Ferrari’s Felipe Massa celebrated an emotional first F1 victory in Turkey on Sunday, but the young Brazilian’s feat was outshone by the intense battle for second place between title rivals Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher.
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa celebrated an emotional first F1 victory in Turkey on Sunday, but the young Brazilian’s feat was outshone by the intense battle for second place between world championship rivals Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher.
Massa took the chequered flag after starting from pole position, but his team-mate and seven times champion Schumacher was locked in combat with Alonso for virtually the entire race. World champion Alonso’s second place, by barely half a car’s length, stretched his overall championship lead to 12 points with four races remaining.
After 58 laps and nearly 310 km in the searing heat, just 0,081 of a second divided the Renault and the Ferrari as the Spaniard and German crossed the finish line almost side by side. Despite that disappointment, Ferrari still slashed Renault’s lead in the constructors’ championship to a mere two points. Renault now have 160 and Ferrari 158.
“Thank you boys, thank you,” shouted Massa, who punched the air in delight after he completed the final tour. The 25-year-old Brazilian was overcome with emotion during the post-race interview and paid tribute to his team: “I always dreamed of being a Ferrari driver and winning the first race with Ferrari is something special for me”.
Briton Jenson Button, a first-time winner at the previous race in Hungary, finished fourth for Honda with McLaren’s Pedro de la Rosa fifth. Italian Giancarlo Fisichella recovered from a first-lap spin and subsequent collision to finish sixth for Renault with Toyota’s Ralf Schumacher seventh and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello eighth for Honda.
Schumacher’s hopes of a 90th career win were effectively scuppered by the intervention of the safety car on lap 14 after Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Toro Rosso spun and remained stuck almost on the racing line at turn one. Massa had been leading, with Schumacher second and Alonso further back in third. They all pitted together and the German had to wait behind Massa, allowing Renault to get Alonso out ahead of the second Ferrari.
“We were lucky with the safety car,” Alonso admitted. “It’s good, I’m very happy in a way…but the whole race Felipe was pulling away and impossible to catch him so for sure we need to improve something for the next races”.
Schumacher ran wide on lap 28 and lost three seconds to Alonso, but sustained his attack on the plucky Spaniard’s position until the very end of the race. “Congratulations to Felipe, he did a superb job,” said the German. “He didn’t do a mistake, he drove it home superbly. It wasn’t supposed to be today. That’s the way it is.”
Under normal circumstances, Massa would have been expected to give up the victory and make way for Schumacher to help him in the title battle. But Alonso’s emergence in second place ended that possibility.
“We are a team. For sure Michael is happy when I win the race but I am also looking for him as well,” said the Brazilian. “I am really open to help Michael win the championship.”
A first lap collision put paid to the hopes of McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen, winner from pole position of last year’s inaugural race at the Istanbul Park circuit. The Finn, who could be announced as a Ferrari driver at the next race in Italy, was caught up in a six-car shunt at turn one after Fisichella spun and was left facing the oncoming cars.
Raikkonen, hit by Toro Rosso’s Scott Speed, crawled back to the pits with a shredded left rear tyre. Shortly after returning to the track, the Finn crashed into the tyre wall.
Click here for CARtoday.com’s Turkish GP commentary
Turkish Grand Prix results:
1 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault
3 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari
4 Jenson Button (Gbr) Honda
5 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) McLaren
6 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault
7 Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota
8 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda
9 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1 lap
10 Mark Webber (Aus) Williams 1 lap
11 Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull 1 lap
12 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1 lap
13 Scott Speed (USA) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1 lap
14 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 2 laps
15 David Coulthard (Gbr) Red Bull 3 laps
DNF Christijan Albers (Ned) Midland
NC Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri 17 laps
DNF Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams
DNF Sakon Yamamoto (Jpn) Super Aguri
DNF Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Scuderia Toro Rosso
DNF Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren
DNF Tiago Monteiro (Por) Midland
