BAMBINO: Bravo Felipe! It was good to see Massa take the chequered flag after having a great race weekend. After taking Pole, Massa got his F2007 off the line and on the inside racing line by Turn 1. Defending Champion and local Spaniard Fernando Alonso tried to get around Massa on the outside of Turn 1, but Felipe held his inside line in the right/left Turn 1 forcing Alonso into the gravel on the inside of the left hand part of the turn. A dangerous moment ensued when Fernando's MP4-22 veered back onto the track just missing Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari and just missing taking the nose off Robert Kubica's BMW. Nothing happened after that and the front runners fell into line. Massa quickly built up his lead over Lewis Hamilton who is continuing his record breaking Formula One rookie season for McLaren. Kimi followed in third but retired on Lap 9 with an electronics failure to his F2007. A disappointing end to a sub par weekend for the Finn.
Kimi never really had the pace and having his old nemesis Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari Paddock I'm sure made Kimi a tad uncomfortable. Regardless, Schumi is a principal with La Scuderia Ferrari, so Kimi had better get used to him being around. Felipe Massa on the other hand, who was Michael's team mate last year, was thrilled to have the 7-Time World Champion advising him over the weekend. "Anytime you have a 7-Time World Champion in your ear, it's a good thing. I have learned a lot from Michael" said the fiery Brazilian. Indeed. Felipe was never challenged after his Turn 1 scrum with Alonso and he easily cruised his Ferrari to his second GP win in a row putting him 3 points behind upstart Lewis Hamilton in the Driver's Championship.
Local hero Fernando Alonso however didn't have the result he wanted in front of the home crowd, but he did finish a strong third despite some chassis damage suffered in the Turn 1 game of chicken he played with the race victor. It only proves how good of a driver Fernando is that he was able to still get on the podium. His team mate Lewis Hamilton is having an incredible start to his F1 career. Four consecutive podiums (one 3rd place and three 2nd place) to start a career, WOW!
American hopeful Scott Speed who drives for Torro Rosso-Ferrari retired on Lap 9 due to a left rear tire blowout. Not his fault, just bad luck. He started the race dead last and worked himself up to 14th and had improved over the weekend as a driver, but fate would have the last word. That's racing folks. F1 veteran David Coulthard finished a strong 5th for Red Bull-Renault proving he still belongs and Robert Kubica of BMW finished 4th. Takuma Sato picked up the first ever points for Super Aguri F1 with an 8th place finish. The factory Honda team must be embarrassed by that one. Next up is Monaco.
FINAL RESULTS:
1) Felipe Massa - Ferrari
2) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes
3) Fernando Alonso - McLaren - Mercedes
4) Robert Kubica - BMW
5) David Coulthard - Red Bull - Renault
6) Nico Rosberg - Williams - Toyota
7) Heikki Kovalainen - Renault
8) Takuma Sato - Super Aguri F1 - Honda
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