22/06/2008
NEWS STORY
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Following heavy overnight rain, the track was damp for the start of this morning's GP2 Sprint Race. Thankfully only a few further spots fell during the race, but shortly after it ended there was a further downpour, with the threat of further rain this afternoon.
This, of course, will be good news for McLaren, which has seen two if its drivers given grid penalties; Lewis Hamilton dropping ten places for his Montreal madness and Heikki Kovalainen dropping five for impeding Mark Webber during qualifying.
It's an all Ferrari front row, and few would bet against a Maranello clean-sweep this afternoon. However, as we know from experience, should the heavens open up this afternoon, the form book goes out of the window.
Ron Dennis insists that this weekend is not about damage limitation, but that was before Kovalainen's penalty. However, the Woking wordsmith is one man who would probably allow himself a wry grin should the rain fall over the next couple of hours.
BMW too might be happy for any help the gods might provide, the Munich outfit looking a mere shadow of the outfit that conquered Montreal just two weeks ago.
Whatever the weather, we're sure we can expect strong performances from Renault, particularly Alonso, Red Bull and Toyota, mourning the loss of former team boss Ove Andersson. And while Honda looks all at sea, keep an eye on the Toro Rossos, particularly Vettel, who was good in all the practice sessions.
The drivers have said that there is little to choose between the two tyre options (medium and soft) though the harder option (medium) appears to be better over a number of laps. That said, should the heavens let rip, all the strategic stuff previously planned becomes virtually redundant.
Other than the weather, let's not forget that over the years we have seen plenty of mishaps on the first lap, and we would not be surprised to see a few drivers fall victim to Turn 3 on the first lap.
As the cars begin making their way to the grid, the big story is that following a gearbox change, Rubens Barrichello will start from the very back of the grid.
As the field prepares to head off on the parade lap, the air temperature is 24 degrees C, while the track temperature is 29 degrees. It's unseasonably cool, overcast, the air is damp and officials are predicting heavy rain within the next hour. Indeed, they are predicting thunderstorms.
They head off on the parade lap. Most drivers are starting on the harder tyre, Hamilton being the main exception. Officials now warning of the possibility of rain within the next thirty minutes.
The Ferraris get away well as does Trulli, however, a poor start from Alonso. Good start also from Kubica.
They get through Turn 3 nice and cleanly, Hamilton subsequently passing Vettel at Turn 7 but appearing to cut the chicane.
At the end of lap one, it's: Raikkonen, Massa, Trulli, Alonso, Kubica, Glock, Webber, Piquet, Kovalainen and Hamilton.
While Hamilton shadows his McLaren teammate, appearing to hit the Finn at one stage, Alonso and Trulli are having a great battle for third. As Kovalainen closes in on Piquet, Hamilton appears to lose ground, falling into the clutches of Coulthard.
Barrichello, who started stone lat, is up to seventeenth, another strong showing from the Brazilian.
Raikkonen posts a string of fastest laps, extending his lead over Massa to 1.6s, while Trulli is a further 4s down the road.
Hamilton passed Kovalainen for ninth as Button heads back to the pits with a broken front wing, the Englishman having gone off in the last corner. Hamilton closes in on his former GP2 nemesis Nelson Piquet.
Hamilton locks up and almost runs wide as he pursues the Brazilian, who, in turn, hangs out his tail in his attempt to hold on to eighth. The McLaren driver makes a move at the Hairpin (Turn 3) but the Renault driver is having none of it, the Englishman locks up big time.
At this stage, the stewards announce that they are investigating Hamilton for the move on Vettel.
While most of the drivers are now strung out - not in the 60s sense - Piquet heads a train of cars, including Hamilton, Kovalainen and Coulthard. Meanwhile, Trulli, 8.5s shy of Massa, is now 2.3s clear of Alonso.
Button is having a dreadful afternoon, he's currently lapping 7s - that's seven seconds! - off Raikkonen's pace.
Sure enough, Hamilton gets a drive through for the earlier incident. He serves his penalty, rejoining in thirteenth, ironically, behind Vettel and Hamilton.
Alonso tells his crew that the grip is poor, the Spaniard clearly struggling to hang on to Trulli whilst keeping Kubica at bay.
At the end of lap 15, Alonso is the first driver to make a scheduled pit stop. The Spaniard rejoins behind Heidfeld and ahead of Hamilton, who appears to be losing ground.
Kovalainen now takes the fight to Piquet, as Hamilton goes quickest in the first sector. However, his lap time (18.403) is 0.8s shy of Raikkonen's pace.
It's over for Button, who, having pitted for a second time, is now out of the car, his day's work done.
On lap 20, Hamilton passes Alonso then promptly pits. The replay shows that the Englishman appeared to hit the Renault as he passed it. Trulli and Kubica also pit.
At the end of lap 21, Raikkonen pits, the Finn remaining on the harder compound. Glock and Sutil also pit.
Massa now leads the race from Raikkonen, such is the dominance of the Maranello outfit here this afternoon.
At the end of lap 23, Massa pits, having given Hamilton a piece of his mind for an incident on the previous lap. The Englishman is now running a lap down on the race leader. Webber also pits.
The Australian rejoins the race ahead of Alonso, as the McLaren crew prepare for Kovalainen's first pit stop of the afternoon.
Hamilton is now battling with another old foe, Nico Rosberg, the two fighting for seventeenth.
As Piquet and Kovalainen pit, Webber makes a major mistake at the start of the pit straight, allowing Alonso through to take tenth. The Brazilian is immediately locked in battle with Glock for eleventh.
The replay shows that Kovalainen, in his determination to pass Piquet, appeared to cross the white line when exiting the pits. Will this lead to another McLaren penalty?
As Hamilton finally passes Rosberg, Kubica is warned by his engineer that rain is expected within the next five minutes.
After 28 laps, Raikkonen leads Massa by 6.7, with Trulli a further 23s down the road. Vettel is fourth, but the German still has to make his first stop. That said, the Toro Rosso driver promptly pits, as does Heidfeld. Therefore, Kubica moves up to fourth, ahead of Alonso, Webber, Kovalainen and Piquet. Hamilton is running in sixteenth, 5.5s behind Barrichello.
Behind Piquet, running in the last of the points scoring positions, are Glock, Coulthard, Nakajima, Vettel, Heidfeld and Fisichella. Kubica closes right in on Trulli, as Fisichella pits.
At half distance, the only drivers still to stop are Nakajima, Barrichello and Rosberg. At which point the Brazilian promptly pits, as does Nakajima.
Suddenly, Raikkonen is lapping in the 19.1s, while Massa remains in the 17.9s. Could the Finn have a problem? Next time around it's 18.9s to 17.9s. Then again, maybe he's just bored and fancies a fight with his teammate.
Massa closes in on his teammate, as Fernando Alonso is advised that the Finn might have a problem.
Sure enough, on lap 39, Raikkonen allows his teammate through, the lead Ferrari suffering a problem with its exhaust which is flapping about behind the Finn.
With 30 laps remaining, Trulli, who is running almost a second a lap quicker than Raikkonen, is 25.2s behind the Finn. Elsewhere, Rosberg finally pits.
Only one retirement thus far, Jenson Button.
A nice move sees Kovalainen take Webber at the hairpin, thereby moving up to sixth.
At the end of lap 42, Alonso makes his second stop, the Spaniard fitting the soft option tyre. He rejoins in twelfth, just ahead of his former teammate, Hamilton.
Raikkonen continues to lose a second a lap to Trulli, the gap now down to 21.1s.
It's Massa, Raikkonen, Trulli, Kubica, Kovalainen, Webber, Piquet, Glock, Coulthard and Vettel. Hamilton harries Alonso, but the Spaniard is having none of it.
At the end of lap 46, Kubica pits, handing fourth position to Kovalainen. Meanwhile, Hamilton gets past Alonso at the hairpin.
Vettel and Heidfeld both pit at the end of lap 49, as do Webber and Glock. Elsewhere, Raikkonen is now lapping at 18.3s compare to Trulli's 17.6. The gap now down to 19.4s.
Trulli pits at the end of lap 50, as does Piquet. Drivers now fitting the soft compound for the final stint.
Raikkonen pits at the end of lap 52, as do Kovalainen, Coulthard and Hamilton. Of the leading group. Only Massa has yet to stop again. That said, next time around the Brazilian stops for fuel and softs.
Therefore, with the second round of stops out of the way, Massa still leads from Raikkonen, Trulli, Kovalainen, Kubica, Webber, Alonso, Piquet, Coulthard and Glock. Meanwhile, officials announce that rain is expected within the next thirty minutes.
While Kubica is all over Kovalainen, Alonso shadows Webber and Hamilton harries Glock.
There appear to be a few light spots of rain falling, and Massa's lap times suddenly drop into the 21.6s. Barrichello and Nakajima both pit.
Kovalainen ups the pressure on Trulli, the Italian having made no secret of the fact that the TF108 is a real handful in the wet. As the two battle, Kubica keeps a watching eye, the Pole only to eager to pick up the pieces should things go awry.
With nine laps remaining, Raikkonen remains 22.8s clear of Trulli, who has his hands - and mirrors - full of another Finn.
Replay shows Raikkonen finally parting company with that broken piece of exhaust.
Not wanting to put the mockers on things, but Nelson Piquet is looking good to score his first point of the season. The Brazilian really needed a result here.
With five laps remaining, and only one retirement, Massa leads Raikkonen, Trulli, Kovalainen, Kubica, Webber, Alonso, Piquet, Coulthard, Hamilton, Glock, Vettel, Heidfeld, Barrichello, Nakajima, Rosberg, Bourdais, Fisichella and Sutil.
Kovalainen continues to hound Trulli, however, the Italian clearly has no intention of surrendering. No jokes please.
Kubica has dropped back, appearing to settle for fifth. With his teammate looking to finish thirteenth, this has been a weekend to forget for BMW.
Alonso makes a mistake, which allows Piquet to slip through. Elsewhere, Kovalainen makes a final move on Trulli, but the Italian moves over on the Finn who has to take to the tarmac.
Massa takes the chequered flag, with Raikkonen finishing second just 17s later. Trulli holds off Kovalainen for third, with Kubica fifth, ahead of Webber, Piquet, Alonso, Coulthard and Hamilton.
While it might not have been the 1-2 that Ferrari expected, it was a Ferrari 1-2. Kimi will feel bitterly disappointed to have lost two World Championship points that could well prove crucial come the end of the season. However, as we know, luck plays its part in F1, and while the Finn lost out to his teammate, he was at least able to get to the flag in a podium position.
A remarkable performance from Jarno Trulli on a weekend when Toyota really needed something to smile about. The Italian has his critics, but today proved that in the right circumstances he still has plenty more to give the sport.
If it was about damage limitation for McLaren, then the Woking team will have to console itself with the five points provided by Heikki Kovalainen. Hamilton's French GP was effectively ruined in Canada, and while some might say the Englishman didn't deserve this afternoon's penalty, the fact is that his performance this weekend has not been to the standard we have come to expect.
Two weeks after the Champagne in Montreal, Robert Kubica, and indeed, Nick Heidfeld, must be wondering where it all went wrong, certainly, this weekend has seen BMW brought back to earth with a bang.
Webber had a typically determined race, adding another couple of points to Red Bull's tally. However, it will be interesting to hear what was behind that 'moment' earlier in the race which saw him lose out to Alonso.
While Renault probably expected more of today, the fact is that both drivers finished in the points, Nelson Piquet finally getting the monkey off his back.
No doubt several of the drivers, like us race fans would have liked to see a real downpour this afternoon, but it didn't happen. However, with the F1 'circus' now heading to Silverstone, in the English countryside, and taking place over the same weekend as the Wimbledon finals, we're sure the British GP will serve up a few surprises.
Not a great race, certainly not one to take up valuable space on one's hard drive, but at least it gives a wake up call to BMW and McLaren as the season reaches the halfway point.