2008 European GP: Massa wins in Valencia despite pit-lane trouble

Felipe Massa won the first Grand Prix on the new Valencia Street Circuit for Ferrari. He started from pole, set the fastest lap and crossed the line 5.611 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren. Robert Kubica finished third for BMW Sauber. Massa settled the race in the second stint, when he pulled clear. After that, the only drama came away from the track: following a risky pit stop, he had to wait until after the race to know whether his win would stand. You can find all the times and data on our 2008 European GP race page.

The top three got away cleanly. Massa led into the first corner, where Hamilton had to defend second place from Kubica. Behind them, Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren took fourth from Kimi Räikkönen. According to grandprix.com, Nico Rosberg (Williams) was the only driver to start on the softer tyre compound. Rubens Barrichello (Honda) and Adrian Sutil (Force India) started from the pit lane.

Further back, there was trouble. Kazuki Nakajima ran into the back of the Renault of Fernando Alonso and tore off his rear wing. Renault tried to repair the car, but Alonso had to retire. The results list him with zero laps and the status of collision. Nakajima pitted for a new nose and carried on. David Coulthard (Red Bull) also spun in the opening phase. According to grandprix.com, he also touched Sutil on lap 8 while fighting for 14th place and spun a second time.

Massa steadily extended his lead at the front. grandprix.com tracked the gap: 3.6 seconds on lap 10, 4.4 seconds on lap 23 and 8.4 seconds on lap 31. Kubica couldn't quite match the leaders in the first stint because, according to grandprix.com, debris had become caught on his car, which the team planned to remove at the first stop. He kept his position nonetheless.

The lead changed hands several times during the first round of stops. Massa was the first of the front-runners to pit. Hamilton then led from lap 15, Kubica from lap 17 and Kovalainen, who stayed out longer, from lap 18. From lap 20, Massa was back in front. According to Autosport, he was up to 0.7 seconds per lap faster than Hamilton in the middle stint, building a lead of around ten seconds.

During the second round of stops, Hamilton briefly led again from lap 37, but Massa was back ahead from lap 39. He was never threatened again before the finish. Hamilton closed to within 5.611 seconds, while Kubica in third was already 37.353 seconds behind.

Ferrari almost threw the win away in the pit lane. At the second stop, the team released Massa directly in front of Sutil's Force India. Massa lifted in the narrow pit exit, and there was no contact. The stewards postponed the investigation until after the race. That meant Massa no longer faced a drive-through penalty, but his win was still at risk. In the end, according to Wikipedia, they fined Ferrari €10,000. Massa was allowed to keep the win because he had gained no sporting advantage from the unsafe release.

Räikkönen fared even worse. At his second stop, he pulled away while the fuel hose was still attached. A rear wheel struck his refueller, who was taken to the medical centre. According to Wikipedia, the mechanic, Pietro Timpini, suffered a minor fracture. Räikkönen continued, but shortly afterwards his engine blew on the start/finish straight. Officially, he retired after 45 laps with engine failure. grandprix.com suspects that the engine overheated during the long stop. The stewards also looked into Räikkönen's stop.

Only three drivers retired in total:

• Fernando Alonso (Renault): collision with Nakajima on the first lap, zero laps completed.
• Adrian Sutil (Force India): crash after 41 laps. According to grandprix.com, he locked up under braking, clipped the wall while taking avoiding action and broke his right-front suspension.
• Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari): engine failure after 45 laps.

The biggest winner in the field was Timo Glock. Running a one-stop strategy in the Toyota, he climbed from 13th on the grid to seventh, gaining six places. His team-mate Jarno Trulli gained two places to finish fifth. Sebastian Vettel had put the Toro Rosso sixth on the grid, according to Wikipedia the team's best grid position up to that point. He finished sixth to collect three points. Rosberg took the final point in eighth, ahead of Nick Heidfeld in the second BMW Sauber.

Further back, Nelson Piquet Jr. in eleventh and Giancarlo Fisichella in 14th place each gained four places. It wasn't enough for points. The big loser was Räikkönen, who came away empty-handed as defending champion. After his clash with Alonso, Nakajima dropped from eleventh on the grid to 15th.

In the championship, the race was an important step for Massa. He moved up to second and, on 64 points, was just six behind Hamilton, who stayed in front with 70 points. Räikkönen dropped to third on 57 points, just ahead of Kubica on 55. In the constructors' championship, Ferrari extended their lead to 121 points over McLaren (113), with BMW Sauber next on 96. You can find all the tables in the 2008 standings.

It was Massa's fourth win of the season and the ninth of his career. It also ended a run of three consecutive McLaren wins. With pole, victory and the fastest lap, a 1:38.708 on lap 36, he had the perfect day in Valencia. The first Formula 1 race on the harbourside street circuit gave the championship a new venue. For tyre supplier Bridgestone, according to Wikipedia, it was the 200th Grand Prix since 1997.