Massa revels on return to favourite track with Turkish victory

Published on Sunday 11 May 2008 22:33

FERRARI'S Felipe Massa won the Turkish Grand Prix from pole position for the third year in a row yesterday after tyre concerns slowed Lewis Hamilton's challenge.

The Brazilian took the chequered flag 3.7 seconds ahead of the 23-year-old McLaren driver, who ran most of the race on the harder tyres and had to make three pitstops compared to his rivals' two. It was Massa's seventh win in Formula One, at the anti-clockwise track where he took his first in 2006, and his second in five races this season.

Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen saw his overall lead trimmed to seven points from nine after finishing a close third. The Finn, the only driver to score points in every race this season, now has 35 to Massa and Hamilton's 28. Massa's win was champions Ferrari's fourth in a row and meant that the Turkish Grand Prix, which made its debut in 2005, has still only ever been won by the driver on pole position.

Poland's Robert Kubica was fourth, ahead of BMW Sauber team-mate Nick Heidfeld. Former world champion Fernando Alonso put Renault back in the points with sixth place while Australian Mark Webber was seventh to score for the fourth race in a row. Nico Rosberg took the final point for Williams.

Massa led from the start while Hamilton, winner of the season-opener in Australia, accelerated past his McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen from third on the grid with Kubica close behind.

Hamilton passed Kovalainen on the run down to turn one where countryman Raikkonen clipped his left-rear tyre. Kovalainen, though, had to wait for two laps before he could pit to replace a slow puncture as a safety car had been deployed due to an accident within seconds of the start.

Giancarlo Fisichella, starting at the back due to a three-place grid penalty, ran into the back of Williams' Kazuki Nakajima. Fisichella, who was momentarily airborne before landing in the gravel, was out of the race. Although Nakajima managed to limp back to the pits, his car was too damaged to continue. Kovalainen was to finish 12th.