2008 Turkish GP: Massa's hat-trick despite Hamilton's three-stop attack

Felipe Massa won the Turkish Grand Prix for Ferrari on 11 May 2008. He started from pole position and took the chequered flag first, just as he had in 2006 and 2007 at Istanbul Park. Second place went to Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren. He made three pit stops and overtook Massa on track along the way. That made him the only driver to put the Brazilian under serious pressure that day. World Champion Kimi Räikkönen completed the podium in third, having driven almost the entire race with a damaged front wing.

At the finish, Hamilton was 3.779 seconds behind Massa according to the official classification, with Räikkönen 4.271 seconds back.

Massa got away cleanly and into the lead. Hamilton immediately passed his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, who had made a poor start from grid position 2. Räikkönen didn't get away well either. Things got tight on the run to the first corner: his front wing touched Kovalainen's left rear tyre. The Finnish McLaren driver suffered a puncture as a result and had to pit, dropping to the back of the field. Räikkönen carried on with the damaged wing and did not have the nose changed.

Further back, Giancarlo Fisichella braked too late in the Force India and ran into the back of the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima. Fisichella was launched over the Williams and was out on the spot. Nakajima managed to bring his damaged car back to the pits, where he retired. Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) and Adrian Sutil also tangled. Both had to pit: Vettel with a puncture, Sutil for a new front wing. The Safety Car came out and pulled in again at the end of the second lap.

The key question of this race had already been answered on Saturday. Bridgestone was worried that Hamilton's front tyres would overheat on the Istanbul circuit. McLaren therefore planned three stops as a precaution and sent Hamilton into the race on a light fuel load. Ferrari, by contrast, opted for two stops with both cars.

In the opening phase, Hamilton stayed close to Massa, with the pair trading fastest laps. Hamilton made his first stop on lap 16, Massa three laps later. Räikkönen then led briefly until he too pitted. On lap 20 he set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:26.506 – and that with a broken wing.

Then came the highlight of the race: Hamilton had the lighter car and fresher tyres. He caught Massa and passed him around the inside at Turn 12 on lap 24. He then pulled out a lead, 6.3 seconds by lap 30 according to grandprix.com. But it wasn't enough. After his second stop on lap 32, Hamilton rejoined in third behind Räikkönen. Massa took the lead again.

According to grandprix.com, Massa made his second stop on lap 40. That put Räikkönen briefly in front once more, followed by Hamilton, who still had his third stop to come. After that final stop the Briton rejoined behind Massa, but just ahead of Räikkönen. From lap 46 Massa was back in front and never gave up the lead again.

Hamilton and Räikkönen ran nose to tail all the way to the flag, but the order of the top three did not change. Massa had controlled the race. With his overtaking move, Hamilton had shown that McLaren were quick enough that day. In the end, though, the extra stop cost him his chance of victory.

Only three drivers failed to finish:

• Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India): out on lap 1 after running into the back of Nakajima, no laps completed.
• Kazuki Nakajima (Williams): retired after one lap with damage from the same collision.
• Sébastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso): his rear suspension broke after 24 laps. He spun at Turn 12 and got stuck in the gravel trap.

Winner of the day was Nick Heidfeld. He climbed from grid position 9 to 5th place, gaining four places, more than anyone else. Together with Robert Kubica in 4th place, BMW Sauber scored nine points. Nico Rosberg went from grid position 11 to 8th and took the final point. Fernando Alonso (Renault) finished sixth, Mark Webber (Red Bull) seventh.

Loser of the day was Kovalainen. He started from the front row but dropped to the back of the field after his puncture. He then fought his way forward again with plenty of overtaking moves. Having lost a lap because of the extra stop, however, he could only finish 12th, ten places down on where he started. Vettel (grid position 14, finished 17th) and Jarno Trulli in the Toyota (grid position 8, finished 10th) also lost places.

A side note: Rubens Barrichello contested his 257th Grand Prix in Istanbul, according to Honda. That would have beaten Riccardo Patrese's record. How many starts he really had was disputed at the time, however, as not all of them were counted the same way. Barrichello finished fourteenth.

In the 2008 drivers' championship, Räikkönen stayed on top with 35 points after the fifth race of the season, but his lead shrank to seven points. Massa and Hamilton then had 28 points each, with Massa moving up to 2nd place and Hamilton dropping to 3rd. Kubica followed on 24 points, Heidfeld on 20.

In the constructors' championship, Ferrari extended their lead with 63 points. Behind them, BMW Sauber had 44 points, just ahead of McLaren on 42.

Analysis: With a third consecutive win in Istanbul, Massa had firmly made this circuit his own. At the same time, Hamilton was back as the Ferraris' strongest rival and left the race level on points with Massa. A three-way fight between Räikkönen, Massa and Hamilton was emerging at the front, but Kubica was only four points behind the duo. Next up is the 2008 Monaco GP.