Massa maestro of Turkey

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro's
Turkish GP
Istanbul, 11th May

Felipe Massa secured Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro's fourth win from five races this season, his second this year, to take a hat-trick of Turkish Grand Prix victories. Starting from fourth on the grid, Kimi Raikkonen also put in a strong drive to come home third, joining his team-mate and second placed Lewis Hamilton on the podium. With the quarter point of the season now passed, the numbers tell the story: Ferrari heads the Constructors' table on 63 points, nineteen points ahead of BMW Sauber, Kimi is still up at the top of the Drivers' classification on 35, with Felipe now moving up to second, seven points behind the Finn.

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Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Turkish GP - The race

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Turkish GP - The race
Istanbul, 11th May

F. Massa: 1st 1:26.49.541 58 laps chassis 267
K. Raikkonen: 3rd 1:26.53.722 + 4.271 58 laps chassis 270

Weather: air temperature 20 °C, track temperature 28/29 °C, partially cloudy then sunny

Fourth consecutive win of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, the second for Felipe Massa. This is victory number 205 from 763 Grand Prix starts for Ferrari, the seventh from 93 starts for Felipe.

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Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 2008 Turkish Grand Prix

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
2008 Turkish Grand Prix
Istanbul, Sunday 11th May 2008

Lewis Hamilton MP4-23 04
Heikki Kovalainen MP4-23 05

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton finished the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul in second place. After 58 laps (309.396kms), he came home 3.7 seconds behind winner Felipe Massa. Lewis’s team mate Heikki Kovalainen had to make an unscheduled stop on lap two (8.4 seconds) following a coming-together at the first corner with Kimi Raikkonen and ended up 12th. Lewis was on a three-stop strategy and came in on laps 16 (6.4 seconds), 32 (6.2 seconds) and 45 (5.9 seconds). Heikki made his planned stops on lap 27 (9.9 seconds) and 50 (6.2 seconds). After the fifth of 18 Grands Prix, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is third in the Constructors’ Championship with 42 points; Ferrari leads with 63 points. Lewis is third in the drivers’ rankings with 28 points; Heikki is sixth with 14 points. Räikkönen leads with 35 points.

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Red Bull Racing Turkish GP 2008 - RACE

Red Bull Racing
Turkish GP 2008 - RACE
Istanbul, Sunday 11th May 2008

FOURTH CONSECUTIVE POINTS FINISH

CHRISTIAN HORNER:
"Mark was mainly racing against Fernando (Alonso) today and was very close to out running him at the first pit stop; I think he missed out by half a second, which was unfortunate. Seventh was ultimately the outcome and we collected a fourth consecutive points finish. David lost a position to (Nico) Rosberg on the first lap and spent the rest of the afternoon chasing him. He looked quicker, but unfortunately we couldn't out run him through strategy today, and David finished an always frustrating ninth. We're pleased to have maintained our one hundred per cent reliability record after another promising weekend."

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Panasonic Toyota Racing Turkish Grand Prix - Race Round-Up

Panasonic Toyota Racing
Turkish Grand Prix - Race Round-Up
Sunday 11 May 2008

Today's Weather: Cloudy, air 17-18°C, track 27-36°C
Constructors' Championship Points: 9 (6th)
Drivers' Championship Points: Jarno Trulli 9 (8th)

Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal
"Friday's practice session went well and we found a good set-up but for the rest of the weekend the pace of the car was not quick enough. There is still a big gap between our performance and that of the front teams so that is the main reason for our result today. Of course Timo was not helped by his mechanical problem in qualifying. Then today both cars lost ground at the start so we will have to investigate that further when we get back to the factory. Those issues meant that the two cars were stuck in traffic for most of the race. But now we must improve our performance and aim for a better result next time."

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AT&T Williams Turkish Grand Prix – Race

AT&T Williams
Turkish Grand Prix – Race
ISTANBUL, TURKEY
SUNDAY 11 MAY, 2008

58 LAPS, 309.396kms / 192.250 miles
WEATHER: Sunny with some cloud
Air 17 - 180C, Track 27 - 360C

The Turkish Grand Prix yielded a valuable point for the AT&T Williams team today as Nico Rosberg drove a determined race to bring his Williams-Toyota FW30 home in eighth place at Istanbul Park. Nico capitalized on a good start, gaining three places from 11th on the grid within the first three laps. Having defended his position throughout the race, Nico’s result was his best to date in Turkey. Meanwhile, Kazuki Nakajima suffered the first DNF of his Formula One career today when he was forced to retire following a first corner incident.

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May 10, 2008 8:39 AM

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Turkish GP - Qualifying session

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Turkish GP - Qualifying session
Istanbul, 10th May 2008

Qualifying session

F.Massa: 1st 1.27.617 6 Laps Chassis 267
K.Raikkonen: 4th 1.27.936 6 Laps Chassis 270
Weather: air temperature 19/21 °C, track temperature 27/32 °C, partially cloudy.

Third pole position of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, the second for Felipe Massa. The Istanbul circuit continues to be propitious for the Brazilian driver, as this is the third consecutive time that he has been quickest in qualifying for this race. It was Felipe's eleventh career pole, bringing to 198 the number of times that the Scuderia has started from the top position on the grid. "A very nice pole from Felipe and a shame for Kimi who could have been a bit further up the grid tomorrow," said Team Principal of the Gestione Sportiva, Stefano Domenicali - "In general terms we can be happy with the overall result, even if this is only the smallest step on the road to the targets we set ourselves for this weekend. Of course the biggest one is the race which we can tackle fully confident of our potential, while being aware of the great strengths of our rivals, who will make our life difficult."

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Panasonic Toyota Racing Turkish Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up

Panasonic Toyota Racing
Turkish Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
Saturday 10 May 2008

Today's Weather: Cloudy, air 14-17°C, track 21-32°C
Best 2008 grid position: 3rd, Jarno Trulli (Malaysia)
Best 2008 race result: 4th, Jarno Trulli (Malaysia)

Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis
"That was a very shaky qualifying session after a weekend that had been going smoothly so far. Timo in particular had been having a good weekend, consistently running well with no set-up problems. He was fast and heading for a top ten position. Unfortunately in the second run of Q2 we had a problem with the front right wheel drive pegs that still has to be fully analysed. He could make it back to the pits but he was definitely unable to finish a quick lap. So we will have to investigate exactly what has happened with him. Jarno did his usual great job - even if he only just made the top ten after his second outing in Q2 did not go as expected. Still, I remain confident that we are in a good position for the race. This is probably the first time this season that the tyre choice is not straightforward so we will see a mix of tyre strategies tomorrow."

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Red Bull Racing Turkish GP 2008 - Qualifying

Red Bull Racing
Turkish GP 2008 - Qualifying

CHRISTIAN HORNER:
"A strong team performance in this morning's practice was converted into solid grid positions this afternoon for tomorrow's race. Mark used his head in the final session (Q3) and aborted a lap he wasn't entirely happy with, which meant he saved a lap of fuel. He then did an excellent lap and extracted everything from the car on option tyres to get P6. David did an excellent job to get comfortably through to Q3. As he had no soft tyres left for his final run, we were always adopting a strategic game with him. It was a strong team performance."

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AT&T Williams Turkish GP Qualifying

AT&T Williams
Turkish GP Qualifying

Istanbul, Turkey
5.338kms / 3.317 miles
WEATHER: Clear and sunny
Air: 16 - 180C, Track: 28 - 360C

AT&T Williams’ qualifying effort for the Turkish Grand Prix concluded with neither driver able to make it into the top ten shoot out today. As a result, Nico Rosberg will line up on the grid in 11th place for tomorrow’s race, while team mate, Kazuki Nakajima, will take to the eighth row and 16th position. Both will have the advantage of now selecting an optimum strategy.

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May 9, 2008 7:30 AM

Raikkonen: "I am finding my job easier this year"

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Istanbul, 8th May

Kimi Raikkonen, the winner of the last Grand Prix in Barcelona a fortnight ago arrived at the Istanbul Park circuit, where he won three years ago and as usual on a Thursday, he had his regular pre-weekend meeting with the media, admitting that he was more comfortable at Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro than last year. "For sure, I am finding my job easier this year as it is my second season with Ferrari," said the Finn. "The longer you work with people the more you understand them and how they operate, what they want to do and what they expect from you. Of course, the car is different this year, but the rest of the environment is the same and we know how to get the best out of the car."

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Massa: "very close between me and Kimi"

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Istanbul, 8th May

Felipe Massa is well known in Turkey now and his local fans would have been pleased to hear his opening remarks at this afternoon's press conference, at the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro media unit: "I love this track and why wouldn't I as I have won here for the past two years!" began the Brazilian. "It is great fun to drive especially the quick sections. Having won here before it gives me a lot of confidence. I can't explain why I have done well here particularly. Yes, I like it, but I also like other circuits and I am quick at other circuits."

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Red Bull Racing Turkish GP 2008 - Free Practice 1 & 2

Red Bull Racing
Turkish GP 2008 - Free Practice 1 & 2

DAVID COULTHARD
1st Practice Position: 17 Best Time: 1:30.340 Laps: 13 Chassis No: 3
2nd Practice Position: 4 Best Time: 1:27.763 Laps: 24 Chassis No: 3

MARK WEBBER
1st Practice Position: 16 Best Time: 1:30.088 Laps: 21 Chassis No: 4
2nd Practice Position: 19 Best Time: 1:29.633 Laps: 4 Chassis No: 4

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Panasonic Toyota Racing Turkish Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up

Panasonic Toyota Racing
Turkish Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Friday 9 May 2008

Today's Weather: Cloudy and cool with showers at lunch, air 12-16°C, track 18-25°C
Toyota's Best Turkish GP qualifying: 5th, Jarno Trulli 2005, Ralf Schumacher 2006
Toyota's Best Turkish GP race result: 6th, Jarno Trulli 2005

The TF108 has further aerodynamic improvements this weekend following the major step taken for the Spanish Grand Prix a fortnight ago.

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