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Kimi
Raikkonen on the podium in third place and Felipe Massa
seventeenth. These official results do not tell the
heartbreaking story of the race victory that eluded
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro's Brazilian driver. From third
place on the grid, he went straight into a lead he never
relinquished apart from during the two runs of pit
stops, but then with only three laps to go to the
chequered flag, a large puff of smoke from the back of
his F2008 saw him park alongside pit wall to retire. The
race was won by Heikki Kovalainen, taking his maiden F1
victory. The result means Ferrari retains its lead in
the Constructors' Championship, eleven points clear of
McLaren-Mercedes who have now moved ahead of BMW-Sauber.
Lewis Hamilton heads the Drivers' classification on 62
points; five points clear of Kimi with Felipe third,
three points adrift of his team-mate.
The heatwave continued on race day, with the air
temperature passing the thirty mark as the cars lined up
on the grid, with Massa in third place behind pole man
Hamilton and Raikkonen sixth. As the lights went out,
Felipe made a blinding start, getting ahead of
Kovalainen and pulling alongside Hamilton's McLaren
going into Turn 1 to emerge as leader, driving around
the outside of the Englishman. Glock was up from fifth
to fourth in the Toyota and Kimi dropped a place to be
seventh at the end of the opening lap. With four laps
completed the order was Massa, Hamilton, Kovalainen,
Glock, Kubica, Alonso, Raikkonen, Webber, Trulli,
Piquet, Coulthard, Heidfeld, Button, Barrichello, Vettel,
Bourdais, Rosberg, Nakajima, Fisichella and Sutil
twentieth and last. Massa's lead over his pursuers was
1.5 seconds, while Raikkonen was 11.9" behind his
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team mate.
Still in seventh, Kimi was lapping quicker than sixth
placed Alonso in the Renault and on lap 9 of 70, the
Finn had closed to within 0.7 of the Spaniard, as Felipe
extended his lead to 2.2. Kimi's pursuit was relentless
and by lap 17, he was only 0.5 behind Alonso. Lap 18 saw
Felipe lead the first run of pit stops, stationary for
8.2 seconds and taking on a second set of the Prime
tyre. Kubica in the BMW and Webber in the Red Bull also
came in on the same lap, while Hamilton came in one lap
later (9.4s.) Glock brought the Toyota in from fourth,
followed by Kovalainen in the McLaren on lap 21.
Alonso and Raikkonen came in together on lap 22 and left
nose to tail in the same order. By this point, Felipe
was back in the lead, 3.1s ahead of Hamilton, with
Piquet yet to stop in third place, until the Renault man
pitted on lap 25. This left the order much as it had
been since the early stages, with Kovalainen third,
ahead of Glock, Coulthard, who had still not pitted,
Alonso and Raikkonen back in seventh, 1.1 behind the
Renault. Coulthard finally came in on lap 29, having
been the only driver to start on the Option tyre.
Unusually, three cars, Bourdais' Toro Rosso,
Barrichello's Honda and Nakajima's Williams all suffered
minor fires at their pit stops but were able to
continue. Lap 38 saw Felipe extend his lead to 4.3s,
while in sixth place, Kimi was 1.4 behind Alonso. Two
laps later the Brazilian had 5 seconds in hand over the
Englishman who suddenly slowed with a left front
puncture. He pitted and rejoined ninth, which meant
Felipe now led second placed Kovalainen by almost 24
seconds, with Glock in the final podium position a
further 4 seconds behind. This promoted Alonso and Kimi
to fourth and fifth. Felipe made his final pit stop on
lap 44, stopping for 7.5 seconds and fitting the Option
tyre, rejoining in second place.
When Kovalainen made his final refuelling stop on lap
48, Felipe was back in the lead, heading Alonso and
Raikkonen who had only stopped once so far, by 13
seconds. Kovalainen was fourth, followed by Glock,
Piquet, Trulli, Kubica, Hamilton with Coulthard
completing the top ten. Alonso pitted on lap 50, which
promoted Kimi to second for one lap until he made his
final stop next time round. With the front runners
having completed their stops, this meant Felipe still
led, with Kovalainen 15.4 seconds adrift with eighteen
laps remaining. In the closing stages, Felipe sensibly
slowed the pace so that Kovalainen was only 9.6 behind
with eight laps remaining, as Kimi began setting some
race fastest laps in fourth place, finally ahead of
Alonso.
Then, with three laps to go disaster struck, as Felipe's
Ferrari emitted a large cloud of smoke and he came to a
complete stop alongside the pit wall on the start-finish
line to retire. This meant that at the flag after
seventy laps, Kimi finished third, behind Kovalainen
taking his first ever F1 win and Glock recording his
first ever F1 podium. The remaining points positions
were filled by Alonso, Hamilton, Piquet, Trulli and
Kubica.
Six points for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in the
Hungarian Grand Prix, thanks to a third place for Kimi
Raikkonen. Felipe Massa had to retire with engine
failure when leading three laps from the flag. After
eleven races this season, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
still heads the Constructors' classification on 111
points, while Kimi and Felipe are second and third in
the Drivers', 5 and 8 points respectively off the
leader.
Stefano Domenicali: "Today we showed the worth of
our team and our drivers, but we lacked the total
reliability which is absolutely vital. Felipe drove
possibly the best race of his career and we are very
disappointed about what happened to him just a handful
of kilometres from the end. He made an amazing start,
attacking at the right moment and then he was
comfortably managing his race in the final stages
heading for a well-deserved victory. Kimi's race was
compromised by his poor qualifying result yesterday:
when you start further back it's hard to climb up the
order. He was stuck behind Alonso for much of the race,
but when he finally had a clear track ahead of him, he
showed all his and the F2008's potential. We have to
react to this negative moment in our usual way: with
grit, determination and with everyone playing their
part. We have three weeks of hard work ahead of us to be
as well prepared as possible for the European Grand
Prix."
Felipe Massa: "It happened completely without
warning, without giving the slightest indication. I was
managing the race, because I had a good advantage over
second place after Hamilton was delayed with a problem
and I was taking no risks whatsoever. I am very
frustrated at the moment, because today we had a great
car and we had done everything perfectly until just a
few kilometres from the finish. Unfortunately, racing
can be a cruel sport. We had given it our all, but these
things can happen. Now we must not give up, but instead
we must react quickly. There are seven races to go and
70 points up for grabs, which means there is plenty of
time to make up ground. Our rivals are strong but we
have shown we are at their level."
Kimi Raikkonen: "I am sorry for Felipe and for
the team as it is horrible to lose a race in this way.
It was tough for me because, when you spend a long time
behind a slower car it becomes frustrating and boring.
When I was finally able to push, the car was behaving
very well, but by then it was too late. I came up behind
Glock but in the end, I had to slow as I had a
mechanical problem with the rear end and the team told
me to be very careful to ensure I brought the car home.
It's true that I'm the one who has won the most points
out of the top three in the classification, which shows
this championship is really unpredictable, with ups and
downs for everyone. It was a disappointing weekend for
me but, at least I managed to come away with a decent
result. We must try and fix the problems we have in
qualifying to start at the front, so as to exploit the
potential of the car. If we can do that, then we can get
back to fighting for the win."
Luca Baldisserri: "It hurts to see a car stop
with a failure just a few laps from the end when you are
solidly in the lead. It's a real shame, because Felipe
drove an extraordinary race: a perfect start, always a
fast pace and a great management of the situation in the
final stages. Kimi was behind Alonso for two thirds of
the race and only when he had a free track ahead of him
was he able to show what he can do. Today, we showed our
package is up to the job in terms of performance, but we
lacked the necessary reliability. We must continue to
work to improve still further, as indeed our competitors
are doing. We can expect some weeks of hard work ahead
of the next race where we want to achieve what slipped
from our grasp today in the very last moments."
Race
details:
K.
Raikkonen: 3rd 1:37.43.923 + 16.856 70 laps chassis 270
F. Massa: 17th 1:33.11.071 3 laps 67 laps chassis 269
Weather: air temperature 31/30 °C, track temperature
43/40 °C, clear skies.
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