27/08/2006
NEWS STORY
Bridgestone shod Felipe Massa clinched his first ever Formula One victory on the Istanbul Park Circuit this afternoon after running a faultless race from pole to chequered flag. The young Brazilian flew off the start line and was not hindered by either the safety car period or any of the other runners in the field. His teammate Michael Schumacher unfortunately did suffer from the safety car period, having to pit on the same lap as Massa and despite putting in some stunning times, including the fastest of the day, the seven time world champion had to settle for third place behind Fernando Alonso. Consequently, Ferrari has closed the gap in the Constructors' Championship to just two points behind Renault, but Schumacher lies twelve points behind Alonso in the Drivers' Championship. Panasonic Toyota Racing's Ralf Schumacher, meanwhile, took another two points for his seventh place finish after driving a good consistent race from 15th on the grid. Jarno Trulli finished ninth while WilliamsF1's Mark Webber crossed the line in tenth place, giving Bridgestone five runners in the top ten of today's Turkish Grand Prix.
Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Our congratulations to Felipe on his first win! We are very pleased to have played a part in his victory today. Michael unfortunately struggled a bit in his second stint but was able to close in by the end of it and push again in the third stint. He couldn't quite overtake Fernando today but I think with first and third places and the two fastest men on track today, it was evident that Bridgestone and Ferrari had a competitive edge. Toyota's Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli finished seventh and ninth and WilliamsF1's Mark Webber tenth so overall we are pleased with the performance of the Bridgestone tyres this weekend. Conditions were tough with high track temperatures but the tyres coped very well and consistently. There are now four more races to go, four tough races, so we will immediately turn our focus to keeping up the pressure."
Ross Brawn, Technical Director – Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: "A fantastic result for Felipe who has been exceptional all weekend. The team and the car was working really well. He had a great race and the safety car didn't really do him any harm. It was just frustrating that the safety car came at a time which hurt Michael so badly because I believe we had a fast enough car and the tyres to finish first and second. We did try to recover the situation and although he unfortunately picked up some blisters in the second stint, he kept the gap to Fernando Alonso."
Pascal Vasselon, Senior General Manager Chassis – Panasonic Toyota Racing: "All the Bridgestone tyres we have had this weekend have been well suited to this track. If we hadn't had problems earlier in the weekend we could have expected a stronger result. Nonetheless, Ralf did well to make it from where he was on the grid to finish in the points."
To check out our Turkey GP picture gallery, click here