GP – Race: Massa plays his cards right

It is under a beautiful sun that the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix will be given, as indeed it is 39°C on the track and 29°C in the air. However, there is a lot of wind, which can change many things during the race. It should be noted that most drivers have chosen to start on soft tires. The lights turn green: Massa takes the lead of the race, while Lewis Hamilton completely messes up, losing 7 places. Kovalainen overtakes Räikkönen, but the world champion takes back his position in turn #2. See the F2SA live

From the second lap, Räikkönen overtakes Kubica, and the two Ferraris are in the lead. Hamilton tries to catch up, but with a bit too much ambition, a collision with Alonso is inevitable. Hamilton lost his front wing and has to return to the pits.

While Ferrari benefited from this start of the race, McLaren fell victim: Kovalainen is in P5, and Hamilton is in 18th position, the English driver is really going through a rough patch.

After 17 laps, Kubica and Rosberg pit to refuel, no issues for these two pit stops. Button and Coulthard are having fun, the two English drivers collide as they battle for 19th place.

Räikkönen is the first Ferrari driver to return to the pits after 20 laps on the track, and Fernando Alonso has the same idea. The majority of the cars refuel in a two-stop strategy window. After this first wave, the standings are as follows: Massa, Räikkönen, Kubica, Heidfeld, and Kovalainen.

Hamilton begins his comeback, he is now P14, and he is right behind Fisichella. The English driver pits one last time, with 24 laps remaining. A Renault is slowing down, it’s Nelson Piquet’s, the race is over for him.

Räikkönen stops once again a little before Massa, the pit exit for the Brazilian driver is looking pressurized. No, Iceman was in traffic, he will remain second. We are witnessing a remote battle between Heidfeld and Kubica for the 3rd place, with the German driver refueling last.

Kubica is the one who maintains the advantage, he is currently on the 3rd step of the podium. Kovalainen is the last driver from the top teams to refuel, he exits in P5 between Heidfeld and Trulli. After the second round of refueling, Hamilton is 14th, points are practically impossible for him.

With 8 laps to go, a duel begins between Kubica and Räikkönen, the BMW driver is only 3 seconds behind the F2008. But the reigning world champion picks up the pace and thwarts Kubica’s ambitions. Most teams have now decided to lock in the positions.

With the exception of Hamilton who, in any case, tries all out, he overtakes Nakajima’s Williams and takes P13. There you have it, the race is over: Massa is the winner of this race, Räikkönen takes P2, Kubica is 3rd, Heidfeld P4, and Kovalainen takes P5. Note that Hamilton finishes this race in 13th position.

On the championship side, Räikkönen becomes the leader of the drivers’ championship, Heidfeld is 2nd, and Hamilton remains 3rd. In the constructors’ championship, BMW is ahead of Ferrari and McLaren Mercedes. See you in three weeks, for the Spanish Grand Prix weekend.

According to ToileF1.com

Race result – Bahrain GP

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