Silverstone, England (Sports Network) - Kimi Raikkonen is beginning to show
the world why he was hired by Ferrari capturing Sunday's British Grand Prix
Formula One race at the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit for his second
consecutive win. The No.6 Ferrari driver crossed the finish line 2.459 seconds
ahead of Fernando Alonso.
The victory was Raikkonen's third of the season and 12th of his F1 career.
The action started even before the green flag dropped when Felipe Massa
stalled on the grid and had to start from pit lane which left in last place.
Local hero Lewis Hamilton, the favorite after his pole victory, had a fight on
his hands right from the start. He had to fend off Raikkonen at the first
corner of the first lap (Copse). Which Hamilton did.
Meanwhile, Massa was flying and after just four laps had passed eight cars.
Hamilton's lead over Raikkonen was one second after four laps, but the Finn
was hanging tough. On lap five he was faster and cut into Hamilton's lead.
Raikkonen set "fastest lap" on lap eight to further cut into the Englishman's
lead. Lap eight also saw the first retirement (Mark Webber) and Massa, still
on a charge, cracked the top-10.
Hamilton reset "fastest lap" on lap 11 to open the lead back up to one second.
On the next lap Massa set "fastest lap," but his error on the starting grid
left him still 27 seconds behind Hamilton.
Raikkonen closed right onto Hamilton's rear bumper and he shadowed him around
the old World War II airport course.
Hamilton pitted on lap 16, a little earlier than normal, probably because he
was struggling with his handling. A tiny pit lane error for Hamilton, he
almost jumped the gun and left his pit too early.
Raikkonen is really fast and puts up a lap of 1:20.638 to build on his lead.
He pits one lap later and when he returns to the track he has done enough to
stay ahead of Hamilton.
Alonso pits and he comes out ahead of both Raikkonen and Hamilton. The pit
error has cost Hamilton two positions.
All the leaders have made their first stops by lap 22 and Alonso owns a
3.2-second lead on Raikkonen and 6.0 seconds on Hamilton. It seems as if
McLaren has short-pitted Alonso to get him the lead.
Alonso's laps are faster than both Raikkonen and Hamilton and he is building
the margin on each lap. The race is half over and Alonso holds 4.4 seconds on
Raikkonen and 11.6 seconds on his McLaren teammate Hamilton.
Alonso continues to build the margin, but will he have to pit before Raikkonen
and Hamilton and can they take advantage when he does?
Alonso does pit first, on lap 37, and Raikkonen inherits the lead. The Ferrari
driver has clean air and builds the lead to 27.9 seconds on Alonso which
should be enough to make his final stop and keep the lead
Raikkonen pits on lap 42 and his stop takes just 6.6 seconds. He makes the
drive down pit lane and returns to the track still in the lead of the British
Grand Prix. Only a mental mistake or a mechanical failure could keep Raikkonen
from the win.
Raikkonen's lead on lap 50 is 6.4 seconds over Alonso and 36.0 seconds over
Hamilton. The Ferrari driver cruises to the win.
Hamilton, Robert Kubica, Massa, Nick Heidfeld, Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo
Fisichella completed the points-scoring positions.
A ninth consecutive podium finish for Hamilton leaves him with a 12-point lead
in the drivers championship (70-58).
The second half of the F1 season will begin on Sunday, July 22nd at the German
Grand Prix.