Race Results 2007

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QUALIFYING

Round 10 - EUROPE, Nurburgring - Race Results

Conditions: very wet at start, then dry, then wet again at the end!
Air 19-17-20-18°C, Track 31-21-29-23°C
Posn	Driver	Car	Time/Retirement	Laps	Pitstops	Grid
1	Fernando ALONSO	McLaren Mercedes	1h 6m 26.358s	60	4	2
2	Felipe MASSA	Ferrari	+ 0m 08.155s	60	4	3
3	Mark WEBBER	Red Bull Renault	+ 1m 05.674s	60	4	6
4	Alex WURZ	Williams Toyota	+ 1m 05.937s	60	4	12
5	David COULTHARD	Red Bull Renault	+ 1m 13.656s	60	4	20
6	Nick HEIDFELD	BMW Sauber	+ 1m 20.298s	60	6	4
7	Robert KUBICA	BMW Sauber	+ 1m 22.415s	60	4	5
8	Heikki KOVALAINEN	Renault	+ 1 lap	59	4	7
9	Lewis HAMILTON	McLaren Mercedes	+ 1 lap	59	4	10
10	Giancarlo FISICHELLA	Renault	+ 1 lap	59	4	13
11	Rubens BARRICHELLO	Honda	+ 1 lap	59	5	14
12	Anthony DAVIDSON	Super Aguri Honda	+ 1 lap	59	6	15
13	Jarno TRULLI	Toyota	+ 1 lap	59	6	8
Not classified
Ret	Kimi RAIKKONEN	Ferrari	Hydraulics	34	2	1
Ret	Takuma SATO	Super Aguri Honda	Hydraulics	19	3	16
Ret	Ralf SCHUMACHER	Toyota	Accident	18	3	9
Ret	Markus WINKELHOCK	Spyker Ferrari	Hydraulics	13	2	22
Ret	Jenson BUTTON	Honda	Spin	2	1	17
Ret	Adrian SUTIL	Spyker Ferrari	Spin	2	1	21
Ret	Nico ROSBERG	Williams Toyota	Spin	2	1	11
Ret	Scott SPEED	Toro Rosso Ferrari	Spin	2	1	18
Ret	Vitantonio LIUZZI	Toro Rosso Ferrari	Spin	2	2	19

Race notes: After a big accident in qualifying, Hamilton was declared fit to race by FIA medical delegate, Dr Gary Hartstein, on Sunday morning and his team have rebuilt his car around his qualifying engine to avoid any grid penalties, so he will start from 10th. It will be interesting to see whether he can add to his reputation, earned in lower formulas, for dramatic drives through the field.

Markus Winkelhock makes his F1 debut this weekend, replacing the dropped Christijan Albers in the Spyker - although probably only for this, his home GP.

As the grid clears for the parade lap, rain is predicted in three minutes! And there is a huge, black cloud overhead ...

Good start from Hamilton, up to 5th before being clipped by a pair of spinning BMWs and sustaining a left rear puncture. That was only the start of the synchronised spinning! Most of the field dive for the pits at the end of lap 1, led by Raikkonen who misses the pitlane and has to go round again ... bad luck for the Finn. Winkelhock who in an inspired move started from the pitlane on wets leads the race on his debut! Then the aquaplaning starts - first Button, then Hamilton, Sutil and after that, to be honest, I lost track but six in total - all into the gravel trap at turn 1. The Safety Car was deployed as Hamilton, who kept his engine running, was lifted back onto the track - permitted under the rules as being moved from a dangerous place - and then the race is red-flagged.

The sun is shining again at the Nurburgring as the mechanics try and shuffle the cars into the right order on the grid for the re-start - headed by new boy Winkelhock. Hamilton, a lap down after his brief stay in the gravel trap, will bring up the rear (although as position is determined at the lap before the red flag is deployed, McLaren believe Hamilton is at the back but crucially not a lap down). Button, Sutil, Rosberg, Sutil and Liuzzi will not re-start. Those that do will start behind the Safety Car for a lap before racing resumes.

Re-start countdown started with more rain forecast in 12 minutes. Race restarts behind the Safety Car and Hamilton, who is indeed a lap down, is allowed to overtake all cars and the Safety Car to unlap himself and regain his position. Will he have time to get round again to the back of the field before the race restarts for real. Heidfeld, Davidson and Trulli dive into the pitlane to change from full wets to intermediates under Safety Car conditions. Hamilton is pitting at the end of his race round the track and has changed to dry tyres! He's exploiting the knowledge gained from his high speed lap of the track - will it pay off?

Not initially as he runs wide on his outlap - he loses time badly and goes a lap down but gradually the track comes back to him and he starts overhauls the pace of the leader, Massa, in sector 3, which is obviously drying quicker than sector 1. Raikkonen, after his earlier error, takes the gamble to switch early in the hopes of putting himself back in contention. Now Hamilton is fastest ... but I fear he has way too much to do. As the pitstops for dry tyres are completed, Massa is in the lead again and Hamilton has unlapped himself but is running last, 90 seconds behind the leader.

The first of the non-rain related retirements takes out sometime race leader Markus Winkelhock with small flames lapping from the rear of his Spyker. Next to retire is Schumacher, after contact with Heidfeld in the final turn. The incident is to be investigated by stewards after the race but appeared to me to be a racing incident. Sato has also retired, although I have no idea why at this point!

Commentator, Martin Brundle, reckons it will around lap 45 that Hamilton comes into play in a points scoring position ... time will tell!

Hamilton makes a beautiful pass on Fisichella with two wheels on the grass, but has to stop again and Fisichella doesn't. Hamilton makes his final stop on the same lap as Trulli, the car in front of him on the track, and they exit in the same order. Problem for Raikkonen, possibly electrical, certainly intermittent but enough to bring him to a complete halt on the pitlane entry from where he is pushed into the garage.

Hamilton is re-lapped by Massa and loses some 3s in letting him through - doesn't make his job any easier but with 13 laps remaining and the 8th position man 30s up the road, his job is pretty much impossible anyway!

And RAIN is forecast in 7 minutes ... with some 18 minutes of the race to go! and the crowd are putting on their rain coats ... Kovalainen gambles by pitting from 5th for intermediates - a massive gamble, giving up a certain 5th for a possible podium! Alonso is only 4.4s behind Massa, there's still a race on here! Kovalainen is overtaken by team-mate Fisichella, still on dry tyres, but team radio reports it is starting to drizzle ... And the rain comes down, Massa and Alonso go through without pitting ... as does Hamilton, now in 9th and tantalisingly close to the points. McLaren team are in the pitlane ready for ... Alonso, while Hamilton goes round again. Alonso nearly takes out Fisichella and half the Honda mechanics on exiting his pitbox. The team may be called to account for releasing him at that point. McLaren are poised with wet tyres for Hamilton, but haven't gone out into the pitlane yet ... he's now in 8th but has to hold on to the increasingly damp track! Alonson just 1s behind Massa for the lead ... some 2s faster than Massa in these conditions.

And Hamilton blinks ... he pits for wet tyres as his team-mate risks everything to take the lead from Massa ... goes for the outside into Turn 1 and can't quite do it under braking, Massa holds the lead. Alonso bangs wheels with Massa into Turn 5 as he finally takes the lead ... fantastic racing! Hamilton drops back to 10th after his stop with just 3 laps to go. In the closing laps, Hamilton manages to pass Fisichella for 9th but can't quite make it into the points - well, that would have been a miraculous end to a turbulent weekend and this guy is, after all, just a racing driver! Excellent race from Alonso to take the victory and to close the gap in the championship to just 2 points. And a second career podium for Mark Webber.