Massa celebrates hat trick in Istanbul; Räikkönen has to be satisfied with third place

Heikki Kovalainen unlucky in return after Barcelona accident

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The magic of the Turkish Formula One Grand Prix holds firm.
      So far the event has always been won from pole position, and thus Felipe Massa’s (Ferrari) victory on Sunday did not come as any great surprise. Simultaneously Massa produced a hat trick by winning the race for the third time in as many years.
      “It was fantastic. I’m at a loss for words to describe how I feel”, Massa commented after the race.
     
And yet the race proved not to be as boring as many had feared in advance. Behind the Brazilian, a tenacious tactical battle took place for the next positions. In the end, Britain’s Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) with his three pit-stop tactics emerged as the runner-up.
      Finland’s Kimi Räikkönen’s (Ferrari) landed the remaining podium position.
      “It was an OK result on a weekend like this”, Räikkönen stated matter-of-factly.
      The Finn was particularly annoyed by the slight touch with his fellow countryman, the McLaren pilot Heikki Kovalainen, in the first corner following the start. The incident resulted in a piece being clipped off from the end plate of Räikkönen’s front wing.
      “Moreover, we chose the wrong tyres during the second pit stop. And that is when I needed to be fast. That mistake cost me second place today”, Räikkönen said.
      “But if one gets this many points after a race such as today’s, one cannot be too disappointed.” Räikkönen did not have an altogether happy weekend. His first practice session on Friday was a washout, and he qualified only fourth on the grid behind Massa, Kovalainen, and Hamilton.
     
In the drivers’ standings, Räikkönen is still out in front but the difference between him and second-placed Hamilton was reduced by two points.
      “I am not particularly worried. Sometimes you have to be satisfied with what you can get. Today was one of those days, as throughout the weekend I never reached the form I would have hoped for.”
     
Massa’s victory also reinstated him in the battle for this year’s World Championship. In fact, Massa now shares second spot in the driver’s table with Hamilton, seven points behind Räikkönen. “The battle is fierce, but I am ready for it”, the Brazilian said.
      “The last couple of races Kimi and I have won alternately. I am happy that I was able to narrow his lead some, but you cannot win every time, and then you just have to aim for the most points you can get, just like Kimi did today.”
     
The Brazilian's return to form after the abject failures in the first two races has been a commendable feat. This was also noticed by the former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn, who now heads the Honda team.
      “I thought that the Championship would add momentum to Kimi’s speed and help him dominate this season, but apparently Massa sees it differently. It is a great battle”, Brawn commented.
     
The suspense is also rising in the Constructors' Championship series.
      From the Ferrari point of view, after the Turkish race, McLaren is already too close for comfort, even though there is a 20-point cushion between the teams.
      “And the next races are in Monaco and Montreal, where we had difficulties last year”, Räikkönen said.
      Ferrari team leader Stefano Domenicali agrees with the current World Champion.
      “In Monaco and Montreal we have to react to last year’s poor performance”, Domenicali said. “The Monaco race will be very intense. McLaren, BMW, and Renault will be extremely strong there.”
     
McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen was a little unlucky on his return to the grid after a nasty accident in Barcelona.
      He did everything right in qualifying second behind Massa and ahead of his teammate Hamilton, but the incident with Räikkönen on the first bend gave him a rear-wheel puncture and a forced return to the pits.
      In the end he finished down in 12th place.
      Nico Rosberg (Williams), the son of 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg, collected a single point for coming home in 8th. Kovalainen has 14 points and is in 6th place, while Rosberg has eight, and is 10th in the drivers' table.
      The prized Monaco GP in Monte Carlo is next, on May 25th. Räikkönen won here with McLaren-Mercedes in 2005, and the last two races went to Fernando Alonso, driving first a Renault and then a McLaren.
      It would be quite an upset if Alonso (now back at Renault) were to produce another hat-trick like Massa's.  
       


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Räikkönen increases his lead in F1 drivers´ table with comfortable win in Barcelona (28.4.2008)
  Heikki Kovalainen passed fit to compete in Turkish Grand Prix (9.5.2008)

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