Reverend
May 11th, 2008, 19:38 PM
Felipe Massa took a comfortable victory in the Turkish Grand Prix despite Lewis Hamilton's attempt to take the fight to Ferrari with an inventive strategy.
The McLaren driver passed Massa for the lead in the middle of the race but his three-stop strategy succeeded only in beating Kimi Raikkonen to second place.
Massa, on a conventional two-stop plan like his team-mate, had pace in hand to keep ahead of Hamilton.
But the Englishman did cut Raikkonen's championship lead to seven points.
And Hamilton, who is tied on points with Massa but behind him in the standings on win count-back, will be encouraged by his McLaren's new-found competitiveness.
"I'm thrilled to have come second from third [on the grid]," Hamilton said.
"We knew it was going to be tough to challenge the Ferraris. We were hoping to get some points and finishing in the top five was good.
"But the balance of the car was good and I kept pushing and pushing, so I'm happy."
Massa, who won for the third time in a row at Istanbul Park, was always out of reach of Hamilton, but even being able to compete with one of the Ferraris was a step forward for McLaren.
Hamilton was in aggressive mood from the start of the race, moving up a place from his third spot on the grid on the run to the first corner and tracking Massa until the McLaren's first stop on lap 16.
That was three laps earlier than Massa's first stop, but what betrayed McLaren's strategy was that the team put only a small amount of fuel in the car at that time.
The thinking appeared initially to be to enable the car to run lighter - and therefore faster - and try to pass Massa.
The team would have known the Brazilian was out of reach, but Raikkonen, having a rare off weekend, looked vulnerable if Hamilton could gain enough time.
But team boss Ron Dennis said after the race that McLaren were forced into a three-stop strategy because of concern about the Bridgestone tyres' durability on Hamilton's car.
Turkish Grand Prix result:
1. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
4. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault
7. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
8. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota
Championship standings:
1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 35 pts
2. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 28
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 28
4. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 24
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 20
6. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 14
7. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 10
8. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 9
8. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 9
Constructors' championship:
1. Ferrari 63 pts
2. BMW Sauber 44
3. McLaren-Mercedes 42
4. Williams-Toyota 13
5. Red Bull-Renault 10
Full report: BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7394675.stm)
The McLaren driver passed Massa for the lead in the middle of the race but his three-stop strategy succeeded only in beating Kimi Raikkonen to second place.
Massa, on a conventional two-stop plan like his team-mate, had pace in hand to keep ahead of Hamilton.
But the Englishman did cut Raikkonen's championship lead to seven points.
And Hamilton, who is tied on points with Massa but behind him in the standings on win count-back, will be encouraged by his McLaren's new-found competitiveness.
"I'm thrilled to have come second from third [on the grid]," Hamilton said.
"We knew it was going to be tough to challenge the Ferraris. We were hoping to get some points and finishing in the top five was good.
"But the balance of the car was good and I kept pushing and pushing, so I'm happy."
Massa, who won for the third time in a row at Istanbul Park, was always out of reach of Hamilton, but even being able to compete with one of the Ferraris was a step forward for McLaren.
Hamilton was in aggressive mood from the start of the race, moving up a place from his third spot on the grid on the run to the first corner and tracking Massa until the McLaren's first stop on lap 16.
That was three laps earlier than Massa's first stop, but what betrayed McLaren's strategy was that the team put only a small amount of fuel in the car at that time.
The thinking appeared initially to be to enable the car to run lighter - and therefore faster - and try to pass Massa.
The team would have known the Brazilian was out of reach, but Raikkonen, having a rare off weekend, looked vulnerable if Hamilton could gain enough time.
But team boss Ron Dennis said after the race that McLaren were forced into a three-stop strategy because of concern about the Bridgestone tyres' durability on Hamilton's car.
Turkish Grand Prix result:
1. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
4. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault
7. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
8. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota
Championship standings:
1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 35 pts
2. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 28
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 28
4. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 24
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 20
6. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 14
7. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 10
8. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 9
8. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 9
Constructors' championship:
1. Ferrari 63 pts
2. BMW Sauber 44
3. McLaren-Mercedes 42
4. Williams-Toyota 13
5. Red Bull-Renault 10
Full report: BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7394675.stm)