Formula One news
Massa storms to third Turkish win
11 May 2008 / Results / PhotosFelipe Massa stormed to his third straight Turkish Grand Prix victory at Istanbul today, and right back into the championship fight. He kept his head cool to win ahead of a three-stopping Lewis Hamilton and championship leader Kimi Raikkonen.
Massa, Hamilton and Kubica made strong starts from the clean side of the grid to line up first, second and third while Heikki Kovalainen dropped back to fourth, blocking Kimi Raikkonen into the first corner and allowing Fernando Alonso to get a run up to fifth, ahead of the second Ferrari.
Meanwhile Giancarlo Fisichella ran into the back of Kazuki Nakajima at the first corner, spilling debris from his Force India over the first corner and causing the safety car to be deployed.
As the race resumed on lap three Massa led Hamilton while Kovalainen pitted having suffered a rear tyre puncture, rejoining at the back of the field. Kimi Raikkonen was on the move, however, and he soon dispatched Fernando Alonso easily with his Ferrari's superior straight-line speed.
Felipe Massa led on lap five, 1.5s ahead of Hamilton, Kubica, Raikkonen, Alonso, Webber, Heidfeld and Rosberg. Hamilton was matching Massa for the entire first stint, cutting the Ferrari's lead to 1.1s by lap 13.
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Fernando Alonso was the first front-runner to pit from fifth on lap 15, followed by Lewis Hamilton from second on lap 16. Race leader Felipe Massa stayed out until lap 19, along with BMW's Robert Kubica. Raikkonen and Heidfeld were heaviest, both pitting on lap 21 and it worked out for the Ferrari, getting ahead of Robert Kubica in the pit stops.
Just when it looked like things would settle back down, Lewis Hamilton closed right in on Massa's rear wing, and took a dive down the inside at the end of the back straight to take the lead of the Turkish Grand Prix. The McLaren driver was on a mission and in two laps pulled out 2.8s advantage over Massa.
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Hamilton made his second stop on lap 32 having built an 8.3s advantage over Massa - a brief six-second stop, and the second of an aggressive three-stop strategy. Hamilton rejoined behind Raikkonen and by lap 36 was just 2.4s behind the second Ferrari.
Ferrari stuck to its plan and Massa pitted for the second time on lap 40 as Hamilton moved to within 1.6s of Raikkonen. The Finn pitted on lap 43, releasing the McLaren which was on a charge until its third and final pit stop on lap 45 rejoining the race in second place, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.
Massa had the race under control, however and Hamilton's aggressive three-stop strategy would only be good enough to keep him ahead of championship leader Kimi Raikkonen who kept the pressure on right to the chequered flag.
Kubica finished fourth ahead of Heidfeld, Alonso, Webber and Rosberg picking up the final point in eighth.
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Paul Ricard