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World champion Kimi Raikkonen claimed Ferrari’s 200th pole position as he and team-mate Felipe Massa locked out the front row. The qualifying session at Magny-Cours became a private duel between the Scuderia pair, with each setting the quickest time around the 2.741-mile race track.

Massa initially set the pace with his impressive Q1 and Q2 performance but in the session that matter the most – the top ten shootout – it was Raikkonen who took the honours with a lap time of one minute, 16.449 seconds.

Even though Lewis Hamilton was third fastest, the McLaren driver has be demoted ten places following his pit-lane incident in the Canadian Grand Prix a fortnight ago. So lining up behind the red cars will be Fernando Alonso in the Renault.

Toyota’s Jarno Trulli also moves up a place and will join the double world champion on row two.

Heikki Kovalainen lines up in fifth place for McLaren ahead of Montreal winner Robert Kubica. The championship leader seemed to lack the outright pace compare to Ferrari and McLaren, which is a surprise as you would expect the BMW Sauber to continue that winning performance after Canada… Both Kubica and team-mate Nick Heidfeld (who is down in eleventh) will experience a difficult race on Sunday with these low grid positions.

Red Bull Racing takes up row four with Mark Webber edging ahead of team-mate David Coulthard, despite being slowed on his first Q3 lap when Trulli had a spin in his path at the 180 corner.

Timo Glock will start the French Grand Prix in ninth alongside the under-pressure Renault driver of Nelson Piquet. The Brazilian needs to put in a solid performance after seven disappointing races. His future at the team hangs in balance if he suffers another non-finish.

Sunday’s French Grand Prix will provide some interesting stories especially in the drivers’ championship. Kubica currents leads with 42 points but can Kimi Raikkonen (who is down in fourth in the standings) ignite his season campaign with race victory? What about Massa? Can the Brazilian challenge his Ferrari team-mate? And as for Hamilton, the British driver needs to take big risks by overtaking several cars if he wants to score big.

In addition, there is a small possibility of rain heading to Circuit de Nevers on race day. So will Lewis benefit the bad weather to his advantage with his low grid position? Lets wait and see.

Qualifying times from Magny-Cours:

1. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 1:16.449
2. Felipe Massa, Ferrari 1:16.490
3. Fernando Alonso, Renault 1:16.840
4. Jarno Trulli, Toyota 1:16.920
5. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren 1:16.944
6. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber 1:17.037
7. Mark Webber, Red Bull 1:17.233
8. David Coulthard, Red Bull 1:17.426
9. Timo Glock, Toyota 1:17.596
10. Nelson Piquet, Renault 1:15.770
11. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber 1:15.786
12. Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso 1:15.816
13. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren 1:16.693*
14. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso? 1:16.045
15. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams 1:16.243
16. Jenson Button, Honda 1:16.306
17. Rubens Barrichello, Honda? 1:16.330
18. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India? 1:16.971
19. Adrian Sutil, Force India? 1:17.053
20. Nico Rosberg, Williams 1:16.235*

* Ten-place grid penalty following the pit-lane crash at Montreal

Twelve months on after his horrific crash, Robert Kubica claimed his maiden win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Kubica led home his team-mate Nick Heidfeld, giving BMW Sauber both their first victory and first one-two as a full Formula 1 constructor.

It had been a remarkable turnaround for the Polish driver following a year on from his atrocious crash at the street circuit. His debut victory for BMW – the manufacturer’s first since taking over Peter Sauber’s team back in 2006 – means Robert now heads the drivers’ standings for the first time in his Grand Prix career.

David Coulthard finished in an excellent third position for Red Bull Racing despite issues with his brakes. The Scot avoided all the chaos and made a decisive pit stop during the Safety Car period to take his place on the podium. It was DC’s first top three finish since the Monaco Grand Prix back in 2006.

The podium finishers all benefitted from the race’s most dramatic moment, when championship leader Lewis Hamilton crashed into the back of Kimi Raikkonen in the pits!

Prior to the bizarre incident, Hamilton was on course for a dominant victory. The McLaren driver led away from pole position and was pulling away with ease from Kubica and Raikkonen in the early laps. But when Adrian Sutil parked his Force India on the entrance to Turn 3 on lap 17, race control decided to deploy the Safety Car.

All of the leading runners headed to the pits to take advantage of the caution period. Hamilton came into the pit lane first but a poor pit-stop by the McLaren mechanics meant he lost ground to Raikkonen and Kubica. The Ferrari and BMW then dutifully halted at the pit lane exit because the red light was flashing away to signal the drivers NOT to return back onto the race circuit. It was at this moment Hamilton ploughed into the back of the Ferrari!

As for Nico Rosberg – who gained fourth position after passing Fernando Alonso’s Renault at the first corner – the Williams driver also got caught out in the pit exit mayhem! Unlike Raikkonen and Hamilton, though, Rosberg was able to continue after a second stop for repairs. He would later on finish in tenth.

That incident in the pits and the Safety Car period meant that the midfields runners were able to score big in this dramatic Canadian Grand Prix.

Toyota opted for a single pit stop for both of its drivers and at the chequered flag, Timo Glock broke his 2008 duck with fourth – two places ahead of team-mate Jarno Trulli.

Split between the Japanese cars was Felipe Massa in the sole remaining Ferrari. The Brazilian had a topsy-turvy afternoon behind the wheel of his F2008. First, a miscommunication from his team meant he had to make an extra pit stop during the Safety Car period (the Ferrari mechanics had the wrong fuel pump for him). Then he lost even more ground when Felipe had to make a late ‘splash-and-dash’ pit stop with 18 laps to go.

This was frustrating for Massa, as the Ferraris had the speed to match the McLarens in race trim. Still, this didn’t hinder the Brazilian in terms of pulling off some fantastic overtaking manoeuvres, in particular on lap 50 when he passed both Rubens Barrichello and Heikki Kovalainen in one go!

Actually, Kovalainen was caught out by the fragile track surface at the hairpin (the scene in which many drivers were voicing their concerns to the race organisers). Heikki slid wide with Barrichello and that allow Massa to slip through down the inside. The Finn then spent the remaining part of the race in a huge battle with the Honda and Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel for the final point-scoring positions. But in the end, Heikki was unable to pass Vettel and finished in ninth.

Rosberg completed the top ten after his early delay in the pits, finishing ahead of Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Sebastien Bourdais.

His Williams team-mate Kazuki Nakajima was heading for another strong result but had to retire after damaging his front wing on the rear of Button’s Honda. The dislodged wing then wedged under the front of the Williams and sent it into the wall in the pit entrance.

As for Renault, it was a bad day for Flavio Briatore as Nelson Piquet Jr. was forced to retire after spinning while chasing team-mate Alonso. The double world champion also spun when trying to pass Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber. Alonso blamed the crumbling track surface when he hit the wall on lap 45.

Giancarlo Fisichella became the final retirement when he crashed his Force India on the way out of Turn 4.

So a fantastic result for Robert Kubica. His breakthrough victory after 28 races is a great achievement. I bet Mario Theissen, the team principal, is feeling ecstatic with this result, but I do feel sorry for Nick Heidfeld though. The German was unable to make use of his heavy-fuelled car in the middle stint of the race and that elusive win for Nick will come soon.

Kubica now leads the drivers’ standings with 42 points, four points ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa. BMW Sauber now moves into second position in the constructors’ championship, three points behind leader Ferrari and 17 points ahead of McLaren-Mercedes.

Canadian Grand Prix result – 70 laps

1. Kubica BMW Sauber 1h36:24.447
2. Heidfeld BMW Sauber +16.495
3. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault +23.352
4. Glock Toyota +42.627
5. Massa Ferrari +43.934
6. Trulli Toyota +47.775
7. Barrichello Honda +53.597
8. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari +54.120
9. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes +54.433
10. Rosberg Williams-Toyota +54.749
11. Button Honda +1:07.540
12. Webber Red Bull-Renault +1:11.299
13. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:17.387

Not classified/retirements:

Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 54 laps
Nakajima Williams-Toyota 49 laps
Alonso Renault 47 laps
Piquet Renault 42 laps
Raikkonen Ferrari 20 laps
Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 20 laps
Sutil Force India-Ferrari 14 laps

World Championship standings, round 7:

Drivers:

1. Kubica 42
2. Hamilton 38
3. Massa 38
4. Raikkonen 35
5. Heidfeld 28
6. Kovalainen 15
7. Webber 15
8. Trulli 12
9. Alonso 9
10. Rosberg 8
11. Nakajima 7
12. Coulthard 6
13. Vettel 5
14. Barrichello 5
15. Glock 5
16. Button 3
7. Bourdais 2

Constructors:

1. Ferrari 73
2. BMW Sauber 70
3. McLaren-Mercedes 53
4. Red Bull-Renault 21
5. Toyota 17
6. Williams-Toyota 15
7. Renault 9
8. Honda 8
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7

Next race: French Grand Prix, Magny-Cours. June 20-22.

UPDATE: Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will lose ten places on the grid at the French Grand Prix following their pit lane incident in Canada.

Hamilton crashed into the back of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen at the end of the pit lane on lap 20, when the Finn braked to stop in front of the red light. The Briton said he saw the light too late and could not avoid hitting the Ferrari.

Both men retired in the accident.

Rosberg could not stop in time either and hit Hamilton from behind, although the Williams driver was able to continue in the race.

Both Hamilton and Rosberg will be hit with a 10-place grid penalty in France in two weeks’ time.

Lewis Hamilton is on target by repeating his maiden victory at the Canadian Grand Prix after taking a stunning pole position at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The McLaren driver was easily the fastest around the race track after topping the time sheets in both session one and two of qualifying. His pole position lap of one minute, 17. 886 seconds was over half a second quicker than his nearest rival, the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica. It was Hamilton’s eighth career pole, his second this season.

Sharing the front row is Kubica. It was a remarkable performance from the Polish driver, especially after his horrific crash twelve months ago. Robert would have shocked the Formula One paddock with his late charge for pole position, but second is still a great achievement for the team and driver.

Race favourites Ferrari could only manage third and sixth. World champion Kimi Raikkonen struggled for grip on a track that was breaking up and the Finn will start the race in third, nearly a second adrift from championship rival Hamilton.

Team-mate Felipe Massa was unable to continue his impressive qualifying form and will line up in sixth. Between the red cars are double world Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Nico Rosberg (Williams), fourth and fifth respectively.

Hamilton’s McLaren colleague Heikki Kovalainen lines up in seventh with Nick Heidfeld – again out-qualified by team-mate Kubica – in eighth.

Honda’s Rubens Barrichello took ninth spot while Mark Webber was unable to take part in the final part of qualifying after damaging his car at the end of the previous session.

The Red Bull driver has expressed his concerns to the race organisers about the state of the circuit and there are question marks whether the Grand Prix will take place due to the deteriorating nature of the track’s surface.

Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix could well be very unpredictable, even if the outside chance of rain doesn’t materialise.

Qualifying times from Montreal:

1. HAMILTON McLaren 1:17.886
2. KUBICA BMW 1:18.498
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:18.735
4. ALONSO Renault 1:18.746
5. ROSBERG Williams 1:18.844
6. MASSA Ferrari 1:19.048
7. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1:19.089
8. HEIDFELD BMW 1:19.633
9. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:20.848
10. WEBBER Red Bull 1:17.523
11. GLOCK Toyota 1:18.031
12. NAKAJIMA Williams 1:18.062
13. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:18.238
14. TRULLI Toyota 1:18.327
15. PIQUET Renault 1:18.393
16. SUTIL Force India 1:19.108
17. FISICHELLA Force India 1:19.165
18. BUTTON Honda 1:23.565
19. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1:18.916*
20. VETTEL Toro Rosso No time

*Five-place grid penalty for gearbox change

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton achieved his life-long ambition by winning the Monaco Grand Prix in a thrilling race in tricky weather conditions. He survived a brush against the Armco barrier on lap five exiting the Tabac corner and went on to take an all-important win. Hamilton’s second victory of the season (the sixth in his Grand Prix career) came at the perfect time to take the championship lead.

Robert Kubica beat pole-sitter Felipe Massa in the rain-affected race with second position thanks to pitting onto the groove (dry slicks) Bridgestone at the right time. Despite locking out the front row, the Ferraris made the wrong strategy call in the race and suffered the consequences. This was especially true for world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who was given a drive-through penalty for making his tyre decision at the start of the race too late… and then crashing his F2008 against other cars.

The Finn even took out the impressive Adrian Sutil in the Force India after losing control under braking for the chicane… At that point, Sutil was driving faultlessly around the streets of the Principality, staying out of trouble and gaining places after starting from the back of the grid. Force India were looking good with fourth position in the remaining laps of the Grand Prix until that moment with the world champion…

The collision meant Mark Webber (for Red Bull) and Sebastian Vettel (in the sister team that of Toro Rosso) to complete the top five. Honda’s Rubens Barrichello profited from all the incidents in this dramatic Monaco Grand Prix with a fine sixth – bringing an end to his nightmare 22 race points drought which stretched back to the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Kazuki Nakajima kept out of trouble to finish seventh for Williams (competing in the team’s 600th Grand Prix), while Heikki Kovalainen managed to score the final point despite stalling his McLaren on the parade lap.

Before the race even began, several drivers were concerned about the weather conditions. Without traction control, it was extremely difficult to stay on the track. Even though the rain is a great variety in levelling out the playing field – by which the mid-field teams can score big – it was still a challenge for all the Formula One drivers to control over 700 brake horsepower around a twisty and narrow street circuit. So making the right call in starting on which Bridgestone was the key question.

With three minutes before the start of the race, the drivers and teams made the decision to start on intermediates. But unfortunately, Raikkonen made the choice too late and was given a drive-through penalty for this mistake.

As the red five lights flicked off, Hamilton made a clean getaway from third on the grid to move ahead of Raikkonen as the cars heading into Saint Devote. Leading from the front was Massa and at this early stage of the race, the Brazilian was the quickest.

On lap five while running second, Lewis made an error on approaching the Swimming Pool complex. The McLaren went into oversteer and he brush the Armco barrier with his right-rear tyre. This resulted in a puncture for Lewis but luckily he made it back to pits and was able to continue (without losing too many positions). During this pit stop to replace the damage Bridgestone, the McLaren mechanics decided to switch strategy and fuelled Hamilton’s car with more fuel. This gave the advantage to them over Ferrari in the outcome of the race.

The safety car made its first appearance on lap seven after a series of incidents at Casino Square. First double world champion Fernando Alonso tagged the wall and – like Hamilton – destroyed his rear-right tyre but he managed to make it back to the pits and continue. Moments later, David Coulthard (in the Red Bull) slid into the same barrier, and was then collected mid-crash by Sebastien Bourdais (in the sister Toro Rosso), who was having an accident of his own! Both cars were out on the spot.

Alonso took the opportunity to switch to the extreme wets during his stop for repairs and that gave him that extra pace to challenge the other cars when the race resumed following three laps under the safety car.

Unfortunately, his charge with a better-spec wet tyre resulted in him tangling into BMW’s Nick Heidfeld in the Hotel Hairpin (formerly known as Loews), breaking his Renault’s front wing and forcing Heidfeld to pit with a puncture.

Nico Rosberg also lost his wing in an incident with Kovalainen in a traffic jam behind the interlocking BMW and Renault in the tight hairpin.

At this point, a message flashed on to the timing screens from Formula One Management (FOM) that car number one (Kimi Raikkonen) will need to serve a drive-through penalty. The Iceman took this after the restart – losing him time and position – but he would lose even more when he missed his braking point at Sainte Devote breaking his front wing.

Team-mate Felipe Massa also had a moment at the first corner, though the Brazilian didn’t hit the barrier and was able to continue. By then Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber took the lead of the Monaco Grand Prix. The Pole couldn’t shake off the Brazilian, and when the Ferrari stayed out six laps longer than Kubica before its first pit stop, Massa was able to get back in front of the BMW Sauber. But both were behind Lewis Hamilton, however…

Initially the McLaren driver was dropping away from the pair due to running with a heavy fuel load, but as his car lightened and the track began to dry out, Lewis was setting purple sectors. He was lapping between one and three seconds faster than Massa during the middle part of the race.

By the time Hamilton made his final pit stop and took on dry groove Bridgestone on lap 53, his lead over second-place was nearly 40 seconds. He had no problems rejoining the race up front.

The expected second phase of the rain shower didn’t arrive and McLaren made the right call to bring in Hamilton with the correct tyre selection. Robert Kubica also benefitted by switching to ‘slicks’ and gained a place over Felipe Massa. Ferrari made a mistake by delaying the decision to switch to groove tyres for Massa and this ultimately cost them the race.

Behind Hamilton, Kubica and Massa was Adrian Sutil in the Force India. The German was driving a beautiful clean race and gained an advantage when the team chose the perfect moment to change onto the dry tyres. This allowed Sutil to take fourth from Mark Webber who made his tyre call a fraction too soon in the semi-dry track conditions.

Sutil was enjoying the moment battling against world champion Raikkonen and the Red Bull of Webber until Nico Rosberg had a huge crash on the entry to the Swimming Pool section on lap 61 – prompting a second safety car.

This was bad news for Lewis Hamilton. After comfortably stretching his lead to around 40 seconds, the safety car wiped out that time advantage and now Kubica was on his tail. As the race resume with only eleven and a half minutes to go (the race was approaching its two-hour limit), Raikkonen made a silly error in his determination to get past Sutil on the restart.

It seems Kimi lost control under braking on his approach to the sea front chicane. The Finn tried to lose some speed but he couldn’t slow down… Kimi ploughed into the rear of the Force India causing terminal damage to Sutil and ending all hopes for the team and the German.

Raikkonen was able to continue but that incident cost him the championship lead. Ninth position was a disappointing result for the Iceman after a frustrating race.

As the chequered flag fell on the two-hour mark, Lewis Hamilton crossed over the finish line feeling overjoyed. It had been a fantastic drive from the McLaren star and crucially it came at the time after four dominant races from rival Ferrari.

Robert Kubica finished in an excellent second position without making any mistakes in the wet-dry race. Felipe Massa came home in third and even though he started on pole position, it wasn’t a good result for Scuderia. At least Massa should be satisfied to out-perform his team-mate and he is now only a single point behind Raikkonen in the championship standings.

Mark Webber benefitted from the Raikkonen/Sutil incident to take fourth ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who finally scored a result for the new Toro Rosso STR3. Rubens Barrichello finished in sixth ahead of Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams and Heikki Kovalainen in the McLaren.

Behind Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso was tenth for Renault after a series of collisions, followed by Jenson Button, who lost his Honda’s front wing on the opening lap in a brush with Nick Heidfeld. The Toyotas of the three-time spinning Timo Glock(!) and Jarno Trulli came home in P12 and P13 while the last remaining runner was Heidfeld.

Non-finishes were Sutil, Rosberg, Coulthard and Bourdais with Nelson Piquet joining the list of retirements after dropping out of a tough fight with Vettel after brushing a wall. Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella also recorded a DNF in his 200th Grand Prix.

The result of this thrilling race puts Hamilton back in the championship lead with 38 points to Raikkonen’s 35, Massa’s 34 and Kubica’s 32. In the constructors’ standings, Ferrari have 69 to McLaren’s 53 and BMW Sauber’s 52. The battle for the world championship has suddenly come alive again as Formula One heads over the Atlantic to Canada in a fortnight’s time.

Monaco Grand Prix, 76 laps

1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2h00:42.272
2. Kubica BMW Sauber +3.069
3. Massa Ferrari +4.811
4. Webber Red Bull-Renault +19.264
5. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari +24.657
6. Barrichello Honda +28.408
7. Nakajima Williams-Toyota +30.180
8. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes +33.191
9. Raikkonen Ferrari +33.793
10. Alonso Renault +1 lap
11. Button Honda +1 lap
12. Glock Toyota +1 lap
13. Trulli Toyota +1 lap
14. Heidfeld BMW Sauber +4 laps

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:16.689

Not classified/retirements:

Sutil Force India-Ferrari 67 laps
Rosberg Williams-Toyota 58 laps
Piquet Renault 46 laps
Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 37 laps
Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 13 laps
Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 13 laps

World Championship standings, round 6:

Drivers’

1. Hamilton 38
2. Raikkonen 35
3. Massa 34
4. Kubica 32
5. Heidfeld 20
6. Kovalainen 15
7. Webber 15
8. Alonso 9
9. Trulli 9
10. Rosberg 8
11. Nakajima 7
12. Vettel 4
13. Barrichello 3
14. Button 3
15. Bourdais 2

Constructors’

1. Ferrari 69
2. McLaren-Mercedes 53
3. BMW Sauber 52
4. Williams-Toyota 15
5. Red Bull-Renault 15
6. Renault 9
7. Toyota 9
8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6
9. Honda 6

Next race: Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal. June 6-8

Ferrari arrived at Monte Carlo hoping for a much better showing than they managed last season when the McLarens ran rings around them with a perfect 1-2 result. Fast-forward twelve months on, not only have Scuderia improved on form with a quick and reliable car, but Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen locked out the front row of the grid even though the McLarens were the pre-race favourite.

Indeed, Lewis Hamilton was the fastest driver around the streets of the Principality after setting the pace in the Mercedes-powered MP4-23 during opening practice on Thursday. You would expect the team and driver to continue this impressive form into the all-important qualifying session, but it seems their Italian rival have something up its sleeve in terms of outright performance.

With Felipe Massa scoring his third pole position of the season with a lap time of one minute, 15.787 seconds around the tight, twisty and challenging street circuit, it will be fascinating whether McLaren can fight back. World champion Kimi Raikkonen is alongside his team-mate with second position giving Ferrari its first front row start since 1979. By starting at the front, Ferrari will have the advantage in strategy and hopefully can end that winless streak at Monaco after six difficult years.

Championship challenger Lewis Hamilton was disappointed and shocked to only qualify in third. The McLaren driver admitted later on that he was losing time to the red cars in the middle sector of the lap, but he remains optimistic for the race ahead. His team-mate Heikki Kovalainen was only two-tenths of a second slower and will start the race in fourth.

Behind the two top teams in Formula One, Robert Kubica took his customary fifth position for BMW Sauber while Nico Rosberg carried his excellent practice form into qualifying with sixth for Williams. The British squad is celebrating its 600th Grand Prix and team boss Sir Frank Williams is hoping Rosberg can score some championship points in Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Double world champion and two-time Monaco winner Fernando Alonso lines up in seventh for Renault despite a lack of speed and rear-end grip in the R28. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli will start in eighth ahead of the Red Bull pair of Mark Webber and David Coulthard – ninth and tenth respectively.

In Coulthard’s case, the Scot was unable to take part in the top-ten shootout for pole position after losing control of his car under braking at the sea front chicane. The Red Bull locked its rear brakes over a crest in the road and the car pitched right into the Armco and DC became a passenger as the car went out of control down an escape room… Luckily he was unhurt but the Red Bull RB4 suffered heavy damage.

Several drivers’ last efforts in Q2 were affected when Coulthard struck the barrier. That left Nick Heidfeld down in P13 (his worst for 2008), both Hondas (Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, though the latter is under investigation by the race stewards for blocking one of Giancarlo Fisichella’s laps in Q1), Kazuki Nakajima, and Timo Glock.

Nelson Piquet continued to struggle in qualifying after being knocked out in Q1. The Brazilian is under pressure to perform and it didn’t help that he nearly damaged his car when exiting Portier during his fast lap… He will line up 17th on the grid.

Both of Scuderia Toro Rosso’s new cars were also knocked out in the first round. Champ Car star Sebastien Bourdais was unlucky not to make it through, with his last lap just half a tenth slower than Kazuki Nakajima in 15th. Team-mate Sebastian Vettle was one-tenth slower and is in P18.

And bring up the rear, are the Force India drivers of Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella. The 2008 Monaco Grand Prix is Fisichella’s 200th Grand Prix but it was a frustrating session for the Italian. Not only was he given a five-pace penalty for changing the gearbox before qualifying, but he is under investigation over a blocking incident with Honda’s Barrichello…

Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix will be an interesting contest between the top four drivers in Formula One. Felipe Massa might not be a fan of this street circuit but he will have the advantage of having a clear track in front of him. If the Brazilian wins, he will significantly reduce the points gap to world champion Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers’ standings. For Raikkonen, the Finn has to challenge his team-mate for the race victory in order to sustain his championship lead. As for Lewis Hamilton, he wants that ‘dream result’ by winning for the team while McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen is hoping that he has an opportunity to score that elusive first victory after a set-back race in Turkey.

There is a possibility of rain heading to Monte Carlo on Sunday and it should be a dramatic race if the heavens open… Without traction control, it will be a challenging task for the 20 drivers to control 700 brake horsepower around a twisting street circuit for 78 laps… Let’s see what happens on race day!

Monaco Grand Prix grid

1. MASSA Ferrari 1:15.787
2. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:15.815
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1:15.839
4. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1:16.165
5. KUBICA BMW 1:16.171
6. ROSBERG Williams 1:16.548
7. ALONSO Renault 1:16.852
8. TRULLI Toyota 1:17.203
9. WEBBER Red Bull 1:17.343
10. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:15.839
11. GLOCK Toyota 1:15.907
12. BUTTON Honda 1:16.101
13. HEIDFELD BMW 1:16.455
14. NAKAJIMA Williams 1:16.479
15. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:16.537
16. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1:16.806
17. PIQUET Renault 1:16.933
18. SUTIL Force India 1:17.225
19. FISICHELLA Force India 1:17.823*
20. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1:16.955**

* Under investigating for blocking
** Penalised for gearbox change

Felipe Massa once again proved unbeatable at the Istanbul Park circuit with a commanding drive in the winning Ferrari F2008. The Brazilian’s second win of the season places him in striking distance in the world championship honours.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton finished in an excellent second position after driving an aggressive race by running a three-stop strategy. Even though Lewis overtook the race leader Massa on the 24th lap with a brilliant overtaking move, the extra pit stop cost him that race win… But at least the McLaren driver should be satisfied with the result, especially beating the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.

The Finn recovered from a bad start to finish in a close third but his points lead in the drivers’ standing is now reduced to seven points after team-mate Massa latest victory.

As for his fellow countrymen, Heikki Kovalainen suffered a left-rear puncture (possibly caused by Kimi’s front wing endplate piercing his Bridgestone tyre at Turn 1) that resulted him dropping down the field. Heikki did well to recover with some spectacular overtaking manoeuvres but in the end finished a lapped 12th.

The BMW Sauber pair of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finished the 58-lap race in fourth and fifth respectively, though the lack of pace was a worry. That elusive first win for the German/Swiss manufacturer will come another day.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso came home in a solid sixth place for Renault, casting aside the disappointment from the previous race in Barcelona. Seventh went to Mark Webber for Red Bull Racing with Nico Rosberg taking the final point finish with eighth for Williams.

Finishing in ninth was David Coulthard in the second Red Bull and Toyota’s Jarno Trulli was the last unlapped runner with tenth.

Honda’s Jenson Button had a difficult race to 11th position while his team-mate Rubens Barrichello – whose 257th Grand Prix outing did not produce anything to shout about – came home in a disappointing P14. Between the Honda pair was Kovalainen and Timo Glock’s Toyota.

Nelson Piquet’s poor qualifying performance left him 15th, with Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) completing the finishers.

The latter duo both stopped at the end of the first lap to have repairs made after Giancarlo Fisichella’s unhappy weekend came to an end as he tried to pass Kazuki Nakajima – by flying over the top of the Williams! Neither the Italian, nor the Japanese (who got to the pits minus his rear wing) were able to continue.

The other retiree was Sebastien Bourdais, who lost control of his Toro Rosso after it developed a mechanical problem at the rear of the car as he was braking… The former Champ Car champion was out after sliding into the gravel trap.

The 2008 Turkish Grand Prix result leaves Raikkonen with a diminished lead in the world championship chase with 35 points, ahead of Massa and Hamilton on 28 and Kubica on 24. Ferrari extends their advantage atop the constructor standings, heading BMW Sauber by 19 points, with McLaren a further two adrift. The next race is the glamorous Monaco Grand Prix on the streets of the Principality. Can McLaren stop Ferrari on its winning run? Let’s find out in a fortnight’s time.

Turkish Grand Prix result – 58 laps

1. MASSA Ferrari 1h26:49.451
2. HAMILTON McLaren +3.7s
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +4.2s
4. KUBICA BMW +21.6s
5. HEIDFELD BMW +38.7s
6. ALONSO Renault +53.7s
7. WEBBER Red Bull +64.2s
8. ROSBERG Williams +71.4s
9. COULTHARD Red Bull +75.2s
10. TRULLI Toyota +76.3s
11. BUTTON Honda +1 lap
12. KOVALAINEN McLaren +1 lap
13. GLOCK Toyota +1 lap
14. BARRICHELLO Honda +1 lap
15. PIQUET Renault +1 lap
16. SUTIL Force India +1 lap
17. VETTEL Toro Rosso +1 lap
R. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso +34 laps
R. NAKAJIMA Williams +57 laps
R. FISICHELLA Force India +58 laps

office furniture in BulgariamebeliFastest lap: RAIKKONEN 1m26.506s

Drivers’ championship standings – round 5:

1. Raikkonen 5
2. Hamilton 28
3. Massa 28
4. Kubica 24
5. Heidfeld 20
6. Kovalainen 14
7. Webber 10
8. Alonso 9
9. Trulli 9
10. Rosberg 8
11. Nakajima 5
12. Button 3
13. Bourdais 2

Constructors’ championship standings:

1. Ferrari 63
2. BMW Sauber 44
3. McLaren-Mercedes 42
4. Williams-Toyota 13
5. Red Bull-Renault 10
6. Renault 9
7. Toyota 9
8. Honda 3
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2

NEXT RACE: Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo. May 22-25

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa achieved his third successive pole position after a dominant performance in qualifying at Istanbul Park.

The Brazilian, who is chasing a third straight victory on his favourite circuit, was comfortable the quickest driver on the challenging Hermann Tilke-designed race track. His time of one minute, 27.617 seconds was two-tenths of a second faster than the McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen – who bounced back in style after his big crash in last month’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Kovalainen’s car seemed to have a better balance over his team-mate Lewis Hamilton. The British driver was struggling with his Bridgestone and was disappointed that he could only set the third quickest time after making a bad choice over the hard compound tyres… But at least he will start the race ahead of the world champion, Kimi Raikkonen.

The Iceman couldn’t match the pace compare to his Scuderia team-mate, but the differences could be down to different fuel load. Is Kimi running a longer first stint in the race? We shall see.

Robert Kubica lines up fifth on the grid for BMW Sauber with Mark Webber alongside him. It was a good result for the Australian after he damaged his Red Bull Racing against the Armco barrier during the practice session on Friday. Double world champion Fernando Alonso is in seventh position for Renault ahead of Jarno Trulli’s Toyota and birthday boy Nick Heidfeld in the second BMW Sauber.

Rounding up the top ten is David Coulthard, who chose to save fuel and only did one qualifying run in Q3.

With the demise of Super Aguri, the qualifying format was tweaked to a new format with the five slowest cars dropping out in Q1 and Q2. This made life difficult especially for Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams and Nelson Piquet in the Renault. The Japanese went into a spin exiting Turn 7 on his first Q1 run while the Brazilian was knocked out as the others improved in the final seconds of the session.

As for Giancarlo Fisichella, even though the Italian out-qualified his Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil by half a second, he will start behind the German thanks to his penalty for passing the pit exit red light at the start of Friday practice. It will be a tough race for Fisichella started from the back.

But all interest will be at the front. Can Felipe score his third successive win at the Turkish Grand Prix? Can the two McLarens find a way to prevent this and what about Raikkonen? Does the Finn have the speed to challenge for the win? Bring on race day!

Starting grid for the Turkish Grand Prix

1. MASSA Ferrari 1:27.617
2. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1:27.808
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1:27.923
4. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:27.936
5. KUBICA BMW 1:28.390
6. WEBBER Red Bull 1:28.417
7. ALONSO Renault 1:28.422
8. TRULLI Toyota 1:28.836
9. HEIDFELD BMW 1:28.882
10. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:29.959
11. ROSBERG Williams 1:27.012
12. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:27.219
13. BUTTON Honda 1:27.298
14. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1:27.412
15. GLOCK Toyota 1:27.806
16. NAKAJIMA Williams 1:27.547
17. PIQUET Renault 1:27.568
18. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1:27.621
19. SUTIL Force India 1:28.325
20. FISICHELLA Force India 1:27.807*

*Three-place grid penalty for passing red light at pit lane exit in practice

Kimi Raikkonen has extended his championship lead with a dominant performance in the Spanish Grand Prix. The Finn led home his team-mate Felipe Massa, scoring the perfect result for the Scuderia.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton was able to salvage third while his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen was taken to hospital following a violent crash at Turn 9.

The Kovalainen incident occurred on lap 22 when he suffered a wheel-rim failure on the left-front tyre. The Finn crashed heavily into the tyre wall and it took a while to stabilise at the accident scene, but Heikki gave a thumbs-up to the crowd as he was taken by stretcher to the medical centre. Later he was flown to hospital for precautionary checks, and his condition was described as stable.

This incident ruined Nick Heidfeld’s race for BMW Sauber, as he was running a long refuelling strategy. With the safety car on track and the pit lane closed, the German had no choice but to make a pit stop. This resulted in a stop-go penalty that dropped him down the field and he finished a disappointing ninth at the flag.

At least Heidfeld made it to the end, as home crowd favourite Fernando Alonso suffered an engine failure despite starting on the front row. The Spaniard was running in fifth position until lap 35 when the problem occurred… Still, he should be satisfied that the Renault team has made a significant step forward in terms of competitiveness and hopes to challenge Ferrari, McLaren and BMW Sauber in the following races.

Robert Kubica continue to score points for BMW Sauber with fourth while Mark Webber drove a solid race in the Red Bull to take fifth. As for Jenson Button, he was happy to score the Honda’s team first points of the season with sixth – all thanks to a good strategy call in the pits.

By contrast, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli had to make an additional stop and slipped down to eighth. Not a good result for the Italian after chasing Webber for most of the race…

With Trulli down a spot, Kazuki Nakajima in the Toyota-powered Williams took seventh. This was the Japanese best race performance this season.

Giancarlo Fisichella was unable to resist the charging Heidfeld, so brought his Force India home in tenth, ahead of Toyota’s Timo Glock, who delayed himself after running into the back of David Coulthard. The Scot’s left-rear tyre was cut as a result, so he also fell back but managed to re-pass Super Aguri’s Takuma Sato before the finish to claim twelfth spot.

Only thirteen cars made it to the chequered flag in an unusually high attrition rate at the Circuit de Catalunya. On the first lap, Adrian Sutil tried an ambitions move on Coulthard but ended up spinning into the path of the luckless Sebastian Vettel in the Toro Rosso.

After qualifying in the top ten, Renault’s Nelson Piquet suffered a nightmare race with a trip across the gravel followed by a tangle with Vettel’s team-mate Sebastien Bourdais at Turn 10 as the Brazilian tried to recover from 18th position… Both cars retired with broken suspension.

Debris from Piquet’s car then punctured the radiator in Anthony Davidson’s Super Aguri, ending his race early.

As for the most experienced driver in Formula One, Rubens Barrichello will want to forget the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix after damaging his car’s front wing in the pit lane.

It may not have been a classic race, but it increased Raikkonen’s championship score to 29 points and his lead to nine over Hamilton (who is on 20). Felipe Massa jumps up to fourth on 18, one behind Kubica (19). Thanks to a one-two result in Barcelona, Ferrari re-take the lead in the constructors’ standing with 47, twelve ahead of BMW Sauber with McLaren-Mercedes a point behind.

Spanish Grand Prix result – 66 laps

1. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1h38:19.051
2. MASSA Ferrari +3.2s
3. HAMILTON McLaren +4.1s
4. KUBICA BMW +5.6s
5. WEBBER Red Bull+35.9s
6. BUTTON Honda +53.0s
7. NAKAJIMA Williams +58.2s
8. TRULLI Toyota +59.4s
9. HEIDFELD BMW +63.0s
10. FISICHELLA Force India +1 lap
11. GLOCK Toyota +1 lap
12. COULTHARD Red Bull +1 lap
13. SATO Super Aguri +1 lap
R. ROSBERG Williams +25 laps
R. ALONSO Renault +32 laps
R. BARRICHELLO Honda +32 laps
R. KOVALAINEN McLaren +45 laps
R. DAVIDSON Super Aguri +58 laps
R. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso +59 laps
R. PIQUET Renault +60 laps
R. SUTIL Force India +66 laps
R. VETTEL Toro Rosso +66 laps

Fastest lap: RAIKKONEN 1m21.670s

Drivers’ championship standings:

1. Raikkonen 29
2. Hamilton 20
3. Kubica 19
4. Massa 18
5. Heidfeld 16
6. Kovalainen 14
7. Trulli 9
8. Webber 8
9. Rosberg 7
10. Alonso 6
11. Nakajima 5
12. Button 3
13. Bourdais 2

Constructors’ championship standings:

1. Ferrari 47
2. BMW Sauber 35
3. McLaren-Mercedes 34
4. Williams-Toyota 12
5. Toyota 9
6. Red Bull-Renault 8
7. Renault 6
8. Honda 3
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2

NEXT RACE: Turkish Grand Prix, Istanbul. May 9-11

Ferrari’s Kimi Rakkonen recorded his first pole position of the season by snatching the top spot from home crowd favourite Fernando Alonso in a dramatic qualifying session at the Circuit de Catalunya.

It was the Iceman’s 15th career pole position and with his main championship rival Lewis Hamilton down in fifth, the Finn has the advantage to extend his points lead if he wins at Barcelona. The sister Ferrari of Felipe Massa will start in third ahead of Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber.

On row three are the two McLarens with Hamilton and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen. It was a disappointing performance from both drivers and Lewis even admits that the pace of the cars ahead shocked him! The British star will need to regain his composure and mount a challenge to score some valuable points in the race on Sunday.

As for Fernando Alonso, this was a fantastic achievement from the double world champion and the Renault team. The improvements to the R28 chassis over the last three weeks (in particular the new aerodynamic kit) have certainly improved the competitiveness of the team and Alonso was highly emotional after qualifying in second. He would have grabbed a shocking pole but the Spaniard is more than pleased to start ahead of his old team McLaren on the grid.

Even his team-mate Nelson Piquet put in a superb performance by qualifying in the top ten for the very first time this season. The Brazilian will line up in tenth position behind Mark Webber’s Red Bull, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Nick Heidfeld in the other BMW Sauber (seventh, eighth and ninth respectively).

The Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday will be a fascinating contest to see who is running what on fuel strategy. Are Renault running light or have they got genuine pace to match Ferrari, McLaren and BMW? Can Kimi score his second victory? Will we see a fight back drive from Lewis? We will find out this and more in tomorrow’s race at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Starting grid for the Spanish Grand Prix

1. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:21.813
2. ALONSO Renault 1:21.904
3. MASSA Ferrari 1:22.058
4. KUBICA BMW 1:22.065
5. HAMILTON McLaren 1:22.096
6. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1:22.231
7. WEBBER Red Bull 1:22.429
8. TRULLI Toyota 1:22.529
9. HEIDFELD BMW 1:22.542
10. PIQUET Renault 1:22.699
11. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:21.049
12. NAKAJIMA Williams 1:21.117
13. BUTTON Honda 1:21.211
14. GLOCK Toyota 1:21.230
15. ROSBERG Williams 1:21.349
16. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1:21.724
17. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:21.810
18. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1:22.108
19. FISICHELLA Force India 1:22.516
20. SUTIL Force India 1:23.224
21. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1:23.318
22. SATO Super Aguri 1:23.496