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Massa takes pole position,
the lap record and the victory: 
Massa made it two wins in a row at this year's
Spanish Grand Prix, where not only did he take the sixth pole position of his career, but also the victory and a new lap record!
He was joined on the podium by both McLaren
Mercedes' drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso who stood on the second and third steps respectively.
After a strong performance at testing last week and
qualifying, Kimi Räikkönen's luck did not hold for the race, as he was one of eight drivers who retired over the course of the 66 laps and was forced to pull into the garage where his race ended.
Qualifying came down to the wire this weekend; once the allocated time had elapsed, several drivers were still out on track completing their flying laps. It was Massa who came out on top in front of Alonso.
He was followed by Räikkönen and Hamilton, a repeat of the grid at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
After the session Jean Todt, CEO Ferrari S.p.A commented: 'As usual we will have to put all the
elements together to meet our objectives; the start, the strategy, team work and reliability. Also making an important technical contribution are our technical partners, first and foremost Shell.'
Jarno Trulli suffered technical problems as the race got underway and as his Toyota sat motionless on the grid, marshals immediately waved yellow flags and the race was restarted.
Massa and Alonso charged down to Turn One wheel to wheel and touching briefly Massa beat the Spaniard into the first corner giving him no alternative but to run wide, take to the gravel and
drop down to fourth position.
Hamilton was able to take advantage of his start and slipped past Räikkönen. Due to Alonso's momentary absence from the track, he moved into second position.
Alonso soon turned his attention to the rival ahead - Räikkönen, but this was a temporary challenge; the F2007 of Räikkönen was suffering from a technical problem and on lap nine the Finn guided
his car into the team garage for what was a disappointing close to the weekend.
The fight into Turn One was the only real threat that Massa had to deal with during the race. From
thereon in, the Shell V-Powered Ferrari increased its lead lap by lap over Hamilton, Alonso and the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica, until the first round of pit stops on lap 19.
The three front runners carried out a two stop strategy but Ferrari's strategy ensured that Massa's domination of the race continued with no significant menace from the competitors. He crossed the line
6.7 seconds in front of Hamilton.
Alberto Friedrich, Global Sponsorship Manager of Shell Brands International explained: 'A win like this is very important to us; not only do we know that
the Shell products we are developing for Ferrari are doing a fantastic job but our customers around the world who use Shell V-Power and Shell Helix are benefiting from the learnings which evolve from this
close partnership'
The Drivers' Championship table is no longer tied; Hamilton's podium finish puts him in the lead with 30 points, two points ahead of Alonso. Massa currently
stands third with 27 points to Räikkönen's 22.
The Constructors' Title now lies with McLaren Mercedes who has 58 points to Ferrari's 49.
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Lewis Hamilton second,
Fernando Alonso third
The start: For the third time this season, Fernando and LewIs had qualified second and fourth. At the start, Fernando attacked pole
sitter Felipe Massa, but slid off the track at the second corner, regaining the circuit in fourth place. Lewis got past Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) and finished the first lap in second position.
The race: On lap nine Kimi slowed down and came into the pits to retire. Fernando now moved up to third position.
Lap 19: Fernando came in for his first pit stop (9,7sec) in the same lap as Massa. This
allowed Lewis to take the lead whilst Fernando was now running seventh.
Lap 22: Lewis came in for his first pit stop (8.5sec) and resumed the battle in third position.
Lap 27: All drivers had finished their first round of pit stops. Lewis was now second, 10sec ahead of Fernando.
Lap 42: Second stop for Massa, which allowed Lewis to take the lead again. Until lap 47, he
stayed in this position and then came in for his second scheduled stop (6,7sec). Fernando pitted one lap later and accelerated back into the race after an identical 6.7sec stop.
Lap 49: LewIs was second, 10 sec behind Massa and 17 sec behind the third placed Alonso. After 65 laps, Lewis took the chequered flag 6.7sec behind Massa. Fernando reduced the gap behind his
team-mate by 5sec and wound up third 12sec behind the British driver.
Lewis Hamilton Comments, "Things just keep getting better and I continue living my dream. In the early stages I was struggling to get
heat into the tyres and had a bit of oversteer but things improved considerably a few laps into the race but the gap to Felipe was already too big. In the second stint I was a
bit unlucky with the traffic but that happens sometimes. Overall I'm happy with the outcome of the race and I want to keep on scoring points. The team has worked really hard since Bahrain and whilst we didn't win I
still think we can take some satisfaction as we are leading both Championships."
Fernando Alonso: "My chance for victory disappeared after the incident at the first
corner. I got off the line OK at the start and was able to get a tow from Felipe and challenge into the first corner as I was already half a car length in front but we touched and I had to go on the gravel to
avoid an accident. We were both lucky to finish the race. As a result by the second corner I was fourth. I also sustained a bit of damage to my car which upset the balance
for the rest of the race. I lost additional time in the second stint as the tyres were not working as well but I still think the result would have stayed the same even if we had used the softer tyres."
Ron Dennis, Team Principal: "Coming into the Monaco Grand Prix being first and second in the Drivers' Championship and leading the Constructors' battle is a good achievement for
the entire team. Our pace was a little weak in the middle sector. Fernando's race was hampered by having damaged his deflector during his efforts to get past Massa in the first corner. Another solid performance from
Lewis. As you would expect we will continue to push hard in our development programme to put the team in the best possible position to win as many of the remaining races as possible."
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