Mixed News
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April
April
Here are some of the latest headlines from the F1 world:
Archive for the ‘Spanish Grand Prix 2008’ Category
Kovlainen Is Ok
28
April
April
Heikki Kovlainen’s crash in yesterday’s Spanish Grand Prix was a sight of horrific worry. From the looks of it things looked really bad, as the driver left with a concussion and was put into a neck brace while being escorted to the hospital. After an overnight stay and several tests, Kovlainen seems to be fine. Some of the test results are still coming in, so everything is cleared yet, but thus far things look good. The CT scan showed no injuries to the head, which was a major concern. The team expects him to make a full recovery in a few days and hope to receive the go ahead necessary from the FIA in order to let Kovlainen race in the upcoming Turkish Grand Prix. Unless something is found it is likely that the McLaren driver will be back soon. He left Sunday’s race giving two thumbs up, signifying that he was ok.
The cause of the accident is believed to be a severe tire deflation in Kovlainen’s car. It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but that is what most believe caused the problem. Today, McLaren issued a statement saying that they are still testing to see the actual cause of the deflation, but are very happy to see their driver is doing well. They thanked the FIA Medical Team’s quick response and the FIA safety rules, which kept Kovlainen safe during the incident.
Ferrari Leads SGP
27
April
April
Ferrari couldn’t have asked for a better finish today, as Kimi Raikkonen won the race and Felipe Massa got second. Raikkonen, who started at the pole position, is now the 8th consecutive pole winner to win the SGP. More importantly, he now leads the individual standings by 9, in front of Lewis Hamilton who took third place in today’s race. Raikkonen later said that his team could have gone faster, but it wasn’t necessary so they didn’t try. Ferrari’s victory now places them at the top of team standings as well, with 47 points. They are followed by BMW Sauber (34 points) and McLaren (34).
Hamilton was happy to score some points for his team today, although he would have obviously liked to get a better spot. McLaren will now face quite a battle trying to overtake both BMW and Ferrari. Hamilton’s teammate, Heikki Kovalainen had a scary day after getting into an accident where his car flew into the wall. He ended up being flown to a hospital with a concussion. Thankfully it wasn’t too serious, but the team wanted to be safe so they sent him to the hospital to make sure everything was fine. McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh said, “He banged his head in the accident and has concussion. As a precaution he is going to hospital to have more checks.”
Overall the day was pretty exciting and certainly very joyous for Ferrari. As for BMW, McLaren and the rest, they have their work cut out for them now.
Spanish GP 2008 Qualifying - Strong Showings by Raikkonen and Alonso
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April
April
Kimi Raikkonen skimmed Fernando Alonso’s qualifying time by a minuscule 0.091to take the pole position. Alonso still finished in second place, which was a pleasant showing compared to his rough start. Being in Spain it was especially important to Alonso, since it his nation. The Raikkonen-Alonso 1-2 punch marks the first time a race begins with two world champions in the top two slots since 2006 when Michael Schumaker was still racing.
Renault is thrilled to finally get a good starting position again. The changes that they made in Barcelona in terms of aerodynamics and the engine seem to be helping thus far. Alonso, who has been upset with the team recently, even applauded the changes. For once he actually seemed happy, maybe he’ll stay with Renault after all…
Following Alonso in tomorrow’s race will be the other Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa. In the fourth spot is Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber. The third row is both McLaren drivers (Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen. McLaren will need to race well tomorrow if they hope to continue competing with Ferrari and BMW. They are currently in a bit of a cold streak and will try to break out of that in the race.
Spanish Grand Prix Free Practice
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April
April
Today teams engaged in the free practice rounds for the Spanish GP. Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari took the top spot with 1:20.649 in the first round and 1:21.935 in the afternoon. Raikkonen was first in both the morning and afternoon. His teammate, Felipe Massa came in second in the morning, but dropped to fifth in the second round.
One of the surprises of the day was the performance by Renault rookie, Nelson Piquet. The Brazilian driver ended in second in the afternoon practice, only .084 seconds behind Raikkonen. He beat out his teammate and two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso by a few hundredths of a second.
Lewis Hamilton came in third in the morning, but fell to 11th in the afternoon. He later said that the team had struggled with the balance of the car. Heikki Kovalainen, the other McLaren driver also had a rough day, with the team changing his gearbox between the two sessions. The team will be working tonight to work out the kinks so that they can be better prepared for the qualifying rounds and the actual race. For the fans it is just a matter of waiting until the qualifiers begin…