Turkish Formula 1 GP 2007 : Ecstatic Massa leads Ferrari 1-2

Istanbul, Turkey - Brazil’s Felipe Massa led a Ferrari 1-2 finish when he scorched to victory in Sunday’s Turkish Formula 1 GP.

Championship leading Briton Lewis Hamilton’s title hopes suffered a blow through a tyre failure and he finished fifth at the end of an enthralling race in hot conditions.

Massa led from pole - apart from a period of pit stops - at Istanbul Park for the second year in a row as he took the chequered flag 2.2sec ahead of team mate Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton was leading on lap 43, with his final pit-stop moments away, when the right front tyre of his McLaren suddenly burst and delaminated sending him sliding off the circuit.

Britain’s rookie sensation managed to coax the car back to the garage with the loose tread flapping and partially destroying the associated front wing, but it cost him a certain third place as he dropped behind team mate Fernando Alonso and BMW’s Nick Heidfeld.

Hamilton’s lead over double World champion Alonso was cut by two points to five with only five races left in the season.

Massa’s third win of the season, and fifth of his career, saw him leapfrog Raikkonen into third place in the championship standings but he is still 15 points behind Hamilton with Raikkonen a point further back.

Sao Paulo-born Massa, who scored his maiden win on the track last year, dominated a processional race and only relinquished the lead during the two rounds of pit stops.

Raikkonen briefly closed to within half-a-second of Massa but never threatened to overtake as Ferrari claimed its second 1-2 of the season. The Italian team now has 137 points in the Manufacturers’ championship, nine behind rival McLaren.

Massa blasted away from pole at the start of the 58-lap race with Raikkonen using the advantage of the cleaner side of the track to snatch second spot from Hamilton into the first corner.

The big loser at the start was Alonso who dropped from fourth to sixth behind what proved to be the lighter BMW’s of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld.

Alonso was stuck behind the German car’s until the first round of pit stops, ending any chance he had of a much-needed victory although Hamilton’s late tyre problem gave him a Drivers’ championship boost.

Provisional result from the 2007 Formula 1 Turkish GP

1 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1hr26min42.161
2 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari +02.275
3 Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren +26.181
4 Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW +39.674
5 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren +45.085
6 Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Renault +46.169
7 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams +55.778
8 Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW +56.707
9 Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault +59.491
10 David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull +1min11.009
11 Alexander Wurz (Austria) Williams +1in19.628
12 Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota +1 lap
13 Jenson Button (Britain) Honda +1 lap
14 Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri +1 lap
15 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso +1 lap
16 Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota +1 lap
17 Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda +1 lap
18 Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri +1 lap
19 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso +1 lap
20 Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) Spyker +2 laps
21 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Spyker +5 laps

Fastest Lap: Kimi Raikkonen – 1min27.295, lap 57.

Overall standings

Drivers’ points
1 Lewis Hamilton (ENG) - 84
2 Fernando Alonso (ESP) - 79
3 Felipe Massa (BRA) - 69
4 Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) - 68
5 Nick Heidfeld (GER) - 47
6 Robert Kubica (POL) - 29
7 Heikki Kovalainen (FIN) - 19
8 Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA) - 17
9 Alexander Wurz (AUT) - 13
10 Nico Rosberg (GER) - 9
11 Mark Webber (AUS) - 8
12 David Coulthard (GBR) - 8
13 Jarno Trulli (ITA) - 7
14 Ralf Schumacher (GER) - 5
15 Takuma Sato (JPN) - 4
16 Jenson Button (GBR) - 1
17 Sebastian Vettel (GER) - 1

Constructors’ points
1 McLaren-Mercedes - 148
2 Ferrari - 137
3 BMW Sauber - 77
4 Renault - 36
5 Williams-BMW - 22
6 Red Bull - 16
7 Toyota - 12
8 Super Aguri - 4
9 Honda - 1