France 2008 : AFTER POLE, IT’S PODIUM FOR FERRARI

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa won Formula One’s French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours today to head the drivers’ championship standings for the first time this season.

The Brazilian finished the 70-lap race 18 seconds clear of teammate Kimi Raikkonen, the world champion, who lost the race lead after his exhaust broke. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli was third after holding off the challenge of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen. BMW’s Robert Kubica, who started as the leader in the standings, was fifth. Red Bull's Mark Webber, in sixth, and Renault duo Nelson Piquet and Fernando Alonso were today’s other points scorers.

Massa, after his third win this season, tops the standings on 48 points, 2 ahead of Kubica. Raikkonen is third on 43, and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who failed to score a point, drops to fourth on 38 after a second straight disappointing race.
“That was fantastic, I didn’t expect that,” Massa told the post-race news conference. “Today I had a lot of luck with Kimi having his exhaust
problem, but fortunately for the team he could finish, so this was a good present for me.”

Hamilton was penalized 10 places on the grid after his pit-lane crash in Montreal two weeks ago and started in 13th. There was another setback for the Briton today when he incurred a drive-through penalty for cutting a corner in overtaking the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Vettel at a chicane early in the race. The punishment hit his chances of finishing in the points and he came 10th.

Raikkonen and Massa filled the first two places on the grid after dominating in qualifying, and proceeded to take charge in the race.

Raikkonen led in the early stages as the pair pulled clear of the field, and Massa took over in mid-race when Raikkonen — winner of the event last year — had the exhaust problem. Even so, he managed to get the car to the finish line.
“I had a good car all weekend, was easily on the pole, but then I have a problem with the car,” Raikkonen said. “I almost stopped a few times at the end. I’ve still taken eight points and I am in a more comfortable position in the championship,” he added.

Read More...

Summary only...

France F1 2008 - Qualifying : POLE NO 200 FOR THE REDS

World champion Kimi Raikkonen handed Ferrari their 200th pole position in a front row sweep for the Italian team at the French Grand Prix on Saturday.

His Brazilian teammate, Felipe Massa, who took pole at Magny-Cours last year, was second fastest to secure the Italian team’s third one-two in qualifying this season. The pole, the 16th of Raikkonen’s GP career, left the Finn perfectly placed to repeat his 2007 victory at the circuit.

Poland’s Robert Kubica, the championship leader for BMW-Sauber after his victory in Canada earlier this month, qualified seventh but will start sixth because of a 10-place penalty imposed on McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton, who picked up the punishment after crashing into Raikkonen in the Canadian Grand Prix pit lane, qualified third and will start 13th. His demotion left Renault’s double world champion Fernando Alonso sharing the second row with Italian Jarno Trulli in a Toyota.

McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen moved up to fifth. Kubica leads Hamilton and Massa by four points in the championship with Raikkonen a further three adrift after seven races. ‘‘It’s the best possible chance to win the race from the first place and the car has been good all weekend, so hopefully we will get some good points here,’’ said Raikkonen. ‘‘It’s going to be a long race. I'm pretty sure we have a good race car but as we’ve seen before, anything can happen.’’ Raikkonen failed to finish in Canada after the pit lane collision and drew a blank in Monaco after running into the back of Adrian Sutil’s Force India while in fifth place. But he has never failed to finish in France.

Read More...

Summary only...

France F1 GP 2008 - Testing : Massa makes Ferrari fly

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa set the pace in free practice for the French Grand Prix on Friday with a time inside the circuit’s race lap record.

The Brazilian, who started on pole position at Magny-Cours last year but has yet to win in France, lapped fastest in the morning with a time of one minute 15.306 seconds.

Renault’s double world champion Fernando Alonso, preparing for the car company’s home race on Sunday, topped the timesheets in the afternoon with a lap of 1:15.778. Massa was second, a mere 0.076 slower.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who will be penalised 10 places on the starting grid after a pit lane collision with world champion Kimi Raikkonen’s stationary Ferrari in Canada, was second and fourth in the two sessions.

Massa’s best time compared to his 2007 pole of 1:15.034 and retired Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher’s 2004 race lap record of 1:15.377.

BMW Sauber’s championship leader Robert Kubica, winner in Canada, was fifth quickest in the morning and sixth after lunch. The Pole leads Hamilton and Massa, who have both won twice this season, by four points with world champion Raikkonen a further three adrift after seven rounds of the 18-race championship.

However, Kubica could struggle to match the pace of the Ferraris this weekend. The Italian team have won for the past two seasons at Magny-Cours and seven times in the last 11 years. Raikkonen led Massa in a one-two finish in 2007. Alonso, who has scored just nine points this season with Renault struggling to match the pace of the top three teams, had pulled over with two minutes remaining of the morning session with smoke billowing from the engine. The Spaniard was still sixth fastest however.

Read More...

Summary only...