2008 Turkish Grand Prix

http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/turkey_791/ 2008 Turkish Grand Prix The Official Formula 1 Website 2008-05-11 2009-04-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20090602025956/http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/turkey_791/ 2009-06-02 live http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/championships/f1/2008/turkey/Pages/circuit.aspx Grand Prix of Turkey Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile 2008-05-11 2009-04-20 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090918210048/http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/championships/f1/2008/turkey/Pages/circuit.aspx September 18, 2009 2008 Spanish Grand Prix 2008 Monaco Grand Prix F1 Turkey Turkish 11 May 2008 Istanbul park.svg 5 18 2008 Formula 1 Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix Istanbul Racing Circuit, Tuzla, Turkey Permanent racing facility 3.317 5.338 58 192.250 309.396 Sunny with temperatures reaching up to 17 C FWeather info for the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix https://web.archive.org/web/20150521034650/http://classic.wunderground.com/history/airport/LTBA/2008/5/11/DailyHistory.html?req_city=Istanbul&req_state=&req_statename=Turkey&reqdb.zip=00000&reqdb.magic=1&reqdb.wmo=17060 2015-05-21 at Weather Underground Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:27.617 Brazil Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:26.506 20 Finland Felipe Massa Ferrari Brazil Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes United Kingdom Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari Finland TUR 40,000 The 2008 Turkish Grand Prix (officially the 2008 Formula 1 Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix)http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/turkey_791/circuit_diagram.html Turkish Formula1.com https://web.archive.org/web/20080612101600/http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/turkey_791/circuit_diagram.html 4 January 2021 2008-06-12 was a Formula One motor race held on 11 May 2008 at the Istanbul Racing Circuit, Tuzla, Turkey. The 58-lap race, the fifth of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, was won by Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren, with Kimi Räikkönen third in the second Ferrari. Massa claimed pole, with teammate Räikkönen fourth, the two Ferrari cars sandwiching the McLarens of Heikki Kovalainen and Hamilton. At the first corner Räikkönen clipped Kovalainen's rear tyre and gave him a puncture. The safety car was deployed on the first lap, after a collision, but only remained out for one lap. During the course of the race, Hamilton, intending to make one more pit stop than both Ferrari drivers, was faster than Massa due to carrying a lighter fuel load and overtook him on lap 24. After Hamilton had made his third pit stop, he rejoined in second behind Massa but in front of the Championship leader, Räikkönen. Massa won the race, with Hamilton 3.779 seconds behind, and Räikkönen a further half-second behind. The two BMW Sauber cars of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld took fourth and fifth. In the week running up to the grand prix, the Super Aguri team had withdrawn from Formula One, due to financial problems, leaving the sport with only ten teams. Massa's victory was his third consecutive pole position and victory in Turkey, having also won the race from pole in 2006 and 2007. Rubens Barrichello celebrated his 257th Grand Prix start, breaking Riccardo Patrese's previous record of 256. Due to the race result, Räikkönen's lead in the Drivers' Championship was lowered to seven points. Massa rose to second from fourth, whilst Hamilton dropped to third, both drivers tying on 28 points but separated by Massa's two wins thus far to Hamilton's one. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari increased their lead to 19 points ahead of BMW Sauber, with McLaren a further two points behind in third. Background The Grand Prix was contested by 20 drivers, in ten teams of two. The teams, also known as "constructors", were Ferrari, BMW Sauber, Renault, Williams, Red Bull Racing, Toyota, Toro Rosso, Honda, Force India and McLaren. This was two drivers fewer than in previous rounds of the 2008 season, due to the withdrawal of the Super Aguri team from the sport following the previous race. Going into the race, Kimi Räikkönen was leading the Drivers' Championship, on 29 points; nine points ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with Räikkönen's teammate, Felipe Massa, in fourth 11 points behind. BMW Sauber drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld were third and fifth, on 19 and 16 points respectively. In the Constructors' Championship Ferrari were leading on 47 points; 12 points ahead of BMW Sauber on 35 points, with McLaren just one further point behind them.Jones Bruce The Official ITV Sport Guide: Grand Prix 2009 Final Results 2008 https://archive.org/details/grandprix2009off0000jone/ 2009 Carlton Books London, England 116–117 978-1-84732-262-3 Internet Archive registration The race was also Rubens Barrichello's 257th Grand Prix, which broke the record for the number of Grand Prix starts previously held by Riccardo Patrese.http://www.barrichello.com.br/noticias.php?l=2&id=410&pagina=4 Official Barrichello site Rubens Barrichello breaks record at Turkey 2008-04-21 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080528052519/http://www.barrichello.com.br/noticias.php?l=2 May 28, 2008 The particular Grand Prix at which he broke this record was disputed, as there was some disagreement about what constituted a "start", such as the 2002 Spanish Grand Prix, where Barrichello entered but did not actually take part in the race on Sunday. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7358605.stm Barrichello sets date for record BBC Sport 2008-04-21 2009-05-18 2008-04-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20080422115945/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7358605.stm live Barrichello and Honda decided to make Turkey the site for their celebrations, issuing a statement that said, "In view of the lack of consensus regarding which specific race marks Rubens's 257th Grand Prix, Rubens will celebrate the milestone of 257 Grand Prix appearances at the Turkish Grand Prix".http://www.autosport.com/news/grapevine.php/id/66759 Barrichello chooses Turkey for record Haymarket publications Autosport.com Alan Baldwin 2008-04-21 2009-05-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20090210115708/http://www.autosport.com/news/grapevine.php/id/66759 2009-02-10 live His Honda team gave him a special anniversary livery and helmet, both of which prominently featured the number 257.Rubens Barrichello gets special 257 livery http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/5/7734.html The Official Formula 1 website 2008-05-07 2015-12-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20121014092313/http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/5/7734.html 2012-10-14 Patrese said that he would feel some sadness at having his record broken.http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67173 Patrese sad to lose long-standing record Haymarket publications autosport.com Jonathan Noble 2008-05-06 2009-05-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20081008041552/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67173 2008-10-08 live thumb|Super Aguri's founder, Aguri Suzuki. It was announced that the team would withdraw from Formula One with immediate effect before the Turkish Grand Prix. The Super Aguri team had been in financial trouble since a proposed takeover deal backed by equity firm Dubai International Capital, under the "Magma Group" banner, failed to take effect.https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7366464.stm Super Aguri get Spanish reprieve BBC Sport British Broadcasting Corporation 2008-04-25 2009-04-10 2008-04-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20080429080528/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7366464.stm live Early in the week before the Grand Prix, after team owner Aguri Suzuki revealed the extent of his difficulties, the team's trucks were blocked from entering the paddock by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), Formula One's governing body. This decision was taken by the FIA after being informed by Honda's Formula One team CEO, Nick Fry, that Super Aguri, who used Honda engines and Honda-derived chassis, would not be racing at Istanbul Park.Super Aguri barred from Istanbul paddock http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=42499 ITV-F1.com 2008-05-04 2009-03-01 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080607232309/http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=42499 June 7, 2008 Suzuki then admitted that his financial troubles could not be solved by existing primary sponsor SS United Group Oil & Gas Company, leaving the team with no choice but to withdraw from Formula One as of May 6.2006-05-06 Super Aguri withdraw from F1 The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/news/super-aguri-withdraw-from-f1-1.1221496 live 2020-11-25 2020-11-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20201125105218/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/super-aguri-withdraw-from-f1-1.1221496 The Toro Rosso team's plan to introduce its new car, the STR3, at this race were postponed due to a lack of spare parts. This was due to an accident suffered by driver Sébastien Bourdais during testing prior to the previous race, which had resulted in the chassis sustaining heavy damage. Toro Rosso had already used an updated version of its 2007 car, the STR2, for the first four races of the season, and were now forced to race with it in Turkey as well.http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67161 Toro Rosso to race old car in Turkey Haymarket publications Autosport.com 2008-05-05 Jonathan Noble 2009-04-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20081007202154/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67161 2008-10-07 live Toro Rosso delays new car introduction GPUpdate.net http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/187433/toro-rosso-delays-new-car-introduction/ 2008-05-06 2011-01-29 2020-11-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20201125105221/https://nl.motorsport.com/f1/news/ live The team's other driver, Sebastian Vettel, said that he was "disappointed" that the new car was not ready.http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67218 Q & A with Sebastian Vettel Haymarket publications Autosport.com Jonathan Noble 2008-05-08 2009-04-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20081008042526/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67218 2008-10-08 live However, this was the last race in which the STR2 competed, as the STR3 subsequently made its début at the next race.STR confirms STR3 to miss Turkey https://www.crash.net/f1/news/62027/1/str-admits-monaco-not-ideal-debut-for-str3 Crash 2008-05-07 2020-11-25 Ferrari decided not to use a new nose for their car that had made its début at the previous race due to the low-downforce nature of the Turkish circuit.http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67184 Ferrari will not use new nose in Turkey Haymarket publications Autosport.com Pablo Elizalde 2008-05-06 2009-04-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20081109053036/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67184 2008-11-09 live According to team manager Luca Baldisserri, "The cars used by Kimi [Räikkönen] and Felipe [Massa] are basically to the same specification as those that were used in Spain, with the exception that at Istanbul Park we will not use the slotted nose. This is because this solution is much more efficient at medium to high downforce levels, whereas Turkey requires less downforce. The new nose worked very well, but as we said when we gave it its race debut in Barcelona, we would only use it at circuits where we deem it will bring us an advantage over a more conventional component." McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen was passed fit to race in the days leading up to the race.http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67206 Kovalainen passed fit to race in Turkey Haymarket publications Autosport.com Jonathan Noble 2008-05-08 2009-05-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20081008075418/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67206 2008-10-08 live At the previous race, Kovalainen had suffered a serious crash, although he escaped uninjured apart from minor concussion. Kovalainen said that he felt ready to race again: "I arrived here today feeling confident that I would pass the FIA test as I feel 100% and if I had not felt 100% I would have told the team already and stayed at home. My preparation for this weekend has gone well and we have done a lot of fitness training."http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67208 Kovalainen says he feels 100% ready Haymarket publications Autosport.com Pablo Elizalde 2008-05-08 2009-05-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20080513015917/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67208 2008-05-13 live Practice Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race – two on Friday, and a third on Saturday. The Friday morning and afternoon sessions each lasted 90 minutes. The third session was held on Saturday morning and lasted an hour. http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/475632E46002BEDAC125744F004312F4/$FILE/F1.SPORTING.REGULATIONS.19-05-2008.pdf 2008 Formula One Sporting Regulations Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile 2008-05-19 2009-04-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20090324235223/http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/475632E46002BEDAC125744F004312F4/$FILE/F1.SPORTING.REGULATIONS.19-05-2008.pdf 2009-03-24 live In the first free practice session, several large damp patches around the circuit – caused by late track cleaning rather than rain – dissuaded drivers from attempting laps and left the frustrated teams sitting in the pits waiting for the surface to dry as low track temperatures made the situation worse.http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67233 Massa fastest in practice 1 – Turkey Haymarket publications Autosport.com Matt Beer 2008-05-09 2009-04-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20081008071944/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67233 2008-10-08 live When the cars did take to the track, many of the drivers either went off the road or spun. Räikkönen only did three laps, before retiring with a gearbox problem, causing him to finish last. Massa set the session's fastest time, ahead of McLaren duo Heikki Kovalainen and Hamilton. After the session had ended, Fisichella was given a three-place grid penalty by the stewards for exiting the pit lane whilst the light at its exit was still red. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67237 Fisichella gets three-place grid penalty Haymarket publications Autosport.com Jonathan Noble 2008-05-09 2009-04-21 2016-01-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20160122080444/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67237 live The second free practice session was held in dry conditions, but the track was still damp from earlier drizzle. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67243 Raikkonen quickest in practice 2 – Turkey Haymarket publications Autosport.com Matt Beer 2008-05-09 2009-04-21 2009-06-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20090608120419/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67243 live After 30 minutes, Red Bull's Mark Webber crashed at turn six, his car sustaining serious damage. Webber was unhurt, although the crash meant that he finished the session in 19th position as he was unable to complete any further laps. The session was briefly stopped as a result while the marshals cleared away the debris. In this session, Räikkönen set the fastest time, with Hamilton next up. Massa was third, while David Coulthard of Red Bull broke up the Ferrari-McLaren domination by setting the fourth-fastest time, ahead of Kovalainen. The third and final practice session was held on the Saturday morning in dry conditions, but with damp patches on the track from earlier rain. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67285 Webber tops final practice in Turkey Haymarket publications Autosport.com Matt Beer 2008-05-10 2009-04-21 2008-10-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20081007194619/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67285 live As was the pattern for the season, the championship contenders appeared to work on preparations for the final part of qualifying and the race in this session and thus carry heavier fuel loads. Webber set the fastest time in the session, with Renault's Fernando Alonso in second, and Coulthard in third. Massa was fifth, Hamilton seventh, Räikkönen 11th and Kovalainen 12th. Qualifying Following the withdrawal of the Super Aguri team's two entries, minor changes were made to the qualifying procedure. In the first qualifying session, which would run for 20 minutes, the five slowest cars (a reduction from the previous number of six) would be eliminated, leaving 15 drivers to continue into the second session. In the second session, which would last 15 minutes, the five slowest runners (again reduced from six) were to once again be eliminated, leaving the ten fastest drivers to compete in session three, as had previously been the case. The time taken for each session remained the same.Team demise changes Qualifying https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7391106.stm BBC Sport 2008-05-07 2009-03-03 2008-05-12 https://web.archive.org/web/20080512183543/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7391106.stm live The third session would determine the positions from first to tenth, and would decide pole position. Cars which failed to make the final session could refuel before the race, so ran lighter in first and second sessions. Cars which competed in the final session of qualifying were not allowed to refuel before the race, and as such carried more fuel than in the previous sessions. "I am very happy to have taken a third consecutive pole at this circuit: it is really motivating and it would be fantastic to do the same again tomorrow in the race." Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, after qualifying. http://www.grandprix.com/race/r790satquotes.html Turkish GP – Saturday – Team Quotes GrandPrix.com 2008-05-10 2009-05-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20081019233222/http://www.grandprix.com/race/r790satquotes.html 2008-10-19 dead 40% right Qualifying was a two-way battle between Ferrari and McLaren, with BMW Sauber not showing as strong a pace as they had in previous qualifying sessions, and Alonso not on as light a fuel load as he had in Spain. Massa qualified on pole with a time of 1:27.617, ahead of Kovalainen and Hamilton. Hamilton elected not to run a lap on the softer option of the two tyre compounds, feeling that they were running low on grip in the later stages of the lap. He completed his final lap of the session on a "scrubbed" set of the harder tyre compound and it got him third place.Massa takes commanding pole in Turkey http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67289 Haymarket publishing Autosport.com Matt Beer 2008-05-10 2009-04-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20081109084158/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67289 2008-11-09 live Afterwards Hamilton said that he felt that his tyre choice had been incorrect. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67292 Hamilton rues wrong tyre choice Haymarket publications Autosport.com Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde 2008-05-10 2009-04-22 2020-11-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20201125105311/https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/67292/hamilton-rues-wrong-tyre-choice live However, he changed his mind the following day, having made an examination of the relevant telemetry data. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67329 Hamilton plays down tyre choice frustration Haymarket publications Autosport.com Jonathan Noble 2008-05-11 2009-04-22 2020-11-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20201125105316/https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/67329/hamilton-plays-down-tyre-choice-frustration live Championship leader Räikkönen qualified fourth, ahead of Kubica and Webber. Alonso, Trulli, Heidfeld and Coulthard completed the top 10. Nico Rosberg driving for Williams qualified 11th, ahead of Barrichello and his teammate Jenson Button. Vettel qualified 14th, followed by Timo Glock for Toyota. Nakajima qualified in 16th, ahead of Nelson Piquet Jr. (Renault) and Bourdais. Afterward Bourdais said that his low position was due to being held up by both Force India drivers: "Bad traffic, basically the Force India guys, ruined my afternoon: on my first run I was held up by Sutil as early as Turn 3 and on the second, I came up behind Fisichella in Turn 8". http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67300 Bourdais critical of Force India drivers Haymarket publications Autosport.com Pablo Elizalde 2008-05-10 2009-04-22 2020-11-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20201125105312/https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/67300/bourdais-critical-of-force-india-drivers live Fisichella qualified 19th but his three-place penalty saw him drop behind teammate Sutil to 20th and last place on the grid. Qualifying classification PosNoDriverConstructorPart 1Part 2Part 3Grid12Brazil Felipe MassaFerrari1:25.9941:26.1921:27.6171223Finland Heikki KovalainenMcLaren-Mercedes1:26.7361:26.2901:27.8082322United Kingdom Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1:26.1921:26.4771:27.923341Finland Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:26.4571:26.0501:27.936454Poland Robert KubicaBMW Sauber1:26.7611:26.1291:28.3905610Australia Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault1:26.7731:26.4661:28.417675Spain Fernando AlonsoRenault1:26.8361:26.5221:28.4227811Italy Jarno TrulliToyota1:26.6951:26.8221:28.836893Germany Nick HeidfeldBMW Sauber1:27.1071:26.6071:28.8829109United Kingdom David CoulthardRed Bull-Renault1:26.9391:26.5201:29.95910117Germany Nico RosbergWilliams-Toyota1:27.3671:27.012111217Brazil Rubens BarrichelloHonda1:27.3551:27.219121316United Kingdom Jenson ButtonHonda1:27.4281:27.298131415Germany Sebastian VettelToro Rosso-Ferrari1:27.4421:27.412141512Germany Timo GlockToyota1:26.6141:27.80615168Japan Kazuki NakajimaWilliams-Toyota1:27.54716176Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr.Renault1:27.568171814France Sébastien BourdaisToro Rosso-Ferrari1:27.621181921Italy Giancarlo FisichellaForce India-Ferrari1:27.807201 12020Germany Adrian SutilForce India-Ferrari1:28.32519Source:http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/championships/f1/2008/turkey/Pages/qualifying_classification.aspx FIA official Qualifying Classification 2008-05-09 FIA 2008-05-09 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100102120203/http://fia.com/en-GB/sport/championships/f1/2008/turkey/Pages/qualifying_classification.aspx January 2, 2010 Notes 1 1 – Giancarlo Fisichella got a three place grid penalty for exiting the pitlane whilst the red lights were still on during Friday's first practice session. Race thumb|left|Felipe Massa won the race, after starting from pole position. thumb|232x232px|Giancarlo Fisichella flies over Kazuki Nakajima At the start, Hamilton immediately overtook Kovalainen to claim second behind Massa.McLaren review Turkey https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/may/12/lewishamilton.formulaone Guardian News and Media guardian.co.uk 2008-05-11 2009-03-07 London Alan Henry 2020-11-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20201125105312/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/may/12/lewishamilton.formulaone live Räikkönen had a bad start and was squeezed into the first corner by Kovalainen. http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/8 2008-05-11 2009-04-18 Emlyn Hughes and Geoff Creighton Haymarket publishing Autosport.com As it happened: Raceday at Istanbul Park 2020-11-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20201125105219/http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/8 live The two cars made light contact, with Räikkönen's front wing touching Kovalainen's left rear tyre. This resulted in a puncture for the McLaren driver which forced him to make an unscheduled pit stop on the second lap, which dropped him to 18th and last position. Räikkönen damaged his front wing but continued the entire race distance without changing the nose section of his car. Meanwhile, Kubica took advantage to move up into third position, whilst Räikkönen was also passed by Alonso.http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pressinformation/f1pressinfo/turkey/Pages/race_facts.aspx Official FIA race report Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile 2008-05-11 2009-04-25 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081117160411/http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pressinformation/f1pressinfo/turkey/Pages/race_facts.aspx November 17, 2008 Further back, Vettel collided with Sutil and both were forced to pit, Vettel with a puncture and Sutil for a new front wing.Turkey Sunday quotes: Toro Rosso http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67355 Autosport 2008-05-11 2008-05-15 https://web.archive.org/web/20080514184811/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67355 14 May 2008 liveHughes Mark Mark Hughes (journalist) Jonathan Noble; Gary Anderson May 2008 Massa Attack Autosport 192 7 36–47 http://www.autosport.com/journal/article.php/id/1566 2008-05-15 https://web.archive.org/web/20080521001659/http://www.autosport.com/journal/article.php/id/1566 21 May 2008 live Sutil's teammate Fisichella and Nakajima collided at the first turn as well, after Fisichella braked too late and could not avoid the Williams driver.Paolo Elizalde Force India laments troubled start http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67352 Autosport Official Website 2008-05-11 2008-05-15 2020-11-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20201125105223/https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/67352/force-india-laments-troubled-start live Fisichella retired on the spot but Nakajima, despite losing both his front and rear wing in the incident, was able to make it back to his pit box before retiring. The incident resulted in the safety car being deployed. "I thought he [Hamilton] was light – He pushed me hard" Felipe Massa, speaking after the race. The safety car was withdrawn at the end of the second lap and the race got underway again with Massa in the lead. Räikkönen, meanwhile, overtook Alonso for fourth place. Between lap four and lap eleven, Massa and Hamilton exchanged fastest laps and the McLaren driver managed to hold the gap between him and the leader at one and a half seconds. The two drivers left third-placed Kubica behind, who in turn was being caught quickly by Räikkönen. Further back, Kovalainen passed Sutil on lap 12 and Vettel on lap 17. Hamilton then began to close the gap between himself and Massa, posting consecutive quick lap times and was within seven–tenths of a second by lap fifteen. Alonso was the first of the leading runners to make a pit stop on lap 15, dropping to tenth. Hamilton pitted one lap later and dropped to sixth, while Massa stayed out for another three laps. Both he and Kubica pitted at the same time, leaving Räikkönen temporarily in the lead. On lap 20, he set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:21.506, before he himself pitted at the end of lap 21, as did the then second-placed Heidfeld. Räikkönen rejoined ahead of Kubica, while Heidfeld came out ahead of both Alonso and Webber, to elevate himself to fifth. Massa was now back in the lead, but with Hamilton just 0.8 seconds behind. Running lighter on fuel with a view to making an additional pit stop to the Ferrari driver, Hamilton was able to close the gap on Massa and on lap 24, he overtook him at turn twelve. Hamilton now led, with Massa second and Räikkönen third. thumb|right|Lewis Hamilton finished second. Hamilton soon broke away from Massa, lapping over a second quicker than the Ferrari driver. Further back, Bourdais spun off at turn twelve, with a rear suspension failure that put him out of the race. The top five in the race were now Hamilton, Massa, Räikkönen, Kubica and Heidfeld. Over the next six laps, Hamilton stretched his lead to over six seconds before pitting on lap 32. He rejoined the race in third, 2.6 seconds behind second-placed Räikkönen. Further back, on lap 34, Kovalainen passed Glock, only to be immediately re-passed. He did succeed up the main straight, on the same lap. Two laps later, he passed Button. Eight laps after Hamilton's pit stop, Ferrari called Massa in for his final stop of the afternoon, making Räikkönen the leader of the race once more. This lead, however, only lasted for a couple of laps as the Finn pitted on lap 43, also making his final stop of the afternoon. On lap 43, Hamilton led by 14.4 seconds from Massa with Räikkönen a further seven seconds behind. Two laps later Hamilton was forced to make his third and final pit stop. The McLaren driver rejoined the track behind Massa but crucially ahead of championship leader Räikkönen. The top three would remain this way for the remainder of the race. Further back in fourth and fifth were the two BMW Saubers of Kubica and Heidfeld and behind them were Alonso, Trulli, Webber, Rosberg and Coulthard, with Kovalainen pursuing closely behind them. Kovalainen passed Coulthard on lap 48, and then on the next lap passed Rosberg. However, Rosberg immediately overtook Kovalainen to regain his position, and Kovalainen was forced to pit on lap 50. After his final pit stop, Kovalainen rejoined the circuit in 13th position. Felipe Massa won the race, making it his third consecutive win at the circuit, 3.7 seconds ahead of Hamilton, with Räikkönen a further half-second behind in third.http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/championships/f1/2008/turkey/Pages/race_classification.aspx FIA official Race Classification 2008-05-09 FIA 2008-05-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20081116101758/http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/championships/f1/turkey/Pages/race_classification.aspx 2008-11-16 dead The two BMWs of Kubica and Heidfeld finished fourth and fifth respectively while further back Alonso, Webber and Rosberg completed the top eight. Coulthard finished ninth, Trulli 10th and Button 11th. After his puncture at the start, Kovalainen had managed to recover to 12th by the end of the race, passing Glock in the closing stages.Turkey Race report http://www.grandprix.com/race/r790racereport.html GrandPrix.com 2008-05-11 2009-03-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20090129093238/http://www.grandprix.com/race/r790racereport.html 29 January 2009 dead dmy-all Glock, Barrichello, Piquet, Sutil and Vettel were the last of the classified finishers. Post-race I am so thrilled with today's result, and I think this is the best race ever for me. It's not about winning, it's about feeling that you extract 100% from yourself and the car and I did that today. Before the race our prediction was that all being well I would finish fifth, so second is such a bonus. I was not happy with my performance yesterday and perhaps if I had managed to get the car on pole I could have won. However, we knew that we would have to use a three stop strategy as a precaution as we had some issues with our tyres. Lewis Hamilton, speaking after the race. 40% right The race victory was Massa's third win in Turkey in as many years, having won in both 2006 and 2007. The top three finishers appeared in the subsequent press conference. Massa said that: It was a very tough race but the team work magnificently, giving me a great car. When Hamilton came underneath me at an incredible pace, I preferred not to take too many risks: the pit wall informed me that he was clearly running a lighter fuel load even if we were not certain he was on a three stop strategy. When that became clear, we were calmer, knowing we had everything in place to go for the win.http://www.grandprix.com/race/r790sunquotes.html Turkish GP – Sunday – Team Quotes 2009-04-17 GrandPrix.com 2008-05-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20100131235208/http://www.grandprix.com/race/r790sunquotes.html 2010-01-31 dead Ron Dennis, McLaren's team principal, commented on Hamilton's drive: "Today we saw a truly phenomenal drive from Lewis [Hamilton], in which he optimised a three-stop strategy that we were forced to adopt as a consequence of concerns we had with his tyres." Hamilton said that he felt that McLaren had closed the gap on Ferrari, and that he was "very excited" about the next race in Monaco. Räikkönen said: "It was a difficult weekend for me but six points are definitely better than nothing. At the start, I was almost alongside Heikki but then he slowed and I had to brake too to avoid a heavy crash. We touched just enough to damage the end plate of the front wing on my car: it was not a very serious problem, but it definitely didn't help my race." Räikkönen also said that he decided not to change his front wing, which was damaged after his collision with Kovalainen, the process would have taken too long.Jonathon Noble Pablo Elizalde Raikkonen welcomes third after tough day http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67341 Haymarket Publishing autosport.com 2008-05-11 2008-05-15 https://web.archive.org/web/20080514113535/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67341 14 May 2008 live thumb|right|Kimi Räikkönen finished third. Fisichella, who had collided with Nakajima on the first lap, which caused both drivers to retire, blamed Bourdais: "I made a good start but then under braking Bourdais changed direction twice and I couldn't brake in time and went into the back of the Williams." Nakajima said that, "I don't know exactly what happened; I just went into the first corner following the guy in front. I didn't change my line and I was suddenly hit from behind." Bourdais commented on his retirement: "Something broke at the back of the car... Going into Turn 12, I braked at the usual point and the car went sideways, I felt the right rear corner of the car drop and it spun me round." Räikkönen's lead in the Drivers' World Championship was reduced by two points to seven, ahead of Massa and Hamilton, the latter two on 28 points each. Kubica was in fourth, on 24 points, followed by his teammate Heidfeld on 20 points. In the Constructors' Championship, the Ferrari team increased its lead with a total of 66 points, whilst BMW Sauber were second with 44 points. McLaren were third with 42 points, Williams fourth with 13 points, and Red Bull were fifth, on ten. Race classification Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 2 Brazil Felipe Massa Ferrari 58 1:26:49.451 1 10 2 22 UK Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 58 +3.779 3 8 3 1 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 58 +4.271 4 6 4 4 Poland Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 58 +21.945 5 5 5 3 Germany Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 58 +38.741 9 4 6 5 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault 58 +53.724 7 3 7 10 Australia Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 58 +1:04.229 6 2 8 7 Germany Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 58 +1:11.406 11 1 9 9 United Kingdom David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 58 +1:15.270 10 10 11 Italy Jarno Trulli Toyota 58 +1:16.344 8 11 16 United Kingdom Jenson Button Honda 57 +1 Lap 13 12 23 Finland Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 57 +1 Lap 2 13 12 Germany Timo Glock Toyota 57 +1 Lap 15 14 17 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Honda 57 +1 Lap 12 15 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault 57 +1 Lap 17 16 20 Germany Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 57 +1 Lap 19 17 15 Germany Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 57 +1 Lap 14 Ret Retired 14 France Sébastien Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 24 Suspension 18 Ret Retired 8 Japan Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1 Collision damage 16 Ret Retired 21 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 0 Collision 20Source:http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/5/7773.html Turkish race analysis – McLaren edging ever closer The Official Formula 1 Website 2008-05-12 2009-05-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20080712112645/http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/5/7773.html 2008-07-12 live Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Position Driver Points 10px 1 FIN Kimi Räikkönen 35 10px 2 2 BRA Felipe Massa 28 10px 1 3 GBR Lewis Hamilton 28 10px 1 4 POL Robert Kubica 24 10px 5 GER Nick Heidfeld 20Source:https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/turquie/championnat.aspx Turkey 2008 - Championship • STATS F1 www.statsf1.com 30 March 2024 25 February 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240225143827/https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/turquie/championnat.aspx live Constructors' Championship standings Pos. Position Constructor Points 10px 1 ITA Ferrari 63 10px 2 GER BMW Sauber 44 10px 3 GBR McLaren-Mercedes 42 10px 4 GBR Williams-Toyota 13 10px 1 5 AUT Red Bull-Renault 10Source: Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. See also 2008 Istanbul Park GP2 Series round References 2 External links Felipe Massa wins 2008 Turkish Grand Prix Official FIA results Turkish Grand Prix 2008 2008 Spanish Grand Prix 2008 Monaco Grand Prix 2007 Turkish Grand Prix 2009 Turkish Grand Prix 40 57 20.5 N 29 24 29.7 E title Turkish Grand Prix Category:Turkish Grand Prix Grand Prix Category:May 2008 sports events in Turkey