Massa wins Spanish Grand Prix
The young Ferrari driver heads towards the top of the points.
Felipe Massa recovers from mechanical problems in Australia's season opener winning his second 2007 Formula One Grand Prix in a row, while Lewis Hamilton lives his dream.
Massa’s confidence is rising and he gave a gutsy display to dominate the 2007 Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona. Massa underlined the speed potential of the Ferrari with his third pole of the season. Massa outpaced reigning World Champion and hometown favorite, Fernando Alonso, and the other Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen, to earn the best spot on the starting grid.
Massa showed value of pole position as Alonso in his McLaren-Mercedes made a better start when the red lights went out. However, from pole position Massa had the inside run to the first corner. With memories of his capitulation in Malaysia still fresh and Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari pits today was a different story. “ I just didn’t want to lose out like I lost out in Malaysia. I was inside, so I just tried to stay there,” said Massa.
This forced Alonso off the track, and the trip through the gravel trap back into the race dropped him to fourth spot, and damaged some of the aerodynamics of his car. “My chance for victory disappeared after the incident at the first corner,” said Alonso. He made up one position when Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari joined the growing list of cars in the garages with mechanical problems.
The other McLaren driver, rookie Lewis Hamilton, continued to show a veteran’s composure and understanding of traffic as he slipped through to second position in the first corner confusion, from fourth spot on the grid. The youngster did not have the pace to challenge Massa but another second place took him to the outright lead in the driver’s championship. Hamilton became the youngest driver to lead the points, displacing team founder Bruce McLaren.
“Things just keep getting better and I continue living my dream,” said Hamilton.
The pits saw plenty of action and excitement. Massa’s Ferrari caught fire during his first pit stop when fuel spilled onto the hot exhausts. Unaware of the drama Massa took off down pit lane with flames trailing the Ferrari. The fire soon burnt itself out, without damaging the car or disrupting Massa’s progress.
Nick Heidfeld and the BMW Sauber team were not so lucky. The team a rare mistake while changing wheels and the car left with the air gun on the wheel and the nut still loose. The nut ended up in the neighbouring Toyota pit, where one of the crew kindly returned it to the BMW team. As Formula One cars have only one wheel nut Heidfeld had to complete a very slow lap just to get the car back to the pits to get a new nut.
America’s Scott Speed had a scary moment in his Ferrari powered Toro Rosso when a rear Bridgestone tire exploded at the fastest point of the circuit. Fortunately, Speed managed to keep the car under control and park the stricken car in the infield
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