Entries for May, 2008
2008 F1 Monaco GP (Race) - Hamilton triumphs in wet-dry Monaco thriller
When Ferrari wrapped up the front row of the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton’s only real hope of victory seemed to lie in the hands of the weather gods. It duly rained before the start, but after six laps the Englishman walloped the wall hard on the exit to the Swimming Pool, while trailing poleman Felipe Massa’s Ferrari. Into the pits he came, and at that stage the race seemed to belong to the Brazilian.
McLaren, however, brimmed the MP4-23 with fuel, and Hamilton caught his first break when the safety car was deployed on the eighth lap after Red Bull’s David Coulthard and Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais went off at Massenet.
The racing resumed on the 11th lap, and two laps later Kimi Raikkonen dropped out of second place when he had to serve a drive-through penalty for having his tyres fitted too late in the grid. Now BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica moved up to push Massa, and was able to snatch the lead when the latter slid momentarily up the escape road at Ste Devote on the 16th lap. Hamilton was chasing hard after them, with Raikkonen now trailing in fourth place.
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 76 | 2:00:42.742 | 3 | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 76 | +3.0 secs | 5 | 8 |
| 3 | 2 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 76 | +4.8 secs | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | 10 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 76 | +19.2 secs | 9 | 5 |
| 5 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | STR-Ferrari | 76 | +24.6 secs | 19 | 4 |
| 6 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 76 | +28.4 secs | 14 | 3 |
| 7 | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 76 | +30.1 secs | 13 | 2 |
| 8 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 76 | +33.1 secs | 4 | 1 |
| 9 | 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 76 | +33.7 secs | 2 | |
| 10 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 75 | +1 Lap | 7 | |
| 11 | 16 | Jenson Button | Honda | 75 | +1 Lap | 11 | |
| 12 | 12 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 75 | +1 Lap | 10 | |
| 13 | 11 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 75 | +1 Lap | 8 | |
| 14 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 72 | +4 Laps | 12 | |
| Ret | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Ferrari | 67 | Accident damage | 18 | |
| Ret | 7 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 59 | Accident | 6 | |
| Ret | 6 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 47 | Accident | 17 | |
| Ret | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Ferrari | 36 | Gearbox | 20 | |
| Ret | 9 | David Coulthard | Red Bull-Renault | 7 | Accident | 15 | |
| Ret | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 7 | Accident | 16 |
2008 F1 Monaco GP (Qualifying) - Ferrari lock out the front row
Ferrari came to Monte Carlo hoping for a much better showing than they managed in 2007, when the McLarens ran rings round them, and with Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen sitting on the front row, they got off to a great start in qualifying on Saturday.
Massa lapped in 1m 15.787s to snatch pole from Raikkonen (1m 15.815s) in the dying seconds, and if he wins on Sunday he will be the first Ferrari driver to do so from pole here since Jody Scheckter in 1979. The South African, it should perhaps be noted, also went on to win that year’s title.
Lewis Hamilton looked set for second place on the grid with 1m 15.839s for McLaren, until Massa’s late run. He shares the second row with team mate Heikki Kovalainen, who lapped in 1m 16.165s and is likely to be running a little bit more fuel.
Robert Kubica was his customary fifth with 1m 16.171s for BMW Sauber, while Nico Rosberg carried his excellent practice form into qualifying with sixth on the grid for Williams in 1m 16.548s.
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:15.190 | 1:15.110 | 1:15.787 | 20 |
| 2 | 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:15.717 | 1:15.404 | 1:15.815 | 19 |
| 3 | 22 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:15.582 | 1:15.322 | 1:15.839 | 20 |
| 4 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:15.295 | 1:15.389 | 1:16.165 | 25 |
| 5 | 4 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 1:15.977 | 1:15.483 | 1:16.171 | 18 |
| 6 | 7 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 1:15.935 | 1:15.287 | 1:16.548 | 24 |
| 7 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:16.646 | 1:15.827 | 1:16.852 | 20 |
| 8 | 11 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1:16.306 | 1:15.598 | 1:17.203 | 21 |
| 9 | 10 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1:16.074 | 1:15.745 | 1:17.343 | 19 |
| 10 | 9 | David Coulthard | Red Bull-Renault | 1:16.086 | 1:15.839 | no time | 18 |
| 11 | 12 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 1:16.285 | 1:15.907 | 16 | |
| 12 | 16 | Jenson Button | Honda | 1:16.259 | 1:16.101 | 13 | |
| 13 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 1:16.650 | 1:16.455 | 14 | |
| 14 | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 1:16.756 | 1:16.479 | 16 | |
| 15 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 1:16.208 | 1:16.537 | 12 | |
| 16 | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 1:16.806 | 9 | ||
| 17 | 6 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 1:16.933 | 8 | ||
| 18 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | STR-Ferrari | 1:16.955 | 11 | ||
| 19 | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Ferrari | 1:17.225 | 12 | ||
| 20 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Ferrari | 1:17.823 | 8 |
2008 F1 Turkey GP (Race) - Massa Hat-Trick Winning in Istanbul
No wonder that Ferrari’s Felipe Massa loves Istanbul Park. On Sunday afternoon he owned the place, and nobody seriously looked like challenging him as he sped to his hat-trick of victories here to move into joint second in the driver standings.
Sure, Lewis Hamilton pulled what seemed a brilliant passing move on him for the lead on the 24th lap, but it transpired that the Englishman was on a three-stop strategy for McLaren, and soon the way was clear again for Massa as Hamilton stopped to refuel and retain hard tyres on the 32nd lap.
Hamilton had sufficient in hand over Kimi Raikkonen, however, to keep the Finn in third place and to reduce his championship points lead to seven as they sped to the line 3.7s adrift of Massa, and separated by only four-tenths of second. The MP4-23 had been sweet on the harder Bridgestones, but still clearly didn’t like the softer rubber that Hamilton had to don for his final 13-lap stint. After the race the team revealed that tyre durability concerns had in fact prompted the three-stop route.
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 58 | 1:26:49.451 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 22 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 | +3.7 secs | 3 | 8 |
| 3 | 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 58 | +4.2 secs | 4 | 6 |
| 4 | 4 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 58 | +21.9 secs | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 58 | +38.7 secs | 9 | 4 |
| 6 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 58 | +53.7 secs | 7 | 3 |
| 7 | 10 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 58 | +64.2 secs | 6 | 2 |
| 8 | 7 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 58 | +71.4 secs | 11 | 1 |
| 9 | 9 | David Coulthard | Red Bull-Renault | 58 | +75.2 secs | 10 | |
| 10 | 11 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 58 | +76.3 secs | 8 | |
| 11 | 16 | Jenson Button | Honda | 57 | +1 Lap | 13 | |
| 12 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 57 | +1 Lap | 2 | |
| 13 | 12 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 57 | +1 Lap | 15 | |
| 14 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 57 | +1 Lap | 12 | |
| 15 | 6 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 57 | +1 Lap | 17 | |
| 16 | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Ferrari | 57 | +1 Lap | 19 | |
| 17 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | STR-Ferrari | 57 | +1 Lap | 14 | |
| Ret | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 24 | Spin | 18 | |
| Ret | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 1 | Accident damage | 16 | |
| Ret | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Ferrari | 0 | Accident | 20 |
2008 F1 Turkey GP (Qualifying) - Massa score the pole for the third times in a row at Istanbul
Felipe Massa put his Ferrari on pole for the Turkish Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon, for the third consecutive time in Istanbul Park. But the two McLarens of Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton lined up second and third and they will be doing their best to frustrate the Brazilian’s aspirations for his hat-trick of victories here on Sunday.
Massa set the pace when Q3 began, with a lap of 1m 27.896s, but it was a good job that he was able to improve that to 1m 27.617s as Kovalainen punched in a 1m 27.808s on his second run. The Finn showed absolutely no ill effects after his nasty shunt in the recent Spanish Grand Prix, and seemed very happy with his car.
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:25.994 | 1:26.192 | 1:27.617 | 16 |
| 2 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:26.736 | 1:26.290 | 1:27.808 | 16 |
| 3 | 22 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:26.192 | 1:26.477 | 1:27.923 | 15 |
| 4 | 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:26.457 | 1:26.050 | 1:27.936 | 17 |
| 5 | 4 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 1:26.761 | 1:26.129 | 1:28.390 | 17 |
| 6 | 10 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1:26.773 | 1:26.466 | 1:28.417 | 17 |
| 7 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:26.836 | 1:26.522 | 1:28.422 | 18 |
| 8 | 11 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1:26.695 | 1:26.822 | 1:28.836 | 20 |
| 9 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 1:27.107 | 1:26.607 | 1:28.882 | 20 |
| 10 | 9 | David Coulthard | Red Bull-Renault | 1:26.939 | 1:26.520 | 1:29.959 | 16 |
| 11 | 7 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 1:27.367 | 1:27.012 | 13 | |
| 12 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 1:27.355 | 1:27.219 | 13 | |
| 13 | 16 | Jenson Button | Honda | 1:27.428 | 1:27.298 | 14 | |
| 14 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | STR-Ferrari | 1:27.442 | 1:27.412 | 15 | |
| 15 | 12 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 1:26.614 | 1:27.806 | 15 | |
| 16 | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 1:27.547 | 9 | ||
| 17 | 6 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 1:27.568 | 7 | ||
| 18 | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 1:27.621 | 8 | ||
| 19 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Ferrari | 1:27.807 | 10 | ||
| 20 | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Ferrari | 1:28.325 | 9 |
