Raikkonen takes all at Istanbul
Turkish GP - Race
Fifth win of the year for Raikkonen in Turkey...
Kimi Raikkonen dominated the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix to take the chequered flag nearly 20 seconds clear of Championship rival Fernando Alonso in the Renault, while Juan Pablo Montoya finished in a disappointed third in the second McLaren Mercedes.
The race could have and probably should have yielded McLaren’s first one-two result of the season, but a mistake on the penultimate lap from Montoya saw Alonso take the runner up position with Raikkonen gaining just two championship points over the Renault driver as a result.
Raikkonen’s fifth win of the season and the seventh of his career was not an all-together easy victory. Starting from the Pole Position, Giancarlo Fisichella made a great getaway from the line to lead into the first turn. The Italian would soon run wide and lose a little momentum allowing Raikkonen to make the move for the lead into turn 12. From that point onwards, Raikkonen controlled his pace and led the remaining 57 laps.
"I didn't get the best start, I got a bit of wheel spin and was passed by Fisichella but he ran wide at the exit of turn nine and got it back," said Raikkonen. "You have to go for it if you have the chance and it paid off well. We had been quick all weekend and we had a big advantage on speed. The circuit was not bad and I was able to just take it easy, so otherwise it was pretty easy."
Alonso was given co-operation form his Renault team-mate and was soon chasing Raikkonen until both Renault's made early pitstops. Montoya, running in fourth early on emerged from the first round of stops in a firm second position behind Raikkonen and it all looked set for McLaren to finish first and second.
Tiago Monteiro, running at the back for much of the race in the Jordan Toyota, missed his braking point as he followed Montoya late in the race. Contact was made and the Colombian was able to rejoin the circuit just a second ahead of Alonso. With his right front Michelin visibly worn, Montoya ran off track on the penultimate lap and Alonso had the position and two extra points in the bag.
"It was a nice surprise at the end. I saw the yellow flags on the straight but you cannot see the corner," Alonso explained. "It surprised me when I saw Montoya and the Jordan there and that they had spun. I thought overtaking was not possible but he had damaged his car, went wide, and I overtook him, so it was a nice surprise at the end but it is a bit disappointing because we were a bit slower than them."
A problem with the refuelling rig hampered Fisichella’s race and he would finish in fourth position in the second Renault, holding off Jenson Button who working his way though the field to finish in fifth position in the BAR Honda. Were it not for Button’s qualifying error on Saturday; he too could have been going for a podium position.
Jarno Trulli finished in sixth position in his Toyota picking up yet more valuable points for the German-based squad. Team-mate Ralf Schumacher found himself right at the back on the opening lap and could do not better than finish in 12th position.
Red Bull Cosworth finished in seventh and eighth positions, with David Coulthard getting the jump on team-mate Christian Klien in the first round of pit stops. The order would remain unchanged right to the chequered flag.
Takuma Sato started at the back of the field in the second BAR Honda, pitting at the end of the parade lap for fuel and then pushing hard race-long to finish in ninth position ahead of Rubens Barrichello in the only Ferrari to finish the race.
Jacques Villeneuve finished 11th in the Sauber Petronas holding off a strong challenge from Ralf Schumacher in the closing stages while Robert Doornbos was classified in 13th position three laps down in the Minardi ahead of Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro in the Jordan Toyota’s.
Renault challenged Raikkonen early on...
It was a miserable race for Christijan Albers who had no less than five pit stops before retiring the PS05. Over at BMW Williams, their nightmare season continued with both Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber both suffering two right rear Michelin tyres failures before retiring.
Webber also found himself in the wars as he attempted to pass Michael Schumacher into turn 12. The move was never on and as Schumacher turned in, albeit late, Webber lost his front wing and Schumacher scurried to the pits for repairs before retiring.
Felipe Massa had promised an aggressive race from eighth on the grid and he duly delivered as he hit the back of Heidfeld’s Williams at the first turn. After a lengthy stop for repairs he resumed flat last and continued until a mechanical problem forced him to the pits 30 laps from home. Not a great showing from the future Ferrari driver.
The Formula One circus now packs up and heads to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix in two weeks time. Raikkonen may be winning more often than not, but as long as Alonso keeps finishing in the points, the Spaniard is on course for the title...
by Me! Luqman
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