Daily Update Formula1 News

No wonder that Ferrari’s Felipe Massa loves Istanbul Park. On Sunday afternoon he owned the place, and nobody seriously looked like challenging him as he sped to his hat-trick of victories here to move into joint second in the driver standings.
Sure, Lewis Hamilton pulled what seemed a brilliant passing move on him for the lead on the 24th lap, but it transpired that the Englishman was on a three-stop strategy for McLaren, and soon the way was clear again for Massa as Hamilton stopped to refuel and retain hard tyres on the 32nd lap.
Hamilton had sufficient in hand over Kimi Raikkonen, however, to keep the Finn in third place and to reduce his championship points lead to seven as they sped to the line 3.7s adrift of Massa, and separated by only four-tenths of second. The MP4-23 had been sweet on the harder Bridgestones, but still clearly didn’t like the softer rubber that Hamilton had to don for his final 13-lap stint. After the race the team revealed that tyre durability concerns had in fact prompted the three-stop route.
Into fourth and fifth places came the BMW Saubers of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, which lacked the sheer pace to play anything other than leading supporting roles this time out.
Fernando Alonso further boosted Renault with a solid sixth place, surviving a minor brush with Raikkonen in the first corner, and seventh fell to Mark Webber after another solid performance by the Australian for Red Bull. Nico Rosberg took the final point with eighth for Williams, and was followed home by David Coulthard in the second Red Bull and Toyota’s Jarno Trulli as the last unlapped runners.
Honda’s Jenson Button was a lapped 11th ahead of Heikki Kovalainen. The Finnish McLaren driver, who started second, was desperately unlucky to have to make an unscheduled stop for fresh rubber after two laps, having picked up a slow rear puncture following minor contact from Raikkonen's front wing - which sustained some minimal damage - at the start.
After that Kovalainen fought back from the rear of the field and had some great dices with Toyota’s Timo Glock, in particular, and Rosberg, before dropping back in his final pit stop. He finished ahead of Glock, who again showed his fighting spirit, Rubens Barrichello, whose 257th GP outing did not produce anything to shout about for Honda, Renault’s Nelson Piquet, Force India’s Adrian Sutil and Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel.
The latter duo both stopped at the end of the opening lap to have repairs made after Giancarlo Fisichella’s unhappy weekend came to an end as he overtook Kazuki Nakajima - by flying over the top of the Williams. Neither the Italian, who landed his Force India in the gravel, nor the Japanese, who got to the pits minus his rear wing, were able to continue. The other retiree was Sebastien Bourdais, whose Toro Rosso dumped him in the gravel as the result of a technical failure.
The result leaves Raikkonen with a diminished lead in the world championship chase with 35 points, ahead of Massa and Hamilton on 28 and Kubica on 24. Ferrari extend their advantage atop the constructor standings, heading BMW Sauber by 19 points, with McLaren a further two adrift.
Result:
1 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:26:49.451
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 3.779
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 4.271
4 Robert Kubica BMW 21.945
5 Nick Heidfeld BMW 38.741
6 Fernando Alonso Renault 53.724
7 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:04.229
8 Nico Rosberg Williams 1:11.406
9 David Coulthard Red Bull 1:15.270
10 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:16.344
11 Jenson Button Honda 1 lap
12 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 1 lap
13 Timo Glock Toyota 1 lap
14 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1 lap
15 Nelsinho Piquet Jr Renault 1 lap
16 Adrian Sutil Force India 1 lap
17 Sebastien Vettel Toro Rosso 1 lap
18 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso (DNF)
19 Kazuki Nakajima Williams (DNF)
20 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India (DNF)
ref[formula1.com]

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Felipe Massa will start from pole position in Turkey for the third successive year after a dominant performance in qualifying at Istanbul Park.
The Ferrari driver, who is also chasing a third straight win at the track, was nearly half a second clear of the rest of the field after his first flying lap in Q3, and although the McLarens closed in, Massa improved on his second lap to claim pole with a 1:27.617.
Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton took second and third for McLaren, but championship leader Kimi Raikkonen could only manage fourth in the second Ferrari.
The McLarens had been over a second off Massa's pace in the first part of Q3, then made major gains on their second runs. Hamilton used the hard tyres to take third, while Kovalainen briefly knocked Massa off the provisional pole before having to settle for the outside front row position.

Robert Kubica completed the top five for BMW, four places ahead of teammate Nick Heidfeld.
Red Bull Racing got both their cars into the top ten for the first time in 2008. Mark Webber and David Coulthard then chose to save fuel and only do one run in Q3, taking sixth and 10th respectively.
Jarno Trulli maintained his record of reaching Q3 for every race so far this year and qualified eighth, while his Toyota teammate Timo Glock languished in 15th position.
Alonso was unable to repeat his astonishing Barcelona qualifying form, but did make it into the top ten again. He will start seventh.
Rubens Barrichello couldn't manage to claim a top ten start for his record-breaking 257th Grand Prix, but he did out-pace teammate Jenson Button, as the Hondas took 12th and 13th places, just behind Nico Rosberg (Williams).
The German squeezed into the top ten in the last seconds of Q2, then got pushed back to row six when Heidfeld recovered from a poor first lap to guarantee a Q3 position with his final run.
The demise of Super Aguri made it tougher for the midfield teams to secure a place in Q2, with only 15 rather than the previous 16 drivers now proceeding to the second qualifying segment under the tweaked format.
Williams' Kazuki Nakajima and Renault's Nelson Piquet were the drivers to lose out, with Nakajima spinning on the exit of Turn 7 on his first Q1 run and then only reaching 16th at the second attempt. He will start one place ahead of Piquet, who briefly got up to 15th then was edged back to 17th as others improved in the final seconds.
Sebastian Vettel impressively reached Q2 in the 2007 Toro Rosso chassis' last qualifying session, but his teammate Sebastien Bourdais was only 18th-fastest in Q1, albeit just 0.179 seconds slower than Vettel, who ultimately qualified 14th.
The Force India cars were slowest of all. Although Giancarlo Fisichella out-qualified teammate Adrian Sutil by half a second, he will start behind the German thanks to his penalty for passing the pit exit red light at the start of Friday practice.
Pos Driver Make Q1 Q2 Q3 laps
1. Massa Ferrari 1:25.994 1:26.192 1:27.617 16
2. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.736 1:26.290 1:27.808 16
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.192 1:26.477 1:27.923 15
4. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:26.457 1:26.050 1:27.936 17
5. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:26.761 1:26.129 1:28.390 17
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:26.773 1:26.466 1:28.417 17
7. Alonso Renault 1:26.836 1:26.522 1:28.422 18
8. Trulli Toyota 1:26.695 1:26.822 1:28.836 20
9. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:27.107 1:26.607 1:28.882 20
10. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:26.939 1:26.520 1:29.959 16
11. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:27.367 1:27.012 13
12. Barrichello Honda 1:27.355 1:27.219 13
13. Button Honda 1:27.428 1:27.298 14
14. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:27.442 1:27.412 15
15. Glock Toyota 1:26.614 1:27.806 15
16. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:27.547 9
17. Piquet Renault 1:27.568 7
18. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:27.621 8
19. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:27.807 10
20. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:28.325 9
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Heikki Kovalainen has said he has got no qualms about getting back in a Formula One car, ahead of his likely return to action in Turkey following his Spanish Grand Prix crash.
The Finn has resumed full training for the first time since his 145mph crash and, although he still needs to pass an FIA medical to be allowed to compete in next weekend's Turkish Grand Prix, he is raring to get back behind the wheel.
"I am feeling good, the stiffness in my neck has pretty much gone and I have been back training," Kovalainen said on Friday having just returned home for the first time.
"I left Spain on Thursday and went back to Finland, where I have spent some time working with the team doctor at our facility there on ensuring I am fit for the race. Initially during the week we were doing some light training before starting on my full programme just before the weekend. Lewis will also be here over the weekend doing his training before the race.

"The next stage for me is the fitness test at the track in Turkey on Thursday with the FIA. I can't wait to get back into the car and race with the team next weekend, but at the end of the day that decision is out of my hands, the FIA will make it based on safety grounds only."

When asked if he had any doubts about getting back in the cockpit, Kovalainen said: "None whatsoever, I want to get back racing as soon as possible, since the accident at Barcelona it has been my only focus.

"Everyone involved in the sport, the FIA in particular, is always working on improving safety for the drivers, but Formula One is a risky business. You know that as a driver, but you don't think about it. If you worry about things like that, you lose focus; I guess it is just not in my psyche."
McLaren have admitted they have a plan in place for Istanbul in case Kovalainen is not allowed to race, although they are optimistic about his progress since last weekend.
The tam's F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh said: "Our team doctor has kept an eye on him during the week both in Spain and then at the Kuortane Sports Institute in Finland and there has been no development of any secondary symptoms so everything is positive on that front.
"Before travelling to Istanbul, we will organise a full neurological examination for Heikki with our specialists in Finland as a matter of course. He will then have the mandatory FIA evaluation on Thursday at the circuit, which is a routine neuro and physiological test completed after any concussion.
"Of course we have a plan in place should the FIA request Heikki sits this race out, as at all Grands Prix, but we have a race driver who is naturally impatient to get back out there and this is the aim of the team. That said, we will fully respect the decision of the medical professionals, they are the specialists."
Kovalainen's damaged car from Spain has been quarantined at the McLaren factory pending a full forensic investigation into the causes of the accident.
The team have prepared their spare monocoque into a new race car for Kovalainen for Turkey.
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PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS
The Spanish Grand Prix
Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain;
66 laps; 307.104km;
Weather: Sunny.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1h38:19.051
2. Massa Ferrari (B) + 3.228
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 4.187
4. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 5.694
5. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) + 35.938
6. Button Honda (B) + 53.010
7. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) + 58.244
8. Trulli Toyota (B) + 59.435
9. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 1:03.073
10. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
11. Glock Toyota (B) + 1 lap
12. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) + 1 lap
13. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) + 1 lap
Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:21.670

Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 42
Alonso Renault (B) 35
Barrichello Honda (B) 35
Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 22
Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 9
Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 8
Piquet Renault (B) 7
Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1
Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 1


World Championship standings, round 4:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. Raikkonen 29 1. Ferrari 47
2. Hamilton 20 2. BMW Sauber 35
3. Kubica 19 3. McLaren-Mercedes 34
4. Massa 18 4. Williams-Toyota 12
5. Heidfeld 16 5. Toyota 9
6. Kovalainen 14 6. Red Bull-Renault 8
7. Trulli 9 7. Renault 6
8. Webber 8 8. Honda 3
9. Rosberg 7 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2
10. Alonso 6
11. Nakajima 5
12. Button 3
13. Bourdais 2

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Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen became the eighth consecutive man to win the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position, when he dominated Sunday's race at the Circuit de Catalunya.
The Finn shrugged off two safety car periods - the second when compatriot Heikki Kovalainen crashed his McLaren heavily after a front-end failure pitched him off the road in Turn Nine at an estimated 180 mph - and led home team mate Felipe Massa, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica. They finished 3.2s, 0.9s, and 1.5s apart respectively.
It may not have been a classic race, but it increased Raikkonen's championship score to 29 points and his lead to nine over Hamilton (20), while Massa jumps up to fourth on 18, one behind Kubica (19).
The Kovalainen incident occurred on the 22nd lap, possibly as a result of something causing the front-left tyre and rim to separate. It took a while to stabilise the Finn at the accident scene, but he gave a thumbs up as he was taken by stretcher to the medical centre. Later he was flown to hospital for precautionary checks, and his condition was described as stable.

The incident ruined Nick Heidfeld's race for BMW Sauber, since he was on a longer refuelling strategy and had just taken the lead after the first round of pit stops. He had to come in when the pit lane was still closed, and thus had to serve a stop-go penalty later on. That dropped him to a ninth-place finish.
Mark Webber brought his Red Bull home fifth ahead of Jenson Button's Honda, Kazuki Nakajima's Williams and Jarno Trulli's Toyota. The Italian was hampered by a long second stop and an unecessary third one after a communications mix up.
Giancarlo Fisichella was unable to resist the charging Heidfeld, so brought his Force India home 10th, ahead of Toyota's Timo Glock, who delayed himself running into the rear of David Coulthard. The Scot's left-rear tyre was cut as a result, so he also dropped back but managed to repass Super Aguri's Takuma Sato before the finish to claim 12th.
William's Nico Rosberg was headed for seventh place until his Toyota engine broke; Renault's Fernando Alonso was running fifth when his engine also blew up; Honda's Rubens Barrichello had a collision in the pit lane with Fisichella, which led to his subsequent retirement, and a clash on the opening lap also accounted for Force India's Adrian Sutil and, yet again, Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel. Team mate Sebastien Bourdais retired after being clobbered by Renault's Nelson Piquet as the Brazilian attempted to overtake. Piquet also failed to finish as a result. Finally, Super Aguri's Anthony Davidson went out with mechanical problems.
ref[formuala1.com]
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Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:20.701 1:20.784 1:21.813 17
2. Alonso Renault 1:21.347 1:20.804 1:21.904 18
3. Massa Ferrari 1:21.528 1:20.584 1:22.058 16
4. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:21.423 1:20.597 1:22.065 13
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.366 1:20.825 1:22.096 14
6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.430 1:20.817 1:22.231 15
7. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:21.494 1:20.984 1:22.429 19
8. Trulli Toyota 1:21.158 1:20.907 1:22.529 19
9. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:21.466 1:20.815 1:22.542 20
10. Piquet Renault 1:21.409 1:20.894 1:22.699 18
11. Barrichello Honda 1:21.548 1:21.049 12
12. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:21.690 1:21.117 15
13. Button Honda 1:21.757 1:21.211 12
14. Glock Toyota 1:21.427 1:21.230 16
15. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:21.472 1:21.349 15
16. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.540 1:21.724 15
17. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:21.810 6
18. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:22.108 10
19. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:22.516 11
20. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:23.224 8
21. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:23.318 9
22. Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:23.496 9
ref [AS]

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ref [formula1.com]
Celebrating their 30th anniversary of Formula One competition seems to have boosted Williams’ motivation to return to the forefront of the sport this season. BMW Sauber, Ferrari and McLaren may lead the constructors’ race at present, but the British team are in the charging pack.

So far they have built up an impressive tally of points, thanks in part to Nico Rosberg’s podium finish at Melbourne. But while his challenge faltered in Malaysia and Bahrain, Rosberg is convinced they’ll return to flying form in Spain this weekend...

Q: Nico, the start of the season in Melbourne must have been to your liking. How did that third place feel?
Nico Rosberg: I have to say it was amazing to stand on the podium for the first time in F1. Last time I was up there was almost three years ago in GP2, but I still wasn't expecting a podium at all in the first race, as I thought we would end up in seventh or eighth position and get a couple of points. It was a big step up for me personally.

Q: Then you slipped 11 places to finish 14th in Malaysia and bounced back to eighth place in Bahrain. It has been quite a rollercoaster ride. What happened?
NR: In Malaysia we struggled a bit with the new asphalt of the circuit and we couldn't get the car to work properly all weekend, even though we went there thinking we could do well. In Bahrain, things went better, as we had trouble-free running all weekend and I scored a further point.

Q: You said that Williams can do much better, so how crucial was last week’s test in Barcelona? What upgrades have been made to the FW30?
NR: We had a good number of new releases coming to the car for the start of the European season, which we tested in Barcelona. The outcome was positive, even though we lost some track time on the last day due to bad weather conditions. We are now looking forward to going back there for the race.

Q: What is your impression - can those changes immediately translate into race performance at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix? Is your clear objective to finish in the points?
NR: There are three teams quite clearly quicker than us at the moment, which means that if everything goes smoothly and they have no problems, we can be seventh. There is little room left in the points for everyone else and the battle is tight. Most of the teams will bring improvements on their cars to the first European race. We'll see on Saturday in Barcelona where everyone is.

Q: Williams are currently the 'fourth power' behind BMW Sauber, Ferrari and McLaren, or in other words, the leader of the second group. Do you see a chance to defend that position and close the gap to the three frontrunners?
NR: The battle is very tight out there and it won't be easy at all to hold onto the fourth position in the constructors’ championship. However, this is our target for this year and we'll do anything we can to achieve it. With some luck, we might end up on the podium again.

Q: Now that the podium is not a foreign place to you and the paddock has cast you in the role of a serious driver, has your view of Formula One racing as your chosen profession changed?
NR: I consider the podium place to be one of the many steps which one takes during a career. And to achieve it shows that things are progressing and therefore it is a nice motivation boost. It also came a bit earlier than I expected, although I felt it would be possible during this season. I'm here to win so there is more to achieve.

Q: Your father, Keke, was invaluable to you at the start of your Formula One career. Lately, he hasn't been present at the races as much. How important a role does he still play in your professional life?
NR: My father and I decided some time ago that, when the time was right, he would step back, so this parting is really not as drastic as it maybe looks. We worked together on the contract extension with Williams at the end of last year and, after I signed, my father took the planned step back and reduced his involvement in the daily management. Of course, he is always there whenever I need any advice. He is a wise man and knows this business well so I can't see a better advisor.

Q: You are a young and good-looking guy and some have said you have star quality. In spite of this, you've managed to avoid scandal and press speculation about your private life. Do you consciously avoid the playboy image?
NR: I consider myself to be a discreet person and not very materialistic - I have a car and a motorhome that's all. That's probably the reason why people see me in a different way. F1 takes up the majority of my time and I want to focus on it in the best possible way, while balancing it with my private life.
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Kimi Raikkonen isn't ready to rule out McLaren as Ferrari's main rival this season, despite BMW being his closest challenger in the last two races.
BMW have finished on the podium at every race this season and had both cars ahead of the two McLarens at Bahrain two weeks ago.
But the reigning champion thinks their positions could easily be reversed during the next three races at very different circuits.
"Barcelona is one of the most difficult circuits for cars, then after here it's Turkey and then Monaco, and it can be a different story again," he said.

"Hopefully we can keep the upper hand we've had in the last two races, and BMW were stronger than McLaren at the previous race, so you never know. But we'll have to see what they've done here in testing."
Raikkonen also believes Lewis Hamilton's poor form at the last two races is a result of the McLaren slipping back into the clutches of BMW.
"If you don't have as a good a package as you had last year, then it is harder not to make a mistake," he added. "This is what happens."
He is also looking out for Renault to be able to join the battle at the front of the grid after Fernando Alonso set the quickest time of Wednesday's test at Barcelona.
"I don't have any idea what the other teams did on the other days (this week), but I heard that Renault have made a step," he said. "You presume that if they make a step it is a step forwards."
Raikkonen also sampled Ferrari's new nose cone for the first time at Barcelona yesterday, but the rain that affected the test prevented him from evaluating it fully.
"I only did one run with it and that was in the rain. We tried some little things but in these conditions you don't really feel exactly the best picture.
"But they tested it during the week and it seems to be positive. It is a little step forward so that is good."
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