Spanish GP – gladiator Alonso cannot impede red double
Ferrari: Raikkonen 1, Massa 2.
Raikkonen stormed to victory setting up the fastest lap in the process. He is the eighth consecutive winner from pole in Catalunya. Massa benefited from the slipstream of his teammate to pass Alonso on the run to turn 1. He never gave up more than 4 seconds on Kimi. Both Ferraris opened a 10 second gap until the Safety Car period, putting the engines on low revs afterwards.
McLaren: Hamilton 3, Kovalainen DNF
Hamilton passed Kubica when the lights turned green and got held for 15 laps by Alonso, passing him after the first pit stop. He never posed a threat to Massa, keeping Kubica at bay too. Heikki was running behind Kubica, until his left front suspension cracked on lap 22, hitting the tyre barrier like a bullet. He luckily escaped the crash and will be able to compete in Turkey.
BMW: Kubica 4, Heidfeld 9
Kubica put the pressure on Hamilton after losing his grid position at the start. Heidfeld was the heaviest front-runner and had to pit when the SC was deployed, having no fuel left in the gas tank. He subsequently received a 10 second penalty that moved him dead last. He made a superb move on Fisichella but finished just outside the points.
Red Bull: Webber 5, Coulthard 12
With one BMW running out of luck and one McLaren hitting the barriers, the highest place to aim for the pack was 5th. And following the engine blows of Alonso and Rosberg, Webber was the one finishing 5th in the end. Coulthard had a clash with Glock and suffered a puncture. It’s the third time in 4 races that David is involved in a touch.
Honda: Button 6, Barrichello DNF
Button drove anonymously to bring home the first points for Honda in 2008. Barrichello was there too in the first part of the race, but he had the misfortune of breaking the front wing in the pitlane. The damegd sustained by the floor of the car during one lap with the front wing under the chassis made him retire.
Williams: Nakajima 7, Rosberg DNF
Unlucky Rosberg would have finished in front of his teammate had his engine not give up. Kazuki inherited the place and drove calmly to the chequered flag, being harassed by Trulli in the closing stages.
Toyota: Trulli 8, Glock 11
Trulli’s composure made him finish once again in the points. Glock had the front wing ripped off in the incident with Coulthard and finished far behind, one lap down the leader.
Force India: Fisichella 10, Sutil DNF
Fisichella proved great once again, defending his position in front of faster cars, bringing in the first top ten finish for his team. Sutil’s race lasted four corners, until Coulthard touched him and made him slide into Vettel.
Super Aguri: Sato 13, Davidson DNF
A technical failure for Anthony, but a great race for Sato, who shuffled in the peloton just like Fisichella, being 9th at one stage of the race.
Renault: double DNF
Alonso lost second place on the main straight, running third until he entered the pits, being the first one to do so, proving that the time he posted yesterday was not showing a real and sustainable progress. His engine gave up on lap 34 when he was fifth. Piquet was 10th for the first three laps, an error in turn 5 getting him down to 16th. While he tried to pass Bourdais, the frenchman closed the door and both were out on the spot.
Toro Rosso: double DNF
They brought their cars for nothing here. Sutil drove into Vettel on lap 1, while Bourdais was out 7 laps later when he touched Nelson Piquet Jr. Vettel is by far the most unlucky driver in 08.
