11/05/2008
NEWS STORY
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In the three years that the Istanbul Speed Park has hosted a round of the formula One World Championship, it has produced some interesting races… and today's should be no exception.
For once, Hermann Tilke has got it right, though in fairness his track 'borrows' some of the great features from other legendary tracks.
If the two GP2 races are anything to go by, we can expect a few thrills and spills this afternoon, and at least one appearance by the safety car. While we are used to the antics of the GP2 brigade, nobody could have foreseen that Bruno Senna would be eliminated by a stray dog.
It appears that stray dogs are a problem at the Istanbul track, however, we think it safe to say that none are likely to make it onto the track during the Grand Prix - not unless they're wearing the correct pass - because Bernie has the track tied up tighter than a flea's arse.
The first corner at Istanbul is based on the first corner at Interlagos, and we know from bitter experience the sort of hi-jinks the drivers get up to there. As well as being a major problem on the first lap, being a great place for out-braking manoeuvres it is sure to be the scene of a couple more incidents during the race.
When we talk of first lap incidents we immediately think of Sebastian Vettel who has only managed to complete a full lap in one race this season, so all eyes on the Toro Rosso driver at the start of today's epic.
The safety car was out three teams for the GP2 guys, once in Saturday's race and twice today, though admittedly one of those times was down to the stray dog. Therefore, knowing the exuberance of some of the F1 guys we think it's safe to say that Bernd Maylander will find himself leading the field at some point this afternoon.
Looking at the grid, the smart money would have to be on Massa taking his second victory of the season today, though the McLarens look useful, even if Hamilton did go the wrong way on tyre choice.
As for Raikkonen, much will depend on how he deals with the start, plus, of course, the all important question of strategy.
Robert Kubica has looked the better of the two BMW drivers this weekend, and we don't, in all honesty, believe Nick Heidfeld to have a strategic trick up his sleeve, not this weekend at any rate. The German has never really clicked this weekend and in our opinion he will be lucky not to get caught out in any first corner shenanigans this afternoon.
Behind the lead pack, we should have a great scrap for the remaining points, with Alonso keen to make up for the misery of Barcelona and Webber and Trulli both eager to add further points to their tallies.
Behind them, Coulthard will be wanting to open his points account, while Barrichello would like to make this (record breaking) weekend extra special by scoring his first point since Brazil 2006.
All-in-all it has the potential to be a good afternoon, with a number of separate little scraps, after all, the circuit certainly favours the bold and the brave as we have seen in previous races here. Let's hope so.
As the cars make their way to the grid, with 15 minutes before race gets underway, the air temperature is 17 degrees C, while the track temperature is 29 degrees. It is sunny, with little threat of rain, but still decidedly cool. Furthermore, for the first day this weekend the people in the stands appear to outnumber the wild dogs.
The tow tyre options today are hard and medium, which we will refer to as hard and soft. The softs have been good for a couple of laps, which is why the majority of drivers are starting on the hard. That said, Massa is on soft, as is Raikkonen. Barrichello is also on softs.
After an interminable delay, the red lights come on the finally go out, they're away. It's a great starts for Massa, Hamilton and Kubica, but Raikkonen is slow to get away. Further back Fisichella crashes out for the third successive year. The safety car is deployed.
Sutil returns to the pits, telling his crew he needs a new front wing, while Nakajima also heads back to base.
The replay shows that Fisichella entered the first corner way too fast, taking out the hapless Nakajima. Believe it or not, Vettel was also involved somewhere along the line, he returns to the pits with a puncture. Meanwhile, Nakajima is out of his car, his rerar suspension wrecked.
Behind the safety car it': Massa, Hamilton, Kubica, Kovalainen, Alonso, Raikkonen, Webber, Heidfeld, Rosberg and Coulthard.
At the end of lap two the safety car pulls off, the race resumes. However, not for Kovalainen, who pits with a rear puncture.
Raikkonen passes Alonso to take fourth, the Finn now a second behind Kubica. The replay shows that Alonso didn't put up any sort of challenge to the charging Finn.
Massa is pushing a hard pace, but Hamilton is right there with him, just 0.6s behind. Trulli, who is all over Coulthard, has a train of four cars on his tail.
On lap 5, Massa posts fastest lap (27.628) extending his lead to 1.5s. Behind Raikkonen (fourth), Alonso is under pressure from Webber, who is in turn being hounded by Heidfeld. Rosberg is running eighth, ahead of Coulthard, Trulli, Button and Barrichello.
On lap 7, Hamilton goes quickest in the first sector, but Massa is quicker in the second. At the line, it is the Englishman who posts a new fastest lap (27.427). Raikkonen, who is 1.5s down on Kubica, is 0.6s off the Englishman's pace.
Kovalainen, who is running last following that early pit stop, is lapping in the 1:29s, 3.2s behind Sutil.
As Kubica falls 3.5s behind Hamilton, Trulli is all over Coulthard, the Toyota driver seeking to claim ninth place from the Scot having lost several positions at the start.
Another fastest lap from Hamilton (27.162) on lap 10, but Massa retains a 1.5s lead. Next time around it is the Brazilian who goes quickest, crossing the line at 27.001.
At the back, Kovalainen is battling Sutil, who is in no mood to make way for the Finn. Meanwhile, Hamilton is the first driver to dip into the 1:26s.
Barrichello complains that his tyres are going off, which could be bad news for the Ferrari duo. Elsewhere, Kovalainen goes around the outside of Sutil, while Trulli continues to hound Coulthard.
Piquet makes a great move on Vettel, going around the outside of the German at Turn 11. This goes some way to making up for his poor performance in qualifying yesterday.
Lap 14 sees another fastest lap for Hamilton, the Englishman posting 26.742. Next time around he posts 26.641.
Alonso is the first driver to make a regular pit stop, the Spaniard coming in at the end of lap 15. The early stop underlines Webber's performance in qualifying yesterday.
At the end of lap 16, it is Hamilton who pits, which says something about his performance in qualifying also. He was expected to go a few laps longer today. Meanwhile, Kubica goes quickest in the second sector, though he remains 7.7s behind Massa. Elsewhere, Kovalainen passes Vettel.
Webber pits at the end of lap 18, the Red Bull driver having been running fourth. He exits behind Alonso, which is sure to disappoint the Australian.
At the end of lap 19 it is Massa who pits, the Brazilian fitting another set of softs. Kubica also stops, taking on hards.
Therefore, Raikkonen now leads the race, consolidating his position with a new fastest lap (26.506). Heidfeld is second, ahead of Massa, Hamilton, Kubica and Rosberg. Elsewhere, Trulli pits.
At the end of lap 21, Raikkonen pits, rejoining the race ahead of Kubica. Heidfeld and Sutil also pitted.
Consequently, Massa now leads Hamilton, the gap down to 0.887. Raikkonen is third, ahead of Kubica, Rosberg, Coulthard, Heidfeld, Alonso, Webber and Button. However, Rosberg, Coulthard and Button all have to stop.
At the end of lap 23, as Hamilton closes to within 0.5s of Massa, Coulthard pits. Vettel also pits, just a lap after making his main fuel stop.
On lap 25, Hamilton makes a move on Massa, the two almost collide, but the Englishman isn't in the mood to take prisoners, he's through. Elsewhere, Rosberg pits.
The McLaren pulls away, however, we have to wonder sort of strategy he is running, bearing in mind that early pit stop. Interestingly, he's running a full second quicker than Raikkonen.
It's all over for Bourdais, who is buried deep in the gravel following some sort of failure which sent him into a spin.
Kovalainen makes his first scheduled pit stop at the end of lap 26, the Finn having made his way up to eleventh.
Hamilton goes quickest in the first sector, as he extends his lead to 3.8s. Elsewhere, Barrichello pits, having made his way up to ninth. His teammate, Jenson Button, Glock and Piquet, are the only drivers that haven't stopped.
Hamilton continues to lap almost a second faster than both Ferraris, however, they will surely use the (better) hard compound in the final stint. That said, if the McLaren driver can establish a good enough lead now, they will really have their work cut out.
Piquet pits at the end of lap 30, the Brazilian having climbed up to tenth.
BMW would appear to know something we don't, the German crew informs Kubica that he is racing Hamilton. However, it's a one-way conversation since the Pole is unable to talk to his team.
Button and Glock both pit at the end of lap 32, while moments later it is Hamilton who stops, the Englishman taking on another set of hards. This means he will have to make a third stop for softs. He rejoins in third, behind Raikkonen.
With 25 laps remaining, it's: Massa, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Kubica, Heidfeld, Alonso, Webber, Rosberg, Coulthard and Trulli. Further back, Kovalainen is all over Glock for thirteenth. The two have a great scrap for a couple of laps before Kovalainen makes a move which he fails to make stick. A few corners later, however, the Finn is through. A little further up the road, Piquet overdoes it as he attempts to pass Button.
Piquet finally nails Button, who loses momentum and is therefore unable to keep Kovalainen at bay. A great performance from Piquet.
Back at the front, Massa leads Raikkonen by 10.8s, with Hamilton a further 2.4s down the road. Kubica is 3.5s down on the McLaren, with Heidfeld fifth, ahead of Alonso, Webber, Rosberg, Coulthard and Trulli.
Raikkonen ups his pace, as Massa makes his pit stop at the end of lap 40. Kubica also pits. The Brazilian rejoins in third, while the Pole rejoins in fifth.
Hamilton fights back, closing to within 1.6s of Raikkonen, elsewhere, Alonso pits, rejoining in ninth.
Heidfeld makes his second stop at the end of lap 42, the German rejoining in seventh ahead of Rosberg.
At the end of lap 43, Raikkonen pits. 7.1s later he's heading down the pitlane, rejoining in third, 7s behind his teammate. It's do or die for race leader Hamilton now, as the Englishman still has to make another stop, at which point he will take on the dreaded softs.
Webber pits at the end of lap 44, the Australian currently running fifth.
Next time around it is Hamilton who pits. The softs are fitted, the fuel goes in, and 5.9s later he's heading down the road again, just ahead of Raikkonen. Elsewhere, Coulthard and Piquet also pitted.
With twelve laps remaining, it's Massa leading Hamilton by 5.2s, with Raikkonen a further 1.4s behind. Kubica is fourth, 14.7s down on the Finn, with Heidfeld fifth, ahead of Alonso, Trulli, Webber, Rosberg and Coulthard. However, Trulli still has to make another stop.
The leading three are lapping with 0.1s of one another, as Trulli finally makes his second stop. Elsewhere, Kovalainen passes Coulthard to take tenth, the Scot offering no resistance. Could it be that DC though it was Hamilton?
Moments later, Kovalainen makes short work of Rosberg, who tries to hold off the Finn but is unable to prevent the inevitable.
Raikkonen closes to within 0.7s, as Kovalainen makes his third stop of the afternoon, thereby moving Rosberg back into a point scoring position.
With four laps remaining, just three retirements.
Having been told to "push", Trulli informs his crew that he is "pushing like hell!".
While Massa has a 5.4s comfort cushion, Hamilton has just a 0.6s advantage over Raikkonen, the Finn lapping to within 0.050s of the Englishman.
Massa begins his final lap 5.1s clear of Hamilton. In the pits his family watches nervously. Alonso posts a personal best lap time.
A third successive win in Turkey for Felipe Massa, the seventh win of his F1 career, which moves him into joint second-place in the World Championship.
An excellent performance from Hamilton, who, despite the question mark over strategy this weekend, particularly in qualifying, takes a convincing second place.
Raikkonen will be disappointed with third, but in all honesty this was always going to be Felipe's race, and even so, the Finn still enjoys a seven point lead in the championship.
While we saw little of Robert Kubica this afternoon, fourth was the best he could expect, while Nick Heidfeld will be delighted to have come away with four points for fifth.
Alonso, Webber and Rosberg all deserve their points, while Coulthard, Trulli and Kovalainen all surely deserved to take away something from this afternoon.
Not the great race we were expecting, but at least Hamilton's strategy kept us guessing.
This week the teams head to Paul Ricard for another major test before heading off to Monaco, the one race which can be guaranteed to spring a surprise.
In the meantime, congratulations to Felipe, who just a couple of weeks ago was being written off, his seat being dusted down for Fernando Alonso. Suddenly it seems the Brazilian is a genuine title contender again.