Planet-F1

A Few Conclusions From Turkey

Tuesday 13th May 2008

Ferrari aren't as far ahead of the chasing pack as initially thought and Giancarlo Fisichella is a airline's dream...

Ferrari Aren't As Dominant As Thought
Ferrari may have won Sunday's Turkish GP but by no means were the Scuderia a dominant force in the grand prix. If Martin Whitmarsh is to believed, Lewis Hamilton was handed a five-second penalty when the Woking were forced to put him onto a three-stop strategy. And yet, he finished only five seconds behind Massa. You do the math. Ferrari have as much thinking to do after Turkey as celebrating.

There Is Hope For Massa
Infamous for his rash decisions and rookie errors, Massa showed an impressive level of maturity this weekend when he resisted the natural urge to block (and maybe take out) Lewis Hamilton in a mutually destructive response as the McLaren driver passed him for the lead. As his race engineer Rob Smedley later admitted, Massa was a rattled by Hamilton's pace and the team was required to calm him down by explaining the race was still his just as long as he kept his head. And kept it he did.

But Kimi Is Still Ferrari's Best Chance For The Title
Massa may have clinched 28 points from a possible 30 in the last three races, but Kimi Raikkonen must still be Ferrari's favourite for the title. The reigning champion damaged his front wing on the opening lap, which prevented him producing his full pace. Nonetheless, he still managed to set the fastest lap time of the race and finished within five seconds of Massa. Oh yes, and he also held onto the lead in the Championship.

BMW Won't Win A Race This Season
Ron Dennis (who has been around F1 longer than I've been alive) predicted it and we should've listened to him. He said BMW would fall off the pace once the F1 circus hit Europe - and fall off the pace they have. After three successive races on the podium at the start of the season, BMW have failed to get a car in the top-three ever since. Robert Kubica, BMW's leading man, has managed back-to-back fourth placed finishes in Spain and Turkey. Fourth place, though, doesn't put you on the podium and as long as three cars from Ferrari and McLaren's four make it to the finish line BMW are going to struggle to get into the top three, never mind win a race.

Turkish GP Officials Need In Kick In The Pants
How in the modern day of security and fencing can not one BUT TWO dogs get onto a race-track? That's a question that could cost the Turkish GP its round of the F1 Championship after two dogs got onto the track during Sunday morning's GP2 race. The result was tragic for the dog and could have been too for Bruno Senna who had the misfortune and horrific experience of hitting it. The Brazilian's car was severely damaged but at least he lived to tell the tale (and in rather colourful language to his pitwall after limping back to his garage). He was lucky. The dog was not.

Force India Have The Best Ad Campaign On The Grid
Ever really looked at a Force India F1 car? Well if you had you'd notice that it has "Fly Kingfisher" written all over it which must be why Giancarlo Fisichella opted to use the start of the Turkish GP as an advertising campaign for his team boss's airline. A real team man, when he hit Kazuki Nakajima, he definitely 'flew' Kingfisher....

McLaren Know How To Keep Their Drivers In-Line
Following Saturday's qualifying a rather irate Lewis Hamilton bemoaned the decision to use the harder option Bridgestone tyres. However, an hour later, after talking with his team, Lewis toed the party line. "Going into Q3 I had to make a decision, and the team rely on me to make that decision," he said. "At the end of the day I'm the one that's out there, and the only one who really knows what's going on. I think we did make the right decision and it was the best tyre I could have used." You have to hand it to McLaren! They're learning.

Michelle Foster