Results of the 2007 French F1 Grand Prix

Another one-two result but this time not for McLaren. Ferrari stormed back into the 2007 season to let everyone know they are still competing for the title. At the last race to be staged at Magny Cours for the foreseeable future, Kimi Raikkonen took a much needed chequered flag ahead of Filipe Massa, while Golden Boy Lewis Hamilton settled for third and stretched his overall lead in the drivers’ standings.

His nearest rival, Fernando Alonso, had to settle for seventh after starting 10th on the grid and suffering a series of bad timings, while the two BMW Saubers had another good outing with Robert Kubica finishing fourth ahead of Nick Heidfeld. Giancarlo Fisichella slipped one place in the dying laps to finish sixth, while Jenson Button will have been pleased to pick up his first point in an disappointiong season for the Briton and his much improved Honda.

But the biggest smile of the day belonged on the face of the Finn as he snatched second from Hamilton at the first (left hand) corner and then benefitted from a better second pitstop to pip race leader and pole sitter Massa to the finish line. The two scarlet cars crossed the line two seconds apart, but onimously finished 22 seconds ahead of the best placed McLaren.

On a track that was all about speed rather than grip, and with the threat of rain looming, it was the strategic planning of pit stops that settled the order, as several teams switched from obvious three-stop strategies to two, leaving a few worried tacticians who anticipated the possibilities of a ‘splash and dash’ late in the race. None of this benefitted poor Alonso, who can’t afford to lose any more points to Hamilton, as his team were twice thwarted by un-planned pitstops of middle order rivals who kept him boxed up in traffic. It simply wasn’t his day has he often tried in vain, sometimes with hairy results, to pass Heidfeld, Fisichella and Rosberg.

One beneficiary, apart from the winner, was Jenson Button, who gained five places to squeek in with a point for eighth, at one time ranked as high as fourth. For Lewis Hamilton it was a processional race and he simply couldn’t match the pace of the Ferraris, while Robert Kubica - who returned from his horrific accident - barely had to look in his mirrors the whole race.

There were minor dramas at the start when Vitantonio Luizzi, Jarno Trulli and Anthony Davidson all collided and had to retire, while Christijan Albers departed the pits with the fuel hose still attached, bringing his race to a comical end. The only other retiree was Scott Speed. Another disappointed driver will have been Heikki Kovalainen who suffered various setbacks to finsh 15th.

Lewis Hamilton now enjoys a 14 point lead over teammate and reigning champion Fernando Alonso in the drivers’ standings. Kimi Raikkonen is now just five points behind third placed Massa who has 47 and has pulled himself within three of Alonso. As the season approaches it’s midway point, McLaren’s lead has been trimmed slightly by Ferrari but they still have a commanding 25 point lead, on 114 points. BMW-Sauber are firmly in third with 48, twenty points ahead of constructor title holders Renault.

Results from the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours:

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1hr 30min 54.200
2. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari +00:02.414
3. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren-Mercedes 00:32.153
4. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 00:41.727
5. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 00:46.801
6. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault 00:52.210
7. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren-Mercedes 00:56.516
8. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 00:58.885
9. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams-Toyota 01:08.505
10. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota 1 lap
11. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1 lap
12. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1 lap
13. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull - Renault 1 lap
14. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Williams - Toyota 1 lap
15. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Renault 1 lap
16. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri-Honda 2 laps
17. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Spyker-Ferrari 2 laps
r. Scott Speed (U.S.) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 15 laps
r. Christijan Albers (Netherlands) Spyker-Ferrari 42 laps
r. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri-Honda 69 laps
r. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 69 laps
r. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 70 laps
r = retired
Fastest Lap: Felipe Massa, 1:16.099, lap 42.