Massa revives title dream

VALENCIA: Felipe Massa finished the job he had left half-complete in the last Grand Prix at Hungary by comfortably winning the European Grand Prix on the new Valencia Street Circuit on Sunday.

Unlike the Hungarian Grand Prix, where the 27-year-old Ferrari driver suffered an engine failure, while leading the race, Massa drove a perfect race on the streets of this Mediterranean city giving no chance whatsoever to second-placed Lewis Hamilton who finished 5.6 seconds behind.

Massa’s teammate and defending World Champion though Kimi Raikonnen had a miserable race. After injuring a mechanic in the pit lane because of moving his car when the fuel hose was still attached, Raikonnen’s misery ended on the 45th lap after his engine blew up spectacularly on the start-finish straight and engulfed a portion of the track in smoke for a brief time.

While the spectators gasped as the Finnish driver’s car came to a halt, the Spanish audience was inconsolable when their hero and former World Champion Fernando Alonso retired from the race after the first lap after his car lost the back wing following a crash with Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams.

Alonso’s crash and Raikonnen’s retirement only confirmed the fears all the drivers had about the new circuit in Valencia. Since this was the first time a F1 race was being held here, drivers were unsure about the surface grip and the wear and tear of the tyres. What made drivers’ job even more difficult was the scorching sun and the fact that this was the second longest race in the F1 calendar. 

The result though was on expected lines as the podium places were occupied by drivers who were the top three in qualifying on Saturday.  Right from the moment the green lights were on, Massa stamped his authority on the race as he steadily pulled away from McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and BMW’s Robert Kubica.  Though Hamilton tried hard to take the fight to the Brazilian, it was not good enough.

Results
1. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1h 35m 32.339; 2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) McLaren +00:05.611, 3. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber +00:37.353;  4. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin)  McLaren +00:39.703; 5. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota +00:50.684; 6. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso - Ferrari +00:52.625; 7. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota +01:07.990; 8. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams - Toyota +01:11.457; 9. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber +01:22.177; 10. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso +01:29.794; 11. Nelson Piquet (Bra) Renault +01:32.717; 12. Mark Webber (Aus) RedBull - Renault +1 lap; 13. Jenson Button (GBR) Honda +1 lap; 14. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India +1 lap; 15. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams - Toyota +1 lap; 16. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda +1 lap; 17. David Coulthard (GBR) RedBull - Renault +1 lap; retired: Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari; Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India; Fernando Alonso (Spn) Renault