GP – Race: Räikkönen doesn’t know crisis!

Kimi Räikkönen won a new victory this afternoon in Spain for the 4th race of the 2008 season. The Ferrari driver led his teammate for a one-two finish, and Lewis Hamilton, in a Grand Prix more than eventful. Two safety cars, nine retirements including Alonso and Bourdais and the serious accident of Kovalainen, whose latest news is reassuring.

The Ferrari drivers were once again the fastest today. The F2008s took the lead of the Grand Prix from the first corner when Felipe Massa managed to overtake Fernando Alonso, who started from second position with the Renault. The pressure was high, and the Spaniard made a small mistake during the formation lap, barely grazing the pit wall.

The first turn goes smoothly, but it’s in the third that the first race incident occurs. Adrian Sutil was far back, but he approached the turn too quickly. He couldn’t properly negotiate his entry and spun out, mounting the curb. Then in 20th position, he was hit by Sebastian Vettel. Right in the middle of the track, the Toro Rosso driver couldn’t do anything: It’s the first entry of the Safety Car.

Then light on fuel, Alonso, who must pit on lap 15, manages to conserve his fuel, and his aggressive strategy then makes perfect sense.

After a few minutes of racing, Räikkönen is ahead of Massa and Alonso. Kubica, having been overtaken by Hamilton at the start, finds himself in 5th place.

At the restart, the Ferraris set off perfectly together and leave their competitors 2 seconds behind.

Piquet, in the other Renault, is still 10th and keeps up the pace until lap 10 when the Brazilian enters turn 9 too quickly and takes a trip through the gravel, managing to rejoin the track but in 19th position, just behind Bourdais. Two laps later, attempting an overtake, Piquet takes the inside of Bourdais. The Frenchman wasn’t expecting it, and both drivers prematurely retire on lap 13.

Bourdais admits his confusion to the TF1 microphone: « I didn’t see him, I didn’t expect it, he wasn’t threatening a few turns earlier but I think he was coming too fast… »

At lap 16, Alonso is the first to pit: he drops to 10th position, between the two Hondas of Barrichello and Button. On lap 18, Massa comes into the pit, followed by Räikkönen the next lap. The Ferraris were therefore lighter on fuel than the McLarens, which pit after the 21st lap.

Hamilton leads the race until his pit stop, made at the same time as Kubica. The two drivers, who had a longer first stint than Alonso, come out ahead of the Renault. He is therefore 5th in front of his home crowd, a result that is still satisfying for the French team.

At the same time, the second major incident of the Grand Prix occurs, leading to the second appearance of the safety car on the track. It’s for McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn suffers a problem with his front left suspension arm. A part breaks while he is at turn 9, at very high speed. The McLaren driver can do nothing and crashes straight into the tire wall, the car partially embedded underneath.

The medical car arrives as the marshals try their best to remove the MP4/23 from the tire wall. Radio communication with Kovalainen is also cut off, and everyone fears the worst. Ten minutes later, under safety car conditions, Kovalainen is finally taken out on a stretcher. He gives a thumbs up to the spectators and appears to be fine. He is currently at the Barcelona hospital but reportedly has no fractures.

At the restart, Heidfeld is penalized with a drive-through. The German refueled at the beginning of the safety car period while the pits were not open.

After 22 laps, there are already 6 retirements, but they won’t be the only ones as Alonso, in his home race, suffers an engine failure while he was in 5th position. The Spaniard clearly exits very disappointed with this outcome. He still takes the time to sign an autograph for a spectator who jumps the safety barriers.

Barrichello also retires after colliding with a Force India in the pits. He has to do another lap before finally retiring in his box.

Two laps later, it’s Nico Rosberg who breaks his engine. The Williams stops in the pit straight, right in front of the Williams team.

The end of the race is thrilling: Hamilton manages to catch up with the Ferraris, especially Massa. However, the Ferrari drivers maintain their advantage.

Räikkönen finishes first, ahead of Massa and Hamilton. Kubica is 4th and leads among the 13 cars still on the track, with Jenson Button in a Honda. The Briton takes advantage of all the incidents to rank in the top 5, just like an astonishing Force India driven by Fisichella, who at one point took the 8th place.

Fisichella ultimately finished 10th, ahead of Glock, Coulthard, and Sato. Glock and Coulthard made contact during the German’s overtaking attempt on the Red Bull. Glock lost his front wing while Coulthard got a puncture a few seconds later.

At the world championship, Räikkönen is the clear leader, ahead of his teammate. Ferrari is therefore once again at the top of the standings with 47 points, 12 more than BMW and 14 ahead of McLaren.

Race Result – 2008 Spanish GP