Kovalainen Takes Maiden F1 Victory In Hungary
August 3, 2008 by Dominic Alder
F1 2008’s unpredictability continued in Hungary today as Heikki Kovalainen scored his debut victory in Formula One after Felipe Massa retired from the lead with three laps remaining.
Lewis Hamilton was expected to dominate the race after a strong performance in yesterday’s qualifying, but was overtaken around the outside of the first corner by a fast-starting Massa and did not regain the lead on the twisty Hungaroring track. Hamilton first pitted on lap 19, one lap after the lead Ferrari, but was unable to leapfrog the Brazilian during the stop.
McLaren underestimated Massa’s speed and then appeared to play the strategy game, believing that Hamilton could pass Massa at the next round of pitstops, provided he kept to within four seconds of the lead Ferrari.
However, this plan was abandoned after Hamilton suffered a puncture and had to make an early second stop. He recovered to finish fifth, spending 28 laps on the super-soft tyre that he has often struggled with over long distances.
Massa’s Ferrari performed much better in the race than it did in qualifying. He would have earned a famous victory but engine failure forced him to retire with just three laps remaining.
This gifted Kovalainen his maiden victory, who had spent much of the race in the top-three. He has generally been overshadowed by Hamilton this year, but has not been without his own bad luck, and he hope that this victory will close the performance gap between himself and his teammate.
Timo Glock had an excellent race, completely overshadowing his experienced team-mate Jarno Trulli. Massa’s engine failure promoted him to third place and his first podium finish in Formula One.
Raikkonen had another ordinary weekend. He spent much of the race in the lower points positions battling Alonso before finding form in the closing laps as the chance of a podium came his way before finishing fourth.
This was very much a race of “ifs” and “buts” for both Hamilton and Massa. Hamilton will take comfort from Massa’s retirement, as he continues to lead the driver’s championship by four points from Raikkonen. The real stars of the day however, were Massa and Glock, despite Kovalainen’s victory.
The F1 circus now goes on summer holiday - the next race is Valencia on the 24th August. Massa, Raikkonen and Hamilton will all hope for better fortune in Spain.
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