Posted in British GP, David Coulthard, Formula One, Mclaren, Red Bull, Silverstone, Williams on July 4th, 2008
British Red Bull driver David Coulthard has announced he will retire from Formula One racing at the end of the season.
The 37-year-old Scot, who is currently 12th in the Drivers’ Championship with six points, told of his decision ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which will be his 237th start.
Coulthard made his debut with the Williams team in 1994 before joining McLaren two years later. He remained with them for nine years before switching to Red Bull in 2005.
Posted in Ferrari, Formula One, French GP, Lewis Hamilton, Massa, Mclaren on June 27th, 2008
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa won the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, his third victory of the 2008 season.
The Brazilian now takes over the lead in the Formula One world championship for the first time in his short career, spanning six-seasons.
He also became the first Brazilian to top the drivers’ list since his hero, Ayrton Senna, dominated 15 years ago.
The other Ferrari driver, Kimi Raikkonen, started the race from pole and led into the first corner, before meeting exhaust problems.
Lewis Hamilton suffered from accumulated woes, going back to the Canadian Grand Prix. A drive-through penalty saw him starting 13th on the grid. Various factors wrecked his race and he finished predictably out of the points. He now trails Massa by 10 points.
Before the race he told ITV, “I found out that there was a lot of negativity in the media, and that’s to be expected. That’s what they do: they build you up and then they break you down, but they can’t break me. There’s a lot of crap coming out in the papers. I’m here to race, and I don’t want all this stuff. But I’m very strong mentally, and my belief in my own ability is stronger than ever and there’s nothing that can break me.”
Massa’s victory was the eighth of his Formula One career.
Posted in Ferrari, Formula One, Lewis Hamilton, Massa, Mclaren, Monaco GP, Monte Carlo on June 6th, 2008
Starting third on the grid — par for the course this season — Lewis Hamilton didn’t look a safe bet for his first Grand Prix win in Monte Carlo.
Lewis Hamilton wins Monaco Grand Prix 2008
That he did win is a sign maybe that Madame Fortune is beginning to smile on the British race ace again.
The drivers made their way to the start in light rain. After a single lap it was teeming down, turning the famous circuit into a skid pad. Hamilton started on the second row in third. He easily passed Kimi Raikkonen on the run to St Devote.
Felipe Massa seemingly led with ease in the early stages. Weather forecasters were telling the McLaren team that the rain would lessen throughout the race. Hamilton was filled up with extra fuel and returned to the race.
He slipped into cautious mode waiting for his opponents to make the errors. Fernando Alonso, in fourth, obliged on lap eight, clipping the wall at Mirabeu. On the same lap David Coulthard and Sebastien Bourdais came together on the run-up to Casino Square to bring out the safety car.
From then on, mayhem ruled and the title was anyone’s — anyone’s, that is, who had the wet-weather skills of an Ayton Senna and the speed of Lewis Hamilton.
As his enemies tumbled from grace, Lewis Hamilton regained his lead in the Formula One Drivers’ Championship.
A notable victory — his sixth GP win — and one which sets him up for a great finish to the season. To come through all the bad luck and error-strewn campaigns this season with a win at Monte Carlo is surely an omen.
All he now has to contend with is the ferocious pace of an in-form Felipe Massa in a rock-star Ferrari and he’s home and dry.
Posted in Felipé Massa, Ferrari, Formula One, Istanbul, Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton on May 11th, 2008
Felipe Massa easily beat Lewis Hamilton into second place to win the Turkish Grand Prix today for the third successive year in his Ferrari.
Kimi Raikkonen, the reigning world champion, was third.
Hamilton appears to have overcome his run of bad luck, even if not quite regaining that magic winning touch. He remains in contention for the title even so.
Result
1. Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari) 1min 26:49.451sec (average: 213,809 km/h)
2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren) at 3.779sec
3. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari) 4.271
4. Robert Kubica (POL/BMW Sauber) 21.945
5. Nick Heidfeld (GER/BMW Sauber) 38.741
6. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Renault) 53.724
7. Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull) 1:04.229
8. Nico Rosberg (GER/Williams) 1:11.406
