Formula 1 Live

French GP - The Race (70 laps)

Grand Prix - Finished

Driver F1 Team Time Pit
1 K Raikkonen (FIN) Ferrari 1:30:54.200 2
2 F Massa (BRA) Ferrari 2.414 2
3 L Hamilton (GBR) McLaren Mercedes 32.153 3
4 R Kubica (POL) BMW 41.727 2
5 N Heidfeld (DEU) BMW 46.801 2
6 G Fisichella (ITA) Renault 52.210 2
7 F Alonso (ESP) McLaren Mercedes 56.516 2
8 J Button (GBR) BAR Honda 58.885 2
9 N Rosberg (DEU) Williams BMW 1:08.505 2
10 R Schumacher (DEU) Toyota at 1 lap 2
11 R Barrichello (BRA) BAR Honda at 1 lap 2
12 M Webber (AUS) Red Bull at 1 lap 2
13 D Coulthard (GBR) Red Bull at 1 lap 2
14 A Wurz (AUT) Williams BMW at 1 lap 2
15 H Kovalainen (FIN) Renault at 1 lap 2
16 T Sato (JPN) Super Aguri Formula One at 2 laps 2
17 A Sutil (DEU) Spyker at 2 laps 2
18 S Speed (USA) Red Bull out 2
19 C Albers (NLD) Spyker out 2
20 A Davidson (GBR) Super Aguri Formula One out 1
21 J Trulli (ITA) Toyota out 1
22 V Liuzzi (ITA) Red Bull out 1

Circuit

French GP Circuit
 

Live Comments

  1. 70/70 - Hamilton increases his championship lead to 14 points as he heads to his home race at Silverstone in seven days. Pressure? What pressure. See you all in Britain.

  2. 70/70 - Hamilton finishes third with Kubica, Heidfeld, Fisichella, Alonso and Jenson Button - a great drive from him - completing the points.

  3. 70/70 - That's Raikkonen's 11th GP win and his first here at Magny-Cours on what is Formula One's last vist here (for a while at least).

  4. 70/70 - RAIKKONEN WINS THE FRENCH GRAND PRIX!!!!! He leads Massa over the line in a formation finish.

  5. 70/70 - Adrian Sutil puts two wheels in the gravel at Estoril, but it doesn't affect him too much.

  6. 70/70 - Raikkonen starts his final lap. Just 2.8 miles between him and his second win of the season.

  7. 69/70 - Kubica has driven well in fourth. This comes, don't forget, only three weeks after that horror crash in Canada.

  8. 68/70 - Heidfeld strangely has just done his fastest lap of the race. An odd time to do it.

  9. 65/70 - 17 cars are still running, nine on the lead lap, and one of them is Jenson Button, who had just five laps between him and his first point of 2007. Come on Jense!

  10. 62/70 - Even Alonso has dropped back from Fisichella now.

  11. 60/72 - Things are calming down now. Raikkonen and Massa are maintaining a 2.1 second gap at the head of the field with Hamilton half a minute behind.

  12. 58/70 - Fisichella again covers the inside line at Adelaide. Why is Alonso always putting his car on the outside there?

  13. 57/70 - Scott Speed is out. His Toro Rosso breaks down while the American exits Adelaide and he pulls off on the right-hand side of the track.

  14. 55/70 - ALONSO GOES FOR FISICHELLA AROUND THE OUTSIDE AT ADELAIDE!!!! Not this time Fernando, you have to do it the way you did before.

  15. 54/70 - A great battle is raging for 14th place. Kovalainen gets alongside Wurz entering the Elf chicane... and the pair both miss the corner and go over the astroturf. Scott Speed is right on the tail of the pair too.

  16. 53/70 - The Ferraris of Massa and Raikkonen incidentally, will reduce their deficits from 19 and 26 points to 17 and 22.

  17. 53/70 - Let's talk championship. If things stay as they are right now Lewis Hamilton will increase his championship lead from ten points to 14 over Alonso, so the pressure is on the world champion to get past Fisichella.

  18. 51/70 - Hamilton stops for the last time... and emerges comfortably ahead of Kubica.

  19. 50/70 - Fisichella and Button pit from fourth and fifth. The Renault driver gets out ahead of Alonso. What a great few laps he's driven. AND BUTTON BEATS ROSBERG OUT!!! HE'S ON FOR A POINT!!!!

  20. 49/70 - Now it looks like Hamilton, who is closing up by a second a lap on Massa and now lies only five seconds behind the Ferrari, still has to stop again, we think, and that could let Kubica into third...

  21. 48/70 - Heidfeld stops from fifth... AND HE'S GOT BACK AHEAD OF ALONSO!!!!!! Fernando has it all to do again. It was those ragged laps that did it.

  22. 47/70 - RAIKKONEN'S DONE IT!!!! HE EMERGES FROM HIS STOP STILL WITH THE LEAD INTACT!!! What a great few laps from the Finn to catapault him in front of his team-mate.

  23. 46/70 - Raikkonen makes his final stop from the lead. He's just done the race's fastest lap while Massa is in traffic. This could be close as you like...

  24. 45/70 - He does, and retains his track position over Alonso, but dropping to eighth overall.

  25. 44/70 - Kubica is looking reasonably comfortable in fourth with Alonso 30 seconds behind. He needs to stop now to retain track position though.

  26. 43/70 - Nine seconds for Massa's stop as he pits from the lead. That could be enough to get him to the end of the race. And he's on the soft tyres too so that could definitley get him the 27 laps to the end.

  27. 42/70 - The strategy is not working for Hamilton. He's lost six tenths per lap to the Ferraris on every lap since his stop.

  28. 40/70 - He runs wide again. This time at Lycee. The stop dropped him to ninth but he needs to speed up. Why would he be trying so hard if he was on a two-stopper? Our information looks to be wrong.

  29. 39/70 - ALONSO GOES OFF AT ESTORIL!!! The McLaren snapped sideways mid-way through the turn and he went onto the asphalt run-off. He just got it back on before reaching the gravel, and probably only lost 1.5 seconds at best.

  30. 38/70 - Alonso stopped while all that was happening, but was over 2.5 seconds longer in his pit box than Hamilton. We think he could have been switched to a two-stop strategy.

  31. 37/70 - HAMILTON KEEPS HIS FOOT IN THOUGH AND LEAVES HIS BRAKING LATER INTO ADELAIDE!!!! He grabs third place back.

  32. 37/70 - Hamilton exits the pits JUST AS KUBICA COMES BY. THE PAIR GO SIDE BY SIDE THROUGH ESTORIL WITH THE BMW DRIVER JUST EDGING IT AND TAKING THIRD PLACE!!!!

  33. 36/70 - Hamilton stops for the second time. He was catching a huge bunch of cars to lap and McLaren have elected to get him some clear track instead.

  34. 35/70 - Alonso sets his personal best lap of the race and reduces the deficit to fourth place Kubica from seven to 5.9 seconds.

  35. 34/70 - ALONSO GETS HEIDFELD WITH THE MOST BALLSY MOVE I'VE SEEN ALL SEASON. He just put his car alongside the BMW into Imola and may as well have said "surrender or crash" to Heidfeld. He's now fifth.

  36. 33/70 - Both drivers make up a place though as Button stops from fifth, so this is now the battle for fifth place overall.

  37. 32/70 - ALONSO TRIES HEIDFELD ON THE BRAKES AGAIN!!!!! HE AGAIN GOES WIDE AT ADELAIDE THOUGH AND HAS TO CONCEDE THAT HE WON'T BE BY JUST YET!

  38. 31/70 - Oh dear Christijan. He pulled away before the lollipop came up. What a stupid thing for the Dutchman to do.

  39. 30/70 - Christijan Albers is out. He's pulled off at the pit exit. What's that attached to his car though? It's a fuel hose!!!!!

  40. 28/70 - And speaking of pressure on a BMW, Alonso is now right back on Heidfeld's tail. He gets alongside him at Adelaide.... but can't manage it. He was forced wide again.

  41. 27/70 - Button is having a sensational race in fifth. He is actually closing in on Kubica's fourth place BMW Sauber.

  42. 26/70 - The Ferrais have dropped Lewis Hamilton at the front. The championship leader is now six seconds behind Raikkonen, but ironically will increase his advantage at the top if things stay as they are.

  43. 25/70 - Raikkonen is definitley closing in on Massa at the front. He laps two tenths quicker and that reduces the gap to two seconds.

  44. 24/70 - That will become sixth when Button pits from his current fifth place.

  45. 23/70 - ALONSO IS SEVENTH!!!! He nails Fisichella on the brakes into Adelaide. That's the move he should have made last time around.

  46. 22/70 - Heidfeld pits.... FISICHELLA AND ALONSO DO NOT GO THROUGH AS HE EXITS THE PITS!!! ALONSO STAYS EIGHTH!!!!

  47. 22/70 - Raikkoen pits from the lead for eight seconds and that drops him back to second behind Massa, although that gap looks to have been substantially reduced.

  48. 21/70 - ALONSO GOES FOR FISICHELLA DOWN THE OUTSIDE AT ADELAIDE.... NO!!!! The Renault driver holds the inside line and hangs Alonso out to dry!

  49. 21/70 - Alonso is now right on the tail of Fisichella. That's the kind of pace he has in clear air. He should end up well ahead of Heidfeld.

  50. 20/70 - Rosberg pits from fourth/

  51. 20/70 - Jenson Button is in the points... for now. He's eighth in his Honda while the stops shuffle the field.

  52. 19/70 - Massa pits from the lead. 8.4 seconds and he gets more fuel than Hamilton did. He comes out in second as Kubica and Fisichella pit as well.

  53. 18/70 - Alonso's stop does mean that he his totally out of contention for victory... as long as it doesn't rain. Anything can happen if the heavens open.

  54. 18/70 - McLaren's tactics do work for Alonso though. He resumes in ninth, ahead of the Barrichello/Coulthard/Wurz/Webber/Sato battle. And he now has acres of clear track ahead of him.

  55. 17/70 - Hamilton emerges eighth, right behind Rosberg. We know he's much faster so this could kill his victory challenge.

  56. 16/70 - NO!!! It's Hamilton. 7.4 seconds for the third place man... AND ALONSO PITS TOO!!!! 7.9 seconds on the same lap. What an amazing turnaround.

  57. 15/70 - McLaren are getting ready for a pit-stop. Is this to get Alonso from under the rear wing of Nick Heidfeld?

  58. 14/70 - Massa's gap increases to 4.4 seconds as Hamilton starts to close in on Raikkonen as they get within ten laps of the pit-stops. He is less than two seconds behind the Finn now.

  59. 13/70 - David Coulthard is telling Red Bull to give him a front-wing adjustment. His car is sliding all over the place.

  60. 12/70 - Let's give a mention to Jenson Button. He's running ninth in his Honda and is miles quicker than team-mate Rubens Barrichello. If any of the front-runners has a problem he'll be on for a very welcome point at this rate.

  61. 11/70 - The top three are in a class of their own, with Kubica now six seconds behind Hamilton and the Brit having a similar gap to Massa.

  62. 10/70 - Alonso has a go into Adelaide, but has to duck back in behind Heidfeld. He wasn't quite close enough. This is really hurting the Spaniard. He started on the softy tyres but his performance advantage is now gone.

  63. 9/70* - Alonso is continuing to pressure Heidfeld. Nick takes a wide line through 130. It gives him a better corner exit but if Fernando gets any closer he'll be by on entry.

  64. 8/70* - Massa puts in the fastest lap of the race and extends his lead to three seconds.

  65. 7/70* - Three retirements then inside seven laps with Trulli, Davidson and Liuzzi all out.

  66. 6/70* - Liuzzi is walking back to the pits. It looks like that collision with Davidson put him out of the race too.

  67. 5/70* - ALONSO NAILS THE GERMAN FOR SIXTH....BUT HE'S LEFT HIS BRAKING TOO LATE AND SLIDES WIDE ON CORNER EXIT! HEIDFELD SHOVES THE MCLAREN DRIVER WIDE INTO THE CHICANE AND TAKES SIXTH BACK!!!! GREAT STUFF!!!!

  68. 5/70* - Heidfeld in sixth gets a big slide on out of Chateau d'Eau. That will let Alonso get a run on him into Lycee surely....

  69. 4/70* - Massa's lead over Raikkonen is already up to two seconds at the front of the field.

  70. 3/70* - Anthony Davidson is out too. His whole sidepod is ripped off the Super Aguri. He hit Liuzzi's Toro Rosso at the first corner.

  71. 2/70* - TRULLI IS OUT!!! The Toyota driver's front end is totalled after his contact with Kovalainen. He retires in the pits.

  72. 2/70* - ALONSO GETS BY ROSBERG AT LYCEE! That's seventh place for the world champion. He's made up three places already in this race.

  73. 2/70* - Heikki Kovalainen is into the pits for repairs. He gets a new nose and gets out onto the track.

  74. 2/70* - End of the first lap and it's Massa from Raikkonen, Hamilton, Kubica, Fisichella, Heidfeld, Rosberg, Alonso in eighth, Button and Barrichello.

  75. 1/71* - AT THE ADELAIDE HAIRPIN TRULLI SPEARS INTO KOVALAINEN AND SPINS THE RENAULT AROUND!!!! ALONSO JUST AVOIDS GETTING INVOLVED! They all keep going

  76. 1/70* - Good start from Massa... RAIKKONEN OUT-SPRINTS HAMILTON INTO SECOND!!!!!!

  77. 1/70* - OFF WE GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  78. 0/70* - The field returns to the grid. The heat haze is rising... the revs are increasing...... the lights are on.....

  79. 0/70* - Massa leads the field around. Among the now 20 cars following him is the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica, who has capped his comeback from injury by qualifying a career-best fourth fastest.

  80. 0/70* - Adrian Sutil's car won't start. His Spyker team are telling him he needs to be ready to jump out and get into the spare befoew the 15-second board is shown. Indeed, he is.

  81. 0/70* - A car dropped a lot of oil on the entry to the 120mph Imola s-bend and a trail of cement dust has now been laid on top of it to soak it up. Don't under-estimate how slippery it will be in the braking zone though.

  82. 0/70* - Felipe Massa will lead the 22-car field away on the formation lap. This is the Brazilian's fourth pole of the year and the sixth of his career.

  83. 12:52 - David Coulthard was late out of the pits in his Red Bull. He had to stop for an extra few minutes so his team could check his car over after his installation lap. The team say he has no problem though and have sent him back out.

  84. 12:50 - Takuma Sato starts at the back of the grid. Remember he had a ten-place penalty imposed on him for overtaking under yellow flags at Indianalpolis last time out.

  85. 12:45 - 15 minutes to go before the start of the race and the clouds are rolling in, but the track looks bone dry now. Good news for everybody, except perhaps Fernando Alonso who starts tenth after gearbox problems in qualifying.

  86. 12:20 - With forty minutes before the race start though, the sun is out and the track is drying. But rain is forecast to hit at some point during the 70-lap event and there is already a very big, very dark cloud blowing its way over.

  87. 12:15 - But Massa, Hamilton and the rest will have to battle against the elements today. It rained earlier during the Porsche Supercup race, causing a slippery track and washing away the racing line that had been put down over the rest of the weekend.

  88. 12:10 - Lewis Hamilton, as ever, is Britain's best hope for a win in the race, but he was beaten to pole position by Ferrari's Felipe Massa. The Scuderia are right back on form.

  89. 12:00 - The race is due off at 13:00 UK time with LIVE timing and text commentary from the circuit.

  90. 12:00 - Good afternoon and welcome to LIVE coverage of the French Grand Prix here on eurosport.yahoo.com from Magny-Cours.