Hamilton lead cut as chaos reigns

Eurosport - Mon, 13 Oct 11:13:00 2008

Felipe Massa reduced the deficit on Lewis Hamilton in the World Championship title race to five points as the Briton failed to score in an incident-strewn Japanese Grand Prix.

FORMULA 1 2008 - Chaos at the start of the Japanese Grand Prix - 0

Renault's Fernando Alonso made it two wins out of two with a fantastic drive as both Hamilton and Massa suffered drive-through penalties for mistakes early in the race - the second of which saw them collide.

BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica took second and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen also finished on the podium before Massa was promoted to seventh, earning two points, after Sebastien Bourdais was issued a post-race 25-second penalty for a coming together with the Brazilian.

Kubica is seven points behind Massa in the standings and a revitalised contender for the drivers' crown with two races to run.

Hamilton was penalised for forcing Raikkonen - who had started the better of the front-row drivers - off the tarmac at the first corner as David Coulthard flew into a tyre barrier and Kazuki Nakajima also came to a halt.

Hamilton and McLaren's other competitor Heikki Kovalainen also left the track and the former rejoined behind his team-mate, with Kubica and Alonso leading the race.

Massa was behind Hamilton and looked to attack on the second lap but was overeager in cutting a wide left-hander: he made up enough ground to clip Hamilton's back wheel and spin him out on the track, leaving him stranded until the entire field had passed safely - and earning Massa that later penalty.

Alonso, who took victory in the last round in Singapore, was relentless after assuming first place following the first round of pit-stops and never looked in danger of relinquishing the net lead.

His team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr - who inadvertently facilitated the Spaniard's victory in the night race when his smash brought out the safety car - drove brilliantly at Fuji to take fourth place at the end, with Toyota's Jarno Trulli, Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber of Red Bull also taking points after Bourdais's penalty.

Kovalainen retired after 15 laps with engine failure while Massa and Hamilton, 13th and 14th after serving their punishments, looked to make up places. However Hamilton, who had been forced to pit on the second lap for a new set of tyres, was less successful than Massa.

With 17 laps of the 67-lap race remaining Bourdais emerged from the pits alongside Massa and they touched wheels; the Frenchman, holding the inside of the track, continued on as Massa spun out. He was able to continue with little trouble, but race stewards saw fit to penalise multiple ChampCar champion Bourdais later, pushing him down to 10th.

As Hamilton struggled to make headway, eventually finishing 12th, Raikkonen bore down on second-placed Kubica. The Pole defended with zeal - even forcing Raikkonen off the track at one point - inside his faltering BMW as the Finn found another of his sporadic moments of form to attack repeatedly.

The challenge died off in the final laps and Piquet, by then quicker than the Ferrari, could have snatched a podium finish had he not made a small error that cost him vital late seconds.

Alonso was visibly ecstatic as he recorded a second straight win late in a season where he has competed in a largely uncompetitive car.

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport

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  1. Bobby, he didn't get away with it - he got a drive­ through penalty. Did you actually watch the race?

    From Marc B, on Mon 13 Oct 1:29PM
  2. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    there you all go again....ferarri haters...jealousy no­ other word for it...watch the 1st corner incident­ again..then tell me the rules are bent for­ ferarri...pretty boy gets away with it again....read­ the other drivers comments about pretty boy s driving­ "style" (style...used loosly)

    From bobby1.penman, on Mon 13 Oct 1:04PM

  3. Massa was the mistake maker in the race, he should have­ been heavily penalised for hitting Hamilton as his­ whole car was off the tarmac. Bourdais should not have­ been penalised. He had the inside line and has no where­ else to go, Massa should have held off.

    From jpmarks, on Mon 13 Oct 12:54PM

  4. i dont see why the other drivers even bother turning up­ as we all know that those in charge will make it­ impossible for for them to win. yes massa was given a­ drive through pen for clashing with hamilton but what­ the hell did bourdais do to deserve a pen he did­ nothing wrong apart from keeping his line on the track.­ those in charge need to look again at what really­ happened and massa needs to be a man and stand up and­ say that he was in the wrong. good luck to all for the­ last 2 races cause if ur not massa u will need it

    From clair, on Mon 13 Oct 12:37PM

  5. by the way, what happened to the advantage rule for the­ massa hamilton incident? massa gains places by shunting­ hamilton then doesent give place back leaving hamilton­ last.
    I know a pentalty was applied but it hardly made­ any of the advantage back. this means that the penalty­ was obviously too lenient imo.

    From crystalstar44, on Mon 13 Oct 11:53AM

  6. Bordais' 25 second penalty in the Japanese GP is­ another blatant example of the FIA's pro-Ferrari­ bias. There is no way that Bordais was at fault - if­ there was any fault it was Massa's. I think mr lard­ is right - the FIA want a Ferrari driver to win the­ Drivers' Championship and that's all you need­ to know.

    From Tony, on Mon 13 Oct 11:46AM

  7. I like the Pit Girls... Superb Norks! lol

    From throbbingdonkey, on Mon 13 Oct 11:41AM

  8. Am off to Supperleage Formula. You can stay with your­ stinking F****** 1

    From emanyaleni, on Mon 13 Oct 11:27AM

  9. Mick, if you are sick of hearing Hamiltons name. why­ would you click on, an post a comment on a thread about­ Hamilton?

    From usalien1967, on Mon 13 Oct 11:26AM

  10. hang on a minute hamilton carved his team mate up at­ the start ,there are more than hamilton on the grid ,im­ sick of hearing that name ,good on yea massa.

    From mick, on Mon 13 Oct 10:39AM

  11. Now let’s get this straight! As soon as all the drivers­ know the rules the better! There must not be any­ overtaking at all! Not unless the car in front waves­ you through and wishes you a good day. Anyone even­ trying to over take the pretty red car will be­ penalised, should you make the mistake and find your­ self in front of pretty red car then you will brought­ back into the pits to submit your apologies.

    F1 is­ turning into a joke as far as being called a sport!
    How­ about turning all the cars into electric bumper cars!­ You could feed the electricity through the track to the­ car then everyone would have to stay on it to receive­ the power! No bumping please!

    From Fresh F, on Mon 13 Oct 10:25AM

  12. Why Ferrari will never play golf.

    Integrity,­ Sportsmanship, honesty and honourable behaviour,­ respect for other players, abhorrence of cheats, fair­ play. All of these qualities seem mandatory for golf –­ but not for F1 if your name is Ferrari.

    Imagine the­ great Seve Ballesteros in the final round of the Ryder­ Cup. He’s 1 stoke down on the final hole but hits his­ Tee shot into the rough. However, when he gets to his­ ball one of the course officials says “don’t worry,­ Seve, I’ve kicked your ball out of the long grass and­ trodden your opponents into the ground a bit”. Seve­ would declare this unacceptable and concede the hole. ­

    So when Massa clearly breaks the rules on 3 occasions­ this Sunday (Hamilton at the chicane; overtaking­ Webber; dangerous driving with Bourdais) he has a­ point AWARDED for it by the officials. So, Massa &­ Ferrari, Have some decency and integrity for our sport­ and be honest enough to say “that’s wrong”.
    And if you­ don’t believe the corrupt attitude isn’t endemic ­ throughout the Ferrari team, take a look at the­ mechanic’s reactions when Massa deliberately cuts the­ chicane and shunts Hamilton out of the race. ­ Disgraceful.

    From STEVE, on Mon 13 Oct 10:09AM

  13. hamilton is the next takuma sato :p

    From alexabimanyu, on Mon 13 Oct 9:36AM

  14. malc , For your information Massa has been involved­ in , caused more , and has more close calls this season­ than any other driver .Massa is far more dangerous than­ Lewis . You statement holds no merit .

    From barry w w, on Mon 13 Oct 9:25AM

  15. Stivs, see you can be nice when you want to be. As for­ the FM SB incident I really dont get it. I would­ agree if SB had moved out from the kerb but he­ didn't, FM was driving past him and yes his rear­ wheel hit SB's front but that just shows he moved­ across before he was completely in front.
    Sorry :-)

    From Mike, on Mon 13 Oct 9:22AM

  16. g.gcww Did you think Lewis flatspotted his tires­ braking ? Being pushed on the track sideways by Massa­ would have the same effect .

    From barry w w, on Mon 13 Oct 9:15AM

  17. MASSA SHOULD BE DOTTED POINTS FOR HIS OVERTAKING ON THE­ PIT LANE.
    I THINK THAT F1 IS FAST BECOMING A FARCE IN­ SUPPORT FOR FARRARI.
    I WATCH EVERY RACE DISPITE THE­ TIME OF BROADCAST BUT I SHALL WONDER WEATHER THE OUT­ COME WILL BE FORSEEN IE FARRARI 1ST HAMMILTON­ PUNISHED TIME FOR THE BIGWIGS TO CHANGE.

    From sampson549, on Mon 13 Oct 8:52AM

  18. Alonso's looking good for next year, as long as he­ stays with Renault. As for the rest of these clowns, it­ looks like Hamilton's joined the circus with his­ Ferrari friends. Its the stewards that have corrupted­ the races. I think Sir Stewart 's right: they do­ need to get more serious officials. After all,­ isn't this the most expensive sport in the world?­ What are they doing with part-time help judging the­ races? They obviously favor Ferrari, but that's a­ cultural thing in the East. They do it in other sports­ as well, just as though it was a forgone conclusion.­ Mr. Baseball has to win. Massa clipped Bourdais'­ rear just like he did to Lewis, but the penalty was­ assessed to help Ferrari win the Series.

    From pHilo, on Mon 13 Oct 8:49AM

  19. MIKE Q [that lovely LOTUS badge] re your post of 5-35­ am THE start I am not sure L.H deserved the penalty the­ poodle did touch K.R. MASSA/L.H = MASSA deserved the­ penalty. MASSA/S.B =S.B deserved the penalty his­ front wheel made contact with the rear wheel of MASSA’S­ car. I hope you don’t find anything offensive

    From stivsf1, on Mon 13 Oct 8:25AM

  20. Hamilton deserved his penalty and if Massa hadn't­ hit him he'd have to go into the pits anyway to­ replace tyres that were flatspotted badly. Massa should­ have got more penalties as he drove off the track to­ overtake Webber, if any car had been using the pit lane­ exit Massa would have wiped them out and the incident­ with Bourdais was Massa's fault too as he had all­ the track and Bourdais had nowhere else to go. How much­ more help does Massa need to take the championship?

    From GEORGE, on Mon 13 Oct 8:06AM
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