Thursday, May 15, 2008

TURKISH GP - LAP-BY-LAP REPORT

TURKISH GP - LAP-BY-LAP REPORT

Fisichella makes a spectacular exit.

FINISH: Please join us again in two weeks time for the Monaco GP on May 25th

FINISH: Fernando Alonso is sixth, while Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg complete the points

FINISH: Lewis Hamilton is second ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and the two BMWs of Kubica and Heidfeld

FINISH: And Felipe Massa wins in Turkey for the third time in three years! Great race from the Ferrari driver who started from pole

Lap 58: It's Massa's race as he comes to complete the final few corners

Lap 57: Another driver who is having a solid day is Fernando Alonso. The former Champ is on course to score more points for Renault as he's lying in sixth place

Lap 56: Solid afternoon from BMW. Although they won't finish on the podium Kubica and Heidfeld are both in the points

Lap 55: Massa is still comfortably leading by five seconds as he chases a hat-trick of Turkish GP wins

Lap 54: Kovalainen takes 12th place off Glock while Jarno Trulli is urged to push by his pit wall

Lap 53: Not many battles going on at present. There's the Lewis/Kimi fight, Kovalainen on Glock and Vettel on Sutil

Lap 52: Hamilton is coming under increasing pressure from Raikkonen. But can the Champ pass now that he's caught him?

Lap 51: Pity for Kovalainen. Having worked his way into the points he then has to pit for a splash-and-dash and for a change to the softer tyres

Lap 50: Raikkonen has closed the gap to Hamilton to just 0.7s

Lap 49: Kovalainen now takes Rosberg but the German fights back. However, he's unable to hold onto the last points-paying position

Lap 48: Trulli pits for the last time this afternoon

Lap 47: Kovalainen passes Coulthard for 10th place

Lap 46: Hamilton, though, is only 1.4s ahead of Raikkonen, which should make an exciting final stint of the grand prix

Lap 45: Hamilton pits from the lead. The McLaren driver is stopping for third time. He's in for just over five seconds and comes out ahead of Raikkonen

Lap 44: Webber pits from fifth place

Lap 43: Raikkonen pits from the lead. The Champ is in for 7.1s. Rosberg and Vettel also pit

Lap 42: Heidfeld pits from fourth place as Raikkonen and Hamilton come up to lap Timo Glock. The Toyota driver is in 14th

Lap 41: Hamilton has closed up on Raikkonen - he is just 1.6s behind the Ferrai driver. Alonso pits from sixth place

Lap 40: Massa puts on the hard tyres as he pits for 7 seconds. He was leading. Kubica also pits

Lap 39: Ferrari mechanics are out

Lap 38: Massa is leading by 10.5s over Raikkonen while Hamilton a further 2.2s behind

Lap 37: Barrichello, Sutil and Vettel are the last three in the race - disappointing for Barrichello who had hoped for better as he made history here this weekend

Lap 36: Piquet Jr muscles past Button, who is soon overhauled by Kovalainen

Lap 35: Hamilton is 2.6 seconds behind Raikkonen's Ferrari and must pass him on the road if he wants second place. Both drivers have one pit stop remaining

Lap 34: Just behind them Kovalaine is looking for a way to overtake Glock. Kovalainen gets through only to lose the position back to Glock. Better exit on the final corner sees Kovlainen take P13 off Glock

Lap 33: Piquet Jr is harassing Button for 11th place. The Renault driver is all over the back of him but is unable to find a way through

Lap 32: Hamilton pits from the lead for 6.2s. He put on hard tyres, which means he HAS to stop again so he is on a three-stopper. Is this a wise choice by McLaren?

Lap 31: Robert Kubica is told by his pit wall that he's racing Lewis Hamilton - this means BMW think Hamilton is three-stopping

Lap 30: Jenson Button, Timo Glock, and Nelson Piquet Jr are the only drivers who have yet to stop. And with that Piquet Jr pits from 10th place

Lap 29: Is Hamilton three-stopping here today?

Lap 28: Barrichello pits as Hamilton pulls out a 4sec lead over Massa

Lap 27: Kovalainen pits. He puts on another set of the hard tyres

Lap 26: Bourdais is out the grand prix having beached his Toro Rosso in the gravel at Turn 12

Lap 26: Piquet Jr outbraked himself into Turn 12 allowing Kovalainen to get through and up into 11th place

Lap 25: Hamilton is already pulling away from Massa. He is 1.8s ahead after just one lap!

Lap 24: Hamilton dives down the inside of Massa as the Brazilian fails to close the door. He nudges the Ferrari driver wide and is up into the lead of the grand prix

Lap 24: Hamilton is sitting right on Massa's exhaust pipe and is looking for a way through or trying to force a mistake from the Brazilian

Lap 23: Coulthard comes in from sixth place. Of the top nine only Rosberg is fifth place has yet to pit

Lap 22: Heidfeld pits. Raikkonen managed to leapfrog Kubica in the first round of stops having previously been behind the BMW driver

Lap 22: The World Champion pits for soft tyres. And is in for 8.6s. He comes out ahead of Robert Kubica

Lap 21: Trulli pits and the Ferrari mechanics are out for Raikkonen

Lap 20: New fastest lap from race leader Raikkonen. He is pushing ahead of his first pit stop. How much further can he go than Massa and the McLarens?

Lap 19: Massa pits for 8.2s and puts on soft tyres. Kubica pits for 8.7. They were first and second before they pitted. Massa comes out ahead of Hamilton

Lap 18: Webber is in the pits. He was P4. The Aussie stops for 10.0s. He comes out behind Alonso having failed to make up a position in the first round of pit stops

Lap 17: Kovalainen takes 16th place off Vettel as he continues his run back towards the points

Lap 16: Hamilton pits for 2nd place, which explains his speed. He was second but after his six-second stop he comes out in sixth place

Lap 15: Renault are out for one of their drivers. It's Alonso who pits from fifth place for 10.1s

Lap 14: Piquet Jr stays in 15th place after almost being overtaken by Vettel

Lap 13: Alonso is going well here this afternoon. The Renault driver is in fifth place and is starting to drop Webber

Lap 12: And it's Hamilton's turn to set a fastest lap. Kovalainen finally passes Sutil on the outside entering Turn 12

Lap 11: And now Massa goes fastest while Raikkonen puts in a fastest final sector. Great battle for 14th between Bourdais, Piquet and Vettel who are all separated by less than 1.5s

Lap 10: Hamilton is again fastest. Team-mate Kovalainen tries to Sutil up the inside but has to back off as the German doesn't give him any space

Lap 9: Massa sets a new fastest lap time only to be beaten by Hamilton seconds later. The duo are perfectly matched lap-by-lap even though the one is using the soft rubber (Massa) and the other the harder option (Hamilton)

Lap 8: Kudos to Vettel who is still in the grand prix! The German has retired from all four of this season's races, three on the opening lap alone. So far he's made it to Lap 8 and he's in 16th place

Lap 7: Hamilton's tyres are coming into their sweet period and he's closing the gap to Massa. It sits at 1.4s

Lap 6: A five car battle is developing in the midfield involving Button, Barrichello, Glock, Bourdais and Piquet Jr. They are all fighting over 11th place

Lap 5: Kovalainen is down in 18th place and faces a tough afternoon trying to work his way back into the points. He is closing on Force India's Adrian Sutil

Lap 4: Massa sets a new fastest lap as he tries to extend his lead over Hamilton. Third place currently belongs to Kubica

Lap 3: Kazuki Nakajima has retired as a result of the damage suffered when Fisi crashed into him

Lap 3: Raikkonen easily passes Alonso based on straightline speed. The Ferrari just powered passed

Lap 3: Safety Car comes in and Heikki Kovalainen forced to pit with a rear left puncture

Lap 2: Vettel and Sutil are in the pits as in Nakajima. All three sustained damage at the first corner of lap 1

Lap 1: Safety Car is out. Replays show Fisi hit the back of Nakajima's Williams

Lap 1: An incident at the first corner puts Fisichella out the grand prix for third time in three years

Lap 1: Massa gets a great start while Raikkonen is boxed out by Hamilton. He is then dropped by a BMW

START: And it's go in Istanbul!

13h02: The two Ferraris are starting on the softer tyres while Kovalainen is on the harder option tyres. Hamilton is also on the hard rubber

13h00: The formation lap gets underway. Expects the drivers to be two-stopping here today

12h57: The drivers are strapped into their cars and the crowds have packed out the grandstands as we prepare for the start of the 2008 Turkish GP

12h55: The formation lap is five minutes away

12h54: Remember there are only 20 runners here today as Super Aguri are no longer in F1 having pulled out due to financial problems. Force India drivers Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella therefore make up the back of the grid

12h50: Robert Kubica and Mark Webber are making up the third row of the grid ahead of Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli. Nick Heidfeld and David Coulthard completed the top ten in qualifying

12h45: The track temperature is 35'C, with 17'C ambient

12h43: Heikki Kovalainen is starting P2 on the grid, his best qualifying performance to date, while Lewis Hamilton is third, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen

12h35: Honda boss Ross Brawn, who used to work with Massa at Ferrari, admits he was surprised at the Brazilian as he thought Massa would fall apart after being outdone by his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in the previous races

12h30: The pits are now open - the cars are now permitted to make their way to the grid

12h27: Felipe Massa could also make history as he chases his third successive Turkish GP victory. On Saturday the Brazilian clinched his third consecutive pole position at the Istanbul track

12h15: Before we get to the grid position, let's talk a bit of history. Today's race sees Rubens Barrichello make F1 history as he becomes the longest-serving driver. The Brazilian, who races for Honda, is starting his 257th gp today. His career began in 1993

12h00: Welcome to coverage of the 2008 Turkish GP from the Istanbul Otodrom



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