it so comparatively simple for Hamilton to take the position from him ten laps from home. Third position however adds to his championship tally and he now trails Hamilton by four points.
A typical canny race from Nick Heidfeld saw him make best of the situation to finish in fourth position in his BMW Sauber ahead of Kovalainen in the McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari. Neither Kovalainen nor Raikkonen looked particularly racy and the former really is now out of realistic championship contention as he trails his team-mate by 30 points.
Robert Kubica finished in seventh position in the second BMW Sauber in what was a difficult race for him while a spin in the final laps from Jarno Trulli promoted Sebastian Vettel to eighth position and into the final points scoring position at his first German Grand Prix.
Toyota will be disappointed to see Trulli out of the points in ninth position after starting from an impressive fourth position. The team will need to look at the reasons for Glock’s dramatic exit from the race with the suspension issue on his TF108.
Nico Rosberg picked up tenth position in the leading Williams Toyota, gaining the position from Fernando Alonso late in the race following a spin from the former champion. With Piquet finishing a sensational second, it was a less stellar performance from Renault team-mate Alonso who slipped back through the field. Renault now move ahead of Williams in the constructors' championship and are just one point behind Red Bull Renault.
Sebastien Bourdais finished 12th position in the second Toro Rosso, less than half a second behind Alonso while David Coulthard lost ground early on and would finish 13th in the Red Bull Renault after some rather unnecessary contact with Rubens Barrichello late in the race.
Giancarlo Fisichella took 14th position in the Force India Ferrari ahead of Kazuki Nakajima in the second Williams and Adrian Sutil in the second Force India. Jenson Button was the final classified runner in 17th position in the Honda. The second RA108 of Barrichello was unable to continue after contact with Coulthard at turn four while Mark Webber’s Red Bull Renault suffered an engine failure mid-race.
Hamilton now has 58 points, with Massa on 54 and Raikkonen on 51. It was quite a race at the front and next up is Hungary and that has in recent times been a McLaren track....
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
F1 British GP - Race 06/07/200
Lewis Hamilton takes the home win!
Lewis Hamilton won an incident filled and rain hit British Grand Prix after a dominant display in tricky conditions. Nick Heidfeld also put in a great performance to finish in second position while Rubens Barrichello seized the opportunity with both hands to take a memorable third position in the Honda.
Starting fourth, Hamilton made an excellent start and powered his way to second into the first corner behind pole-sitter and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen. There was the slightest of contact as the duo battled for position and five laps later Hamilton got a good tow down the Hanger Straight and made a clean pass for the lead.
Kimi Raikkonen was on the move as well after a slow start and soon found his way into second position and shadowed the race leader until the first round of pitstops. With the circuit beginning to dry a little and more rain forecast, this is where Ferrari made the crucial mistake that took Raikkonen out of contention for the race win.
Hamilton and Raikkonen both pitted together with McLaren fitting a new set of intermediate tyres while Raikkonen received just fuel. As the rain started to fall a few laps later Raikkonen found himself out of grip and his lap times fell away dramatically. In the space of ten laps Hamilton had extended his lead from almost nothing to over 40 seconds. Ferrari did not react to the situation and it was only in the later stages of the race that Raikkonen could make any kind of recovery.
Nick Heidfeld steered clear of trouble – made some great passes - and took advantage of errors from his rivals to take the chequered flag in second position 70 seconds behind the dominant Hamilton. Another driver to make best of the conditions was Rubens Barrichello who along with the Honda team made the best calls of the day in terms of tyre strategy.
Running in the lower points-paying positions mid-race, a heavy rain shower saw Barrichello take full wet tyres. The results were immediate with the Brazilian veteran lapping between ten and 14 seconds a lap faster than anyone else. This promoted Barrichello to a stunning second position but a late race change back to the intermediate tyres and fuel top-up, dropped him back behind Heidfeld. It was an excellent drive from a man known to shine in such tricky conditions.
Kimi Raikkonen battled back to finish in fourth position in the leading Ferrari, but it was very much a case of damage limitation following the earlier error by the team. Team-mate Felipe Massa, the championship leader heading into the 60-lap race, endured what was probably his least competitive showing of his entire career and finished flat last a lap behind the next highest placed finisher. It was certainly not his day.
With Hamilton taking the win, Raikkonen scrambling home in fourth and Massa not scoring, the trio all have 48 championship points heading to Hockenheim in two weeks time...
Heikki Kovalainen could not match the pace of Hamilton or Raikkonen early in the race and a spin late in the race at Club saw him lose position to Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso. He would get one of those positions back as he took the chequered flag in a disappointing fifth position.
Fernando Alonso found himself in defence mode in the closing stages of the race and could not resist the pace of Raikkonen and Kovalainen but did hold on to finish in sixth position. Renault team-mate Nelson Piquet ran well until the heavy rains fell and lost control of his R28 and spun out of the race.
Jarno Trulli finished in seventh position in the leading Toyota, taking the position on the very final lap from Kazuki Nakajima in the Williams. Nakajima looked to have the pace to pass Alonso but went defensive in the final moment of the race and lost out to the Italian veteran. Still it was a good race from the rookie Williams Toyota driver.
Nico Rosberg finished in ninth position having started the race from the pit lane. It was not a trouble-free race for the highly-rated driver as a collision with Timo Glock – the second of the season - saw him forced to fit for a new front wing and the error cost him a chance of points.
Starting second on the grid, Mark Webber had high hopes of a good haul of points this afternoon but a spin exiting Chapel on lap one saw those hopes dashed. Facing the wrong way as the field passed by, Webber can count his lucky stars that he was just far enough off line not to be hit. The Australian racer finished in tenths position while team-mate David Coulthard ran into Sebastian Vettel at the start of the race eliminating both on the spot.
Sebastien Bourdais soldiered on in the surviving Toro Rosso and finished 11th ahead of Timo Glock who suffered several spins in the later stages of the race in his Toyota. With half a dozen spins of his own, Massa was Classified 13th and last.
Robert Kubica was caught out in the heavy rain and spun off and into retirement as was Jenson Button and the Force India duo of Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil.
It couldn’t be closer at the mid-point of the season...
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
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
F1 Monaco GP – Race 26/05/2008
Hamilton wins dramatic rain hit Monaco GP
The Monaco Grand Prix did not quite go the full distance as it hit the two hour time limit with Lewis Hamilton taking the chequered flag and his sixth career win around the streets of Monte Carlo. It was a fantastic drive from Hamilton who now takes over the championship lead from Kimi Raikkonen who failed to score today.
Rain at the Principality made it a very tricky race for the 20 starters and while Hamilton celebrates his second win of the season, it was a far from easy Sunday afternoon drive. An error on lap seven saw him returning to the pits after brushing the barriers at the swimming pool, slashing his right rear tyre in the process.
Ironically, Hamilton’s early stop allowed him to take extra fuel on board and he was then able to time his switch from the rain tyre to dry tyre to perfection. Hamilton was not the only driver to make errors however as Felipe Massa made one and Kimi Raikkonen made two...
Massa started from the pole position and controlled the pace in the early laps despite Hamilton slotting into second position. However, a mid-race error saw him run off track at Sainte Devote and lose position to Robert Kubica. The Brazilian would never recover the lost ground and took the chequered flag two seconds behind the BMW Sauber driver who put in a flawless drive to claim the runner up position.
Adrian Sutil was on target to take a sensational fourth position in his Force India Ferrari. A late race safety car bunched up the field and Kimi Raikkonen lost control of his Ferrari under braking exiting the tunnel.
The Ferrari struck the back of the VJM01 forcing Sutil to return slowly to the pit and retire. It was an awful end to a fantastic race from the German racer.
Mark Webber recovered to finish in fourth position, losing ground mid-race after pitting too early to take the slick tyres and losing position to Sutil. Still it was a good solid run from the Red Bull racer who picks up five points for the Milton Keynes-based team.
Sebastian Vettel kept out of trouble and like Webber used a one-stop strategy well to take fifth position in the Toro Rosso Ferrari ahead of Rubens Barrichello who finally gets back in the points with the Honda team. Kazuki Nakajima brought home two points for Williams with his seventh place finish ahead of Heikki Kovalainen who should have finished so much higher.
Kovalainen stalled his McLaren Mercedes on the dummy grid and was forced to start the Grand Prix from the pit lane. The Finn battled on but a mistake behind the safety car saw him slow to unlap himself and therefore dropped some 20 seconds to Nakajima. A late race charge saw him take eighth position and the final championship point just three seconds behind the Japanese racer.
or Kimi Raikkonen, the Monaco Grand Prix was a race to forget. A slow getaway from second on the grid saw him lose position to Hamilton. An error on lap 27 saw him running down the escape road at Sainte Devote and damaging his front wing and then his late race blunder that proved so costly for Sutil. Raikkonen finished ninth.
Fernando Alonso had an eventful race to tenth position but a rash move in the wet conditions saw him run into the side of Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber. A pit stop for a new front wing and also a brush with the wall cost him a chance of points at Monaco.
Jenson Button made contact with Heidfeld on lap one and was forced to pit for a new front wing and the Honda racer would go on to finish 11th ahead of the Toyota duo of Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli who had their own incidents in the wet. Heidfeld’s F1.08 sustained damage when hit by Alonso and he would struggle on to finish 14th, four laps down in what was a dismal weekend for the German driver.
Only nine finished the Grand Prix on the lead lap and there were six retirements. The first was David Coulthard who hit the barriers on lap nine and was then promptly hit by Sebastien Bourdais who went off at the same point in the wet conditions. Giancarlo Fisichella retired his Force India Ferrari with a gearbox problem while Nelson Piquet nosed his Renault into the barriers after switching to dry tyres.
Nico Rosberg had a tough race as he broke his front wing on the first lap as he ran into the back of Alonso at the Casino hairpin. He would work his way back up the order before running wide at Piscine and making very heavy contact with the barriers on lap 62. The final non-finisher was the unfortunate Sutil who was on target for the shock result of the season in the Force India Ferrari.
Hamilton’s victory moves him to the head of the championship standings with 38 points, three ahead of Raikkonen and four ahead of Massa. Ferrari retains the lead of the constructors’ championship heading to Montreal but McLaren now moves second ahead of BMW Sauber.
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
F1 Turkish GP – Race 11/05/2008
Massa keeps his cool for the Istanbul hat trick.
Felipe Massa has claimed his third straight victory at Istanbul Park, taking the chequered flag four seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton in a race of tyre and fuel strategy. Kimi Raikkonen finished in third position to retain his lead at the head of the championship standings.
Massa drove a great race, keeping his cool when Hamilton breezed by him to take the race lead. The McLaren driver also had a good race, opting for an unconventional three stop strategy to challenge for the race win and ultimately only lose out to the flying Massa by a small margin. Massa’s victory moves him second in the championship from fourth, tied with Hamilton.
The start of the race saw Massa convert his pole into the race lead while Raikkonen lost ground to Robert Kubica. Front-row starter Heikki Kovalainen was the man to lose out as Raikkonen’s front wings caught Kovalainen’s rear tyre forcing the Finn to make an unscheduled stop for a new set of tyres.
As Massa and Hamilton pulled away at the front, Raikkonen tailed Kubica but did not make any real impression until the BMW Sauber driver pitted. A string of fast laps from the championship leader saw him regain third position but even then he seemed comfortable with the position and did not continue to push.
Hamilton’s third and final stop saw him exit the pits just ahead of the second Ferrari, holding the position to the chequered flag.
It was an impressive performance from Hamilton while Raikkonen could - and probably should have pushed to ensure he finished second to his team-mate.
It was a pretty lonely race for the BMW Sauber duo as Kubica finished fourth, 17 seconds behind Raikkonen while team-mate Nick Heidfeld made a good start and then picked up another two positions in the first round of stops to finish an equally distant fifth. It was a pretty good result after a tough weekend for the Swiss-based team.
Fernando Alonso got the jump on Mark Webber at the start of the race and had a relatively trouble-free run to sixth position in his Renault, ten seconds ahead of the leading Red Bull Renault. For Webber, seventh position was a solid result, with points now in the last four Grand Prix.
After a poor showing in qualifying, Nico Rosberg charged hard in the 58-lap Grand Prix to take the final points paying position for Williams Toyota. David Coulthard was ninth in the second Red Bull Renault, crossing the line four seconds behind Rosberg.
Jarno Trulli qualified eighth and finished the race tenth after losing ground at the start while Toyota team-mate Timo Glock finished his day 13th. It was not a good race for Honda with Jenson Button finishing 11th a lap down while Rubens Barrichello’s much publicised 257th Grand Prix start yielded a fairly low-key a 14th position.
After his first lap incident, Heikki Kovalainen had a busy race working his way back though the order, taking the flag less than a second behind Button and five seconds clear of Glock.
Nelson Piquet looked on target for an 11th place finish in his Renault but inexplicably dropped down the order late in the race to finish 15th ahead of Adrian Sutil in the Force India and Sebastian Vettel in the Toro Rosso. For Vettel, 17th position and last at least marks his first race finish of the season.
There were three non-finishers, the first being Giancarlo Fisichella who drilled into the back of Kazuki Nakajima into the first turn on the first lap bringing out the only safety car period of the race. Sebastien Bourdais was having a solid run until a mechanical problem sent him and his Toro Rosso sailing into the gravel trap.
From the sweeping turns of Istanbul Park, Formula One now heads to the confines of Monte Carlo.
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
F1 Spanish GP – Race 27/04/2008
Raikkonen firmly in control
The race result may not show it, but Kimi Raikkonen dominated the Spanish Grand Prix from the pole position to take his second win of the season and to further extend his championship lead. Raikkonen’s win, the 17th of his career, continued the now eight year run at Circuit de Catalunya that has seen the pole-sitter claim the race victory.
There was plenty of drama, if not much passing during the 66-lap event, as Raikkonen launched his Ferrari from the pole ahead of Felipe Massa in the sister F2008 who got the jump on front-row starter Fernando Alonso. From that point onwards the gap between the two Ferraris fluctuated between two and four seconds, but the championship leader never really came under any threat from his team-mate.
Raikkonen took the chequered flag 3.2s ahead of Massa while Lewis Hamilton had a solid error-free run to third position. The result moves the Australian Grand Prix winner back into second in the championship on a weekend McLaren could not fight for the win. There was however great drama for Heikki Kovalainen who briefly took over the lead ahead of the first round of pit stops. On lap 23 the MP4-23 suffered a front left wheel failure that sent the Finn across the gravel trap at turn nine at almost unabated speed, burying most of the car in the tyre barrier.
The safety car was deployed as the medical team attended to Kovalainen, but thankfully it seems that the Finn does not have any serious injuries.
Back on track and Robert Kubica had a solid run in his BMW Sauber from fourth position on the grid to fourth position in the race. The Pole lost out to Hamilton off the line while team-mate Nick Heidfeld meanwhile was the latest victim of the badly thought out rules that govern this sport. With Kovalainen receiving treatment track-side and the safety car circulating on track, the German racer was unfortunate enough to require a pit stop for fuel. With the pits closed, Heidfeld was forced to pit from fifth position and as a result incurred a ten second stop and go penalty that effectively ended his race there and then.
Mark Webber ran well to take fifth position and another points-paying result for Red Bull Renault while team-mate David Coulthard had an eventful Grand Prix. Starting 17th, the Red Bull veteran was rammed on lap one by an out-of-control Adrian Sutil, battled on and then was later hit from behind by Timo Glock. With an extra unscheduled stop for a slashed left rear tyre, Coulthard did well to finish 12th.
Jenson Button finished in sixth position to take some well-earned points for the improving Honda team while Rubens Barrichello ran well early on before losing his wing in his first pit stop and then retiring the RA108 with a mechanical issue.
Kazuki Nakajima made a poor start to the race, but largely thanks to the high attrition rate, took the chequered flag in seventh position and claimed his first championship points since joining Williams Toyota at Interlagos last year. Jarno Trulli finished eighth in what was a disappointing showing from Toyota - not helped by a third pitstop - while Heidfeld battled back to ninth in the second BMW Sauber.
Giancarlo Fisichella kept out of trouble and put in another good race in his Force India Ferrari to finish in tenth position, battling hard in the latter stages to try and keep Heidfeld at bay but ultimately losing out to finish tenth ahead of Glock - way off the pace in his Toyota - Coulthard and Takuma Sato.
There were many retirements from this 66-lap event with Nico Rosberg running seventh in his Williams Toyota after a fast start only to retire with an engine failure. Perhaps the biggest cheer of the day came not for race winner Kimi Raikkonen as he took the race win, but for Fernando Alonso on home soil.
Alonso started second, but was immediately jumped by Massa at the start. Running a short first stint the Renault star pitted on lap 15 of the race. Exiting the pits Alonso found himself behind Barrichello who at the time was on a long first stint and lapping two seconds slower than Alonso was capable. Following the end of the first round of stops, Alonso had lost position to Hamilton, Kubica and Heidfeld. It would matter little as on lap 35 whilst running fifth, the Renault V8 failed.
While Alonso had a strong race Nelson Piquet did not. A trip through the gravel early on was followed by a rash move down the inside of Sebastien Bourdais putting himself and the unfortunate Toro Rosso driver out of the race. The second Toro Rosso was eliminated on lap one as Sutil barged his way into Coulthard and spun. Sebastian Vettel rounded the turn and had no option but to crash into his countryman.
There was plenty of bad luck around today, but the good luck seems to have fallen on Kovalainen who has escaped serious injury after a heavy crash.
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
F1 Bahrain GP - Race 06/04/2008
Massa gets the job done for Ferrari
There were no mistakes this afternoon in the 57-lap Bahrain Grand Prix from Felipe Massa who put in a flawless performance to kick-start his championship campaign. Starting second behind pole-sitter Robert Kubica, Massa breezed past the BMW Sauber driver to take the lead on the first lap, a lead he would never relinquish.
While Massa had the pace off the line to take the lead, he was kept under pressure throughout the race by Malaysian Grand Prix winner and team-mate Raikkonen. The pace was furious at the front with the duo trading best laps ahead of the second and final pitstops.
Massa took the chequered flag three seconds clear of Raikkonen, who was also able to make short-work of pole-sitter in the opening laps of the race, while Kubica took the flag in third position, less than two seconds behind Raikkonen.
For Kubica, the gap at the end of the Grand Prix does not tell the full picture as Ferrari utterly dominated the third round of the championship and it was only in the final sting that the team went into car conservation mode and controlled the gap to the flag.
The ten points for Massa is a much needed boost after failing to finish in Australia and Malaysia while Raikkonen’s second position moves him to the head of the championship table heading to Barcelona in three weeks time.
With Kubica finishing third, Nick Heidfeld made best of a good getaway at the start of the race to bring home the second F1.08 in fourth position and in doing so the Hinwil-based team leave Bahrain leading the constructors’ championship for the first time.
Bahrain would prove to be something of a reality check for the McLaren Mercedes team. Starting the race with Hamilton third and Kovalainen fifth, the team had hoped to challenge the front-runners from the outset.
Lewis Hamilton made a mess of his race start dropping to tenth position but his race really came unstuck next time around as he inexplicably ran into the back of Fernando Alonso Renault. The McLaren took to the air shedding its front wing forcing Hamilton to creep back to the pits for repairs. The Australian Grand Prix winner made little impression from that point, despite switching to a one stop strategy and would finish a lapped 13th.
Heikki Kovalainen steered clear of trouble and fended off advances from behind to take the chequered flag in fifth position, almost 30 seconds behind race winner Massa
Jarno Trulli put in a spirited drive in his Toyota, chasing Kovalainen for much of the race and keeping the Finn under pressure. The final stages of the race saw Kovalainen pick up the pace on what was a very short final stint and Trulli had to be content with sixth.
Mark Webber started 11th in his Red Bull Renault and put in a strong drive to score two championship points with seventh position, gaining position over rival Nico Rosberg in the first round of pit stops. For Rosberg, he started the race on the harder tyre – unlike the other top ten starters - and dropped back from Trulli and then was unable to make much progress. The Williams Toyota racer took the flag ten seconds behind Webber.
Timo Glock completed his first full Grand Prix with Toyota and had a strong race to ninth from 13th position on the grid.
Over at Renault and there was little to take away from this event. Fernando Alonso survived his incident with Hamilton on lap two despite some damage to the rear wing on the R28. Alonso would lose a position to Glock in the pit stops and then spend the final stages of the Grand Prix fending off the Honda of Rubens Barrichello to claim tenth position. Nelson Piquet had a low key run in the second R28 as he suffered from gearbox issues that would eventually force his retirement.
With Jenson Button getting tangled up in lap one dramas and then running into David Coulthard whilst battling at the back of the pack, Barrichello carried the flag for Honda putting the pressure on Alonso to the flag.
Giancarlo Fisichella vaulted up the order from 18th on the grid at the start and then put in a tremendous drive in his Force India Ferrari. The Italian veteran finished a lap down in 12th position but proved consistent and on the pace over the race distance.
Kazuki Nakajima used a one stop strategy to little effect from 16th position on the grid to finish 14th in his Williams Toyota while Sebastien Bourdais will be disappointed with 15th in the sole surviving Toro Rosso Ferrari following Sebastian Vettel’s early exit from a nightmare weekend.
A good battle between Super Aguri Honda team-mates for 16th saw Anthony Davidson take the honours from Takuma Sato. David Coulthard finished 18th in the second Red Bull ahead of Adrian Sutil in he second Force India.
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
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