Results of the 2007 British F1 Grand Prix
With all the hype surrounding British rookie golden boy Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonnen quietly got on with his season come back, recording his second win in as many weeks to make it quite clear Ferrari are back on the ascendancy after slipping behind the McLaren’s. It might not have been a home victory for a British driver but the UK based team did well to finish second and third with Fernando Alonso getting the edge over Hamilton.
The other Ferrari, drive by Felipe Massa had to settle for fifth behind the ever present BMW—Sauber of Robert Kubica, but it was a remarkable achievement for the Brazilian rider who had to start from the pits after stalling on the grid. He separated the BMWs who had another consistently good points finish with Nick Heidfeld sixth ahead of the two Renaults of H Kovalainen and G Fisichella. Jenson Button and David Coulthard were the rest of the best British drivers finishing 10th and 11th.
With surprisingly brilliant weather the race turned into a thriller that was ultimately decided by shrewd pit stops, with the Ferrari team once again showing their astute experience in tactical racing. Hamilton started on pole but lost the lead to Raikkonen on the first stop, who in turn lost it shortly after to Alonso. The two battled out a ferocious race but it was the second stop that put Raikkonen out in front. He had started with slightly more fuel and was able to ‘blink’ last.
In the end Hamilton, who everyone expected or hoped would win, was 39 seconds adrift of the first two. Traffic also played a crucial role in the eventual fates of all three drivers, but the Ferraris did seem to have the quicker and more slick presentation at Silverstone. Hamilton did himself no favours either in his haste to get out of the pits, almost driving off with the fuel line attached, but a quick reaction prevented the disaster.
Everyone survived the first corner but there were a string of retirement throughout the race, including Schumacher, Trulli and Webber.
Hamilton therefore holds onto a comfortable 12 point lead over his teammate in the Drivers standings while Raikkonnen, who is the only driver to have won three races this season, leapfrogs Massa for a 1 point edge on third place. In the Constructors’standings, not much has changed with McLaren’s enjoying a 25 point lead on 128.
Result of 2007 British Grand Prix
- K Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:21:43.074
- F Alonso (Spn) McLaren—Mercedes +00:02.459
- L Hamilton (GB) McLaren—Mercedes 00:39.373
- R Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 00:53.319
- F Massa (Brz) Ferrari 00:54.063
- N Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 00:56.336
- H Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 1 lap behond
- G Fisichella (Ita) Renault @ 1 lap
- R Barrichello (Brz) Honda @ 1 lap
- J Button (GB) Honda @ 1 lap
- D Coulthard (GB) Red Bull—Renault @ 1 lap
- N Rosberg (Ger) Williams—Toyota @ 1 lap
- A Wurz (Aut) Williams—Toyota @ 1 lap
- T Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri—Honda @ 2 laps
- C Albers (Ned) Spyker—Ferrari @ 2 laps
Ret V Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso—Ferrari 53 laps completed
Ret J Trulli (Ita) Toyota 43 laps competed
Ret A Davidson (GB) Super Aguri—Honda 35 laps completed
Ret S Speed (US) Toro Rosso—Ferrari 29 laps completed
Ret R Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 22 laps completed
Ret A Sutil (Ger) Spyker—Ferrari 16 laps completed
Ret M Webber (Aus) Red Bull—Renault 8 laps completed