There are not many opportunities to pass on the Istanbul Speed Park 3.317 mile circuit so where and how a driver starts is rather important.

When the green flag dropped Ferrari occupied the first and fourth slots on the grid with the McLarens packed between them. While Felipe Massa took his Ferrari out of the way into the lead, the rest of the field diced for advantage. Lewis Hamilton got around his teammate Heikki Kovalainen for second while Robert Kubuca (BMW Sauber) and Fernando Alonso (Renault) each picked up a couple positions.

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Further back Fisichella's Force India and Nakajima's Williams tried to occupy the same piece of asphalt at the same time, bringing out the safety car. Though other cars also suffered damage in the aftermath, the real disaster was the puncture which forced Heikki to take his Mclaren to the pits for repair. The chance for the Finn to be on the podium in Turkey was suddenly infinitesimal.

Back out front Massa was flying, with the young Brit Lewis keeping the pressure on. They swapped fastest laps for awhile but Hamilton was on a three stop strategy and needed to make the most of his lighter car as well as track position to make up time on the Ferraris after his second pit. When Kimi Raikkonen pitted, Hamilton pulled out a 16 second gap before he too made his last stop for fuel and tires. Great work by the McLaren crew brought Lewis out in front of Kimi’s Ferrari. Massa was some five seconds or so out front and holding position while Kimi hounded Lewis for second. As the race wound down it was clear Lewis had enough to hold off Kimi but not enough to close on Felipe. At the finish Ferrari’s Felipe Massa made it three in a row at the Turkish GP followed by Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and the increasingly competitive BMW Saubers of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld.