Räikkönen increases his lead in F1 drivers’ table with comfortable win in Barcelona

Heikki Kovalainen's nasty shunt overshadows victory celebrations; driver concussed but otherwise uninjured after 200km/hour exit

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The Formula One Spanish Grand Prix was a Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) tour-de-force from pole to chequered flag. The Finn was the fastest man on the Circuit de Catalunya track on every day of the weekend, dominating practice, qualifying, and the race itself.
      “It could not have gone any better”, said a jubilant Räikkönen after the race.
     
“I am happy that I was in control of the race from start to finish. Only after the second pit stop there was some congestion that forced me into some unnecessary waiting. That could have been potentially dangerous had I not had a strong enough lead.”
      Räikkönen’s win helped him to increase his lead in the drivers' standings to nine points. In the World Championship table the Finn is followed by Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), who came in third in Barcelona.
      “Though an advantage, such a lead does not change anything”, Räikkönen said.
      “We still have 14 races left. One lousy race and the lead is history. But it does bring a certain sense of security. One unfinished race now does not have to turn everything into a catastrophe.”
     
Though Räikkönen rejoiced in his victory, he was also concerned about his countryman Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren), who crashed straight into a tyre wall at over 200 kilometres an hour.
      “At first I did not know which one of the McLarens it was in the tyre wall”, Räikkönen said. “I asked about it over the radio, and I was told it was Heikki. Apparently it all looked worse than it really was. Luckily he escaped without any serious harm, which is the main thing.”
      Kovalainen’s shocking crash aside, the Barcelona event was the most humdrum of this year’s F1 races. And Fernando Alonso’s (Renault) retirement from the race owing to engine failure only added to the Spanish audience’s frustration.
      But the Championship table looks that much more interesting after Barcelona, as Räikkönen’s three closest challengers are separated from each other by only a single point. Hamilton has so far rustled up 20 points against Robert Kubica’s (BMW) 19 and Felipe Massa’s (Ferrari) 18 points.
     
Particularly for Hamilton, success in Barcelona was important after a total fiasco in Bahrain earlier this month.
      Kovalainen’s accident didn’t faze the Briton. “In the middle of the race you can’t start thinking about what might happen. Otherwise you’ll be in trouble. I was convinced my car would hold up.”
     
Kovalainen was kept in hospital overnight with apparent concussion, but no broken limbs, which is a minor miracle and testimony to the hardiness of modern Formula One cars.
      It is unclear as yet whether he will be fit to compete when the GP circus moves to Turkey for the fifth race of the season on May 11th.
      Kovalainen is lying in sixth place in the drivers' table with 14 points. Nico Rosberg, currently ninth in the drivers' standings, was forced to retire in the Spanish GP after 41 of the 66 laps.


Links:
  Räikkönen annoyed after finishing “only” second in Bahrain (7.4.2008)
  Formula One

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