Raikkonen Wins Spanish Grand Prix

Spanish Grand Prix

About the only thing exciting about the Spanish Grand Prix was Fernando Alonso scoring second starting position for the race in a car which has been well of the pace. His efforts on Saturday gave his cheering hometown fans the only thing to be happy about as his Renault engine blew up early after the first pit stop.

The Ferrari's of Raikkonen and Massa were no match for the rest of the field as they were in lockstep throughout the race, only losing positions during pit stops. Kimi Raikkonen won the pole and had a dominant race as he led his Ferrari teammate to the checkered flag. Lewis Hamilton drove to a well deserved third place finish after two consecutive poor races. His teammate did not fare so well as Heikki Kovalainen went hard into a tire barrier after a front tire failure. Thankfully he escaped serious injury and will be fit to race next week in Turkey.

What we did see in Spain was a very close race amongst most of the teams as qualifying times were within a few tenths of each other and all eight point scoring positions finished on the lead lap. Seven different teams scored points in the race, unusual for a Formula 1 race. BMW proved strong again as Robert Kubica outpaced his teammate Nick Heidfeld and finish right behind Hamilton in fourth place. Points also were also scored for Red Bull, Honda, Williams and Toyota.

Well its on to Turkey for what should be a more eventful race on a track where there may actually be some passing for position. A relatively new track with some good corners for overtaking, should produce more action, even among the top runners. Congratulations to Kimi Raikkonen and team Ferrari for another dominant performance and hoping that we get a new winning team in the not to distant future in Formula 1.

Spanish Grand Prix

Massa Wins F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain

Formula 1

BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica won the pole position but Felipe Massa of Ferrari won the race in convincing fashion in the Grand Prix of Bahrain. Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari finished second and Kubica third to round out the podium.

The surprise of the weekend was the lackluster performance of team McClaren as they seemed never to have the speed required to run up front. Lewis Hamilton qualified third but a poor start found him way behind after one lap and then his opportunity to finish in the points were dashed when he ran into Alonso's Renualt on lap two. With a new nose con replaced he could not muster enough speed to score points while teammate Heikki Kovalainen languished in 5th place all race long.

By winning in Bahrain Massa has temporarily gotten a reprieve from the Italian press for his poor start to the 2008 season. When you are a Ferrari driver you are expected to either win the race or finish well in the points. With team mate Raikkonen the favored driver and reigning world champ, Massa is under the most intense pressure. Even though he is in his third season as a Ferrari driver, most F1 people still find it hard to believe he is driving for the team. Now the biggest rumor is that Fernando Alonso is on his way to Ferrari next year if his Renault doesn't perform to his liking.

Well the merry go round of F1 is always full of stories that keep us wondering what will happen next. But a big congratulations goes out to BMW Sauber for winning their first pole and finishing third and fourth in the race. I think we are seeing the gradual progression of teams like BMW, Toyota and Williams as they march closer to the front running teams of Ferrari and McClaren. This improvement of other teams will keep my attention as I will be eager to wake up early Sunday mornings to watch all the races from the upcoming European swing of the F1 Championship.

Formula 1