JAPAN WAS A SURPRISE... // GP RESULTS

The Japanese Grand Prix was a surprise. With Lewis Hamilton having clinched the pole during Saturdays qualifying, and title contender Felipe Massa all the way back in P5, it looked like Fuji would be the race to wrap things up. Wrong. A poor start by Hamilton, gave Raikkonen the early lead. Entering the first turn, Hamilton late braked, shoving teammate Kovalainen out of the way, regaining the lead from Raikkonen (he was later penalized for this maneuver, which sent Kimi to seventh). Coulthard and Nakajima had contact entering the first turn as well, sending DC into the wall and Nakijama into the pits for a new front clip. Two or three turns into the second lap, Massa, in an effort to overtake championship rival Hamilton, pressed hard into the chicane, sending his Ferrari over the median and into the side of Hamiltons McLaren-Mercedes. Massa survived the incident unscathed, but left Hamilton facing the wrong direction, forcing him to wait out the field and return to the race in dead last. Massa would later be penalized with a drive through penalty for unnecessary contact. Hamilton fought his way back to 12th, though out of the points. Massa, having served his penalty, managed an eighth place finish, picking up a much needed championship point, which has shrunk Hamilton’s lead from seven to six points with two races remaining.



The real story was at the front of the pack. Robert Kubica had a great start, a well sorted race and managed a second place finish for himself and the BMW-Sauber team. The Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, though loosing an early lead to Hamilton, managed a third place finish. The win in Singapore by Renault’s Fernando Alonso was compounded this weekend with yet another win for the Spaniard. Showing us that he is a championship driver, Alonso, with as many wins this season as last years champion, drove a consistent race. Though no championship hopes are available for Fernando, he did secure his reputation as a contender.

Top Five Finishers as Follows //

1: : Fernando Alonso - Renault
2: : Robert Kubica - BMW Sauber
3: : Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari
4: : Nelson Piquet - Renault
5: : Jarno Trulli - Toyota

Formula One moves onto Shanghai for the second to last round of the Championship. Stay with ColdTrackDays for continued coverage. For complete results from Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, click here. Video comes courtesy of our friends at Axis of Oversteer // 10.13.2008