Raikkonen Leads Ferrari 1-2
Italian Squad on Top of Constructors’ Standings
27/04/08 - Kimi Raikkonen led the second consecutive Ferrari 1-2 victory in Catalunya vaulting the Italian squad ahead of the Construtors' standings.
After snatching pole position from home hero Fernando Alonso at the end of Q3, Kimi Raikkonen finished the race where he started: in first place. Unlike the 2007 Spanish GP, the reigning champion had a trouble free run that resulted to his 17th career victory (his second of the season). Raikkonen leaves Spain with a nine point cushion in the drivers’ standings.
Felipe Massa’s second place finish completed yet another perfect race weekend for Ferrari this season. It wasn’t too long ago when the Brazilian’s concentration was under heavy scrutiny. But with another strong result, Massa further justified why he deserves his racing seat.
Ferrari now has a 12 point lead in the Constructors’ Standings with 47 points compared to BMW Sauber’s 35.
After a dismal error filled run, Lewis Hamilton looked to get out of his slump by taking the last step on the podium.
But the day wasn’t all that good for McLaren. A front left tire failure sent Heikki Kovalainen crashing straight to the tire barrier at high speeds. The crash was reminiscent of Michael Schumacher’s leg breaking shunt in Silverstone back in 1999. Thankfully, Kovalainen sustained no injuries. However, the team still missed out on valuable championship points.
BMW Sauber also had mixed fortunes. Robert Kubica did well to finish fourth. Heidfeld, on the other hand, suffered from extreme bad luck. The German’s scheduled pit-stop coincided with the deployment of the safety car after Kovalainen’s shunt. The pit-lane therefore was momentarily closed. However, Heidfeld was in a predicament of running out of gas and hence decided to make his fuel stop anyway. The result was a 10 second stop-go penalty that dropped him down to 16th. Heidfeld would finish the race in ninth.
Mark Webber had an impressive showing with his Red Bull Renault with his fifth place finish. Jenson Button followed in sixth for Honda.
Kazuki Nakajima collected two points in seventh while Jarno Trulli rounded up the top eight.
Although the Ferraris at the head of the field were unchallenged, the Spanish GP was nonetheless action packed and filled with drama. It was a race that turned out to be a battle of attrition wherein only 13 cars crossed the finish line.
Among those that was forced to retire was home hero Fernando Alonso. The former two-time world champion was thrown out of contention while running in sixth place after his Renault suffered an engine blowout. Despite the disappointing result, the Spanish fans still had much to cheer about thanks to Alonso’s spectacular front row qualifying performance the day before.
