Monaco GP: Hamilton Wins Chaotic Monte Carlo Street Battle.

Hamilton wins dramatic rain hit Monaco GP

from F1-Live.com

The Monaco Grand Prix did not quite go the full distance as it hit the two hour time limit with Lewis Hamilton taking the chequered flag and his sixth career win around the streets of Monte Carlo. It was a fantastic drive from Hamilton who now takes over the championship lead from Kimi Raikkonen who failed to score today.

Rain at the Principality made it a very tricky race for the 20 starters and while Hamilton celebrates his second win of the season, it was a far from easy Sunday afternoon drive. An error on lap seven saw him returning to the pits after brushing the barriers at the swimming pool, slashing his right rear tyre in the process.

Ironically, Hamilton’s early stop allowed him to take extra fuel on board and he was then able to time his switch from the rain tyre to dry tyre to perfection. Hamilton was not the only driver to make errors however as Felipe Massa made one and Kimi Raikkonen made two...

Massa started from the pole position and controlled the pace in the early laps despite Hamilton slotting into second position. However, a mid-race error saw him run off track at Sainte Devote and lose position to Robert Kubica. The Brazilian would never recover the lost ground and took the chequered flag two seconds behind the BMW Sauber driver who put in a flawless drive to claim the runner up position.

Adrian Sutil was on target to take a sensational fourth position in his Force India Ferrari. A late race safety car bunched up the field and Kimi Raikkonen lost control of his Ferrari under braking exiting the tunnel.

The Ferrari struck the back of the VJM01 forcing Sutil to return slowly to the pit and retire. It was an awful end to a fantastic race from the German racer.

Mark Webber recovered to finish in fourth position, losing ground mid-race after pitting too early to take the slick tyres and losing position to Sutil. Still it was a good solid run from the Red Bull racer who picks up five points for the Milton Keynes-based team.

Sebastian Vettel kept out of trouble and like Webber used a one-stop strategy well to take fifth position in the Toro Rosso Ferrari ahead of Rubens Barrichello who finally gets back in the points with the Honda team. Kazuki Nakajima brought home two points for Williams with his seventh place finish ahead of Heikki Kovalainen who should have finished so much higher.

Kovalainen stalled his McLaren Mercedes on the dummy grid and was forced to start the Grand Prix from the pit lane. The Finn battled on but a mistake behind the safety car saw him slow to unlap himself and therefore dropped some 20 seconds to Nakajima. A late race charge saw him take eighth position and the final championship point just three seconds behind the Japanese racer.

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/080525163210.shtml

FINAL RESULTS:

1) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes

2) Robert Kubica - BMW

3) Felipe Massa - Ferrari

4) Mark Webber - Red Bull - Renault

5) Sebastian Vettel - Scuderia Toro Rosso - Ferrari

6) Rubens Barichello - Honda

7) Kazuki Nakajima - Williams - Toyota

8) Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren - Mercedes

New York Yankees Update

BAMBINO: Well, the Yanks are where their supposed to be this early in the season. Under .500 like the last 5 seasons. Only one thing is different. The Yankees don't have the calm and cool of Joe Torre to lead them to victory. Joe Girardi has done a good job thus far with a very depleted Yankee team. The Yanks just dropped two to the cross town Mets in interleague play. The Bombers had bad outings by Pettitte and Wang.

In defense of Girardi, he is missing the best hitter in the game in A-Rod (DL - Quad) and arguably the best catcher in the game in Jorge Posada (DL - Shoulder). Key injuries also occured to Phil Highes and Brian Bruney. The rotation outside of Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina has struggled. Andy Pettitte has been inconsistent and the pecking order of Darrell Rasner, Ian Kennedy, and Kei Igawa have not got it done. Face it, they suck right now.

The good news is that it's not Memorial Day yet. The Bronx Bombers need to get some key players back and get on a roll. They have the talent to compete in the AL. They need all their pieces though. They still have plenty O' time.

AL STANDINGS: (Yanks 20-24, last place 5/19/08)

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/mlb/standings/index.jsp

Turkish GP: Massa Takes the Win for Ferrari!

Felipe Massa takes Turkish Grand Prix hat trick

From Shell-Ferrari.com

Felipe Massa took his third consecutive Turkish Grand Prix victory today, after a tense and thrilling race in Istanbul. Despite several lead changes as McLaren-Mercedes tried to outwit Scuderia Ferrari during the pit stops, the pole-sitter kept his nerve magnificently, relegating Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) to second, with team-mate and defending World Champion, Kimi Räikkönen, in third place.

"Four wins from the first five races for Scuderia Ferrari, what a great start to the season!" said Lisa Lilley, Shell Technology Manager for Ferrari. "We are very pleased with the performance of our fuel and lubricants this weekend, particularly our Shell Spirax gearbox oil. Under the new regulations, the gearbox must now last four consecutive races. We have just reached the end of our first lifecycle, which neatly coincides with Ferrari's four-race winning streak. The oil is key to gearbox reliability."

Today's result sees Räikkönen retain his lead in the Drivers' Championship on 35 points, with Massa jumping from fourth to second on 28 points. The Brazilian is now ahead of Hamilton, also on 28, by merit of having won two races so far this season, compared to Hamilton's one victory. Across in the Constructors' Championship, Scuderia Ferrari stretched its lead, reaching 63 points, 19 points ahead of its nearest challenger, BMW Sauber, on 44, with McLaren-Mercedes just behind on 42 points.

Monte Carlo, Monaco, will host the next round of the season on Sunday 25 May, 2008.

RACE VIDEO:
http://www.formula1.com/services/play_video.html

INTERACTIVE TRACK MAP:
http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/turkey_791/circuit_diagram.html

FINAL RESULTS:

1) Felipe Massa - Ferrari

2) Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes

3) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari

4) Robert Kubica - BMW

5) Nick Heidfeld - BMW

6) Fernando Alonso - Renault

7) Mark Webber - Red Bull - Renault

8) Nico Rosberg - Williams - Toyota

Spanish GP: Kimi, Ferrari, Reign in Spain with an easy 1-2!!!

Doppietta Ferrari al Catalunya!

From F1-Live.com

Le due Ferrari di Kimi Raikkonen e Felipe Massa hanno ampiamente dominato sul tracciato di Barcellona. Autore della pole e del miglior giro in gara, Raikkonen ha conquistato la sua 17° vittoria nei Gran Premi. Quella di oggi è la 78° doppietta Ferrari ed il 204° successo di una monoposto di Maranello.

"Kimi Raikkonen ha utilizzato molto bene le sue gomme per vincere una corsa perturbata da due interventi della safety car. Le medie hanno funzionato meglio oggi, con un netto vantaggio nei tempi sul giro ed una migliore aderenza. La maggior parte dei piloti ha utilizzato due volte le medie e le dure per terminare. Era la strategia giusta.In termini di usura la prestazione è stata buona, ma ce lo aspettavamo dopo averle testate qui in passato," ha spiegato Hirohide Hamashima, direttore dello sviluppo presso la Bridgestone Motorsport.

"Per quanto riguarda l’incidente di Kovalainen, non pensiamo che sia stato un cedimento della gomma. Per precauzione stiamo svolgendo un’inchiesta approfondita con la squadra e siamo felici perché non sembra essersi ferito," ha concluso il giapponese.

http://it.f1-live.com/f1/it/attualita/notizie/detail/080427192553.shtml

FINAL RESULTS:

1) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari
2) Felipe Massa - Ferrari
3) Louis Hamilton - McLaren - Mercedes
4) Robert Kubica - BMW

5) Mark Webber - Red Bull - Renault

6) Jenson Button - Honda
7) Kazuki Nakajima - Williams - Toyota

8) Jarno Trulli - Toyota