Reverend
April 15th, 2007, 17:53 PM
Ferrari's Felipe Massa held off the challenge of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton in the Bahrain Grand Prix to win his first race of the season.
The Brazilian led throughout but was pressured early and late in the race by Hamilton, the first man to take podiums in his first three Grands Prix.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third after challenging Hamilton mid-race. BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld was fourth, holding off a challenge from the struggling McLaren of Fernando Alonso.
The result leaves Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton in a three-way tie on points at the top of the world standings, with Massa five behind.
Massa needed a good result in Bahrain after disappointment in the first two races and there was no repeat of his poor start from pole in Malaysia last Sunday.
He led comfortably into the first corner, but could not shake Hamilton from his rear-view mirrors during the first part of the race.
By the time of Hamilton's first stop for fuel and tyres on lap 19, the Ferrari was still only around a second ahead, but the stops changed everything.
Under new rules that force drivers to use two different types of tyres during a race, both men changed to the softer rubber at their first stops. But Hamilton found his McLaren lacking grip on the new tyres and Massa began to pull away.
From pressuring the lead Ferrari, Hamilton now came under pressure from Raikkonen.
The Finn had spent the first stint stuck behind Alonso, but after passing the Spaniard during the first pit stops he set about trying to make good the damage.
Just as in Malaysia, though, Hamilton defended like a veteran, and despite making a final stop three laps later than Raikkonen the Englishman managed to rejoin the track still in second place.
"I struggled a bit on the new tyres, the balance was not very good," Hamilton said. "We got back onto the hard tyre [for the last stint] and we were able to keep up the pace."
Back on his favoured hard tyres, Hamilton quickly pulled away from Raikkonen and began to cut into Massa's 10-second lead.
He pegged it back to five seconds before Massa responded. Hamilton continued to attack, but the Ferrari was able to comfortably hold him back until the end.
Bahrain Grand Prix result:
1. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
4. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber
5. Fernando Alonso (Sp) McLaren-Mercedes
6. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber
7. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota
8. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault
Championship standings:
1. Fernando Alonso (Sp) McLaren-Mercedes 22 pts
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 22
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 22
4. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 17
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 15
6. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 8
7. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 4
8. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 3
Constructors' championship:
1. McLaren-Mercedes 44 pts
2. Ferrari 39
3. BMW Sauber 18
4. Renault 9
5. Toyota 5
BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/6557493.stm)
The Brazilian led throughout but was pressured early and late in the race by Hamilton, the first man to take podiums in his first three Grands Prix.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third after challenging Hamilton mid-race. BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld was fourth, holding off a challenge from the struggling McLaren of Fernando Alonso.
The result leaves Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton in a three-way tie on points at the top of the world standings, with Massa five behind.
Massa needed a good result in Bahrain after disappointment in the first two races and there was no repeat of his poor start from pole in Malaysia last Sunday.
He led comfortably into the first corner, but could not shake Hamilton from his rear-view mirrors during the first part of the race.
By the time of Hamilton's first stop for fuel and tyres on lap 19, the Ferrari was still only around a second ahead, but the stops changed everything.
Under new rules that force drivers to use two different types of tyres during a race, both men changed to the softer rubber at their first stops. But Hamilton found his McLaren lacking grip on the new tyres and Massa began to pull away.
From pressuring the lead Ferrari, Hamilton now came under pressure from Raikkonen.
The Finn had spent the first stint stuck behind Alonso, but after passing the Spaniard during the first pit stops he set about trying to make good the damage.
Just as in Malaysia, though, Hamilton defended like a veteran, and despite making a final stop three laps later than Raikkonen the Englishman managed to rejoin the track still in second place.
"I struggled a bit on the new tyres, the balance was not very good," Hamilton said. "We got back onto the hard tyre [for the last stint] and we were able to keep up the pace."
Back on his favoured hard tyres, Hamilton quickly pulled away from Raikkonen and began to cut into Massa's 10-second lead.
He pegged it back to five seconds before Massa responded. Hamilton continued to attack, but the Ferrari was able to comfortably hold him back until the end.
Bahrain Grand Prix result:
1. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
4. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber
5. Fernando Alonso (Sp) McLaren-Mercedes
6. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber
7. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota
8. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault
Championship standings:
1. Fernando Alonso (Sp) McLaren-Mercedes 22 pts
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 22
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 22
4. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 17
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 15
6. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 8
7. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 4
8. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 3
Constructors' championship:
1. McLaren-Mercedes 44 pts
2. Ferrari 39
3. BMW Sauber 18
4. Renault 9
5. Toyota 5
BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/6557493.stm)