Welcome back ladies and gentlemen; I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.  To kick things off this morning we have recap of the F1 race that transpired in Istanbul over the weekend.  As usual, if you have it TIVO'd and plan on catching it later, read no further; otherwise, keep reading for the full details of how the team fared.

In qualifying, things looked exactly as they've looked in four previous qualifying sessions, with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso qualifying in second and fourth, respectively.  Unfortunately, neither drive was able to maintain their position through the end of the opening lap, with both drivers dropping a spot to third and sixth - Lewis trailed Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, while Alonso followed BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica.

On laps 12 and 17, each of the BMW drivers pitted, allowing Fernando to move into fourth.  One lap later, Alonso entered the pits along with Kimi Raikkonen, while Massa entered the pits on lap 19 and Hamilton pitted on lap 20.  After the dust had settled, Massa again held the lead ahead of Raikkonen and Lewis, while Alonso had overtaken both BMW drivers and now held the fourth position.

On lap 43, things went awry for Hamilton, with Lewis suffering from and damaged front tire which forced him to slowly complete half a lap before entering the pits. Ferando made his second stop of the day during the same lap, and upon resuming, Hamilton and Alonso resumed in fifth and third, respectively.

After 58 laps, both drivers finished in their respective positions, while Ferrari's Massa and Raikkonen took the first and second spots.

To learn more, keep reading for the official press release detailing the Istanbul race complete with both driver and team interviews.

Enjoy.









OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


F1 Istanbul: Fernando Alonso third, Lewis Hamilton fifth

Istanbul,  Aug 26, 2007
The start: For the fifth time this year, Lewis and Fernando had qualified second and fourth respectively. At the start, Lewis dropped to third behind the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen whilst Fernando was sixth at the end of the opening lap.

The race: Fernando got stuck behind Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber). When Heidfeld’s team mate Robert Kubica pitted on lap 12 Fernando improved to fifth. On lap 17, also Heidfeld came in and Fernando was fourth.
Fernando made his first routine stop on lap 18 (9.1sec) together with Räikkönen, whilst Massa came in on lap 19 and Lewis on lap 20 (9.4sec). After that, Massa went back into the lead ahead of Räikkönen and Lewis; Fernando passed both BMW Saubers during his pitstop and was fourth.

On lap 43, Lewis suffered from a damaged right front tyre and drove slowly back to the pits for half a lap. Meanwhile, Fernando came in for his second routine stop (6.6sec). Lewis pitted just a few moments later (10.2sec) and resumed in fifth place behind Massa, Räikkönen, Fernando and Heidfeld.

After 58 laps, Fernando crossed the finish line third whilst Lewis ended up fifth.



Fernando Alonso
“It was not the plan to lose two places at the start, and so my race was pretty much over when I came into the first corner in sixth place. I was following Nick Heidfeld for 17 laps at the start, and it was very difficult to overtake him. Fortunately, we were able to do this in the first round of pitstops and that was when my race could really start. Unfortunately, I was 30 seconds down at that point, so third was a good result considering. I was told by the team to take it easy after Lewis’s puncture to avoid the same thing happening to me, but as I was already quite far back it did not make too much of a difference to my race.”

Lewis Hamilton
“A little bit unfortunate but still we did a good job, and the team was fantastic all weekend. We had the pace of the Ferraris, but when you are behind you lose a little bit of downforce; we were just matching them for most of the race. I saw some bits fly off the tyre and then it just blew on braking into Turn Nine. It was lucky that I didn’t put the car in the gravel and managed to control it back to the pits, as this meant that in the end I only lost two places. We still got some good points and I remain in the lead of the championship by five points, so it is not all bad.”

Ron Dennis
“This was always a race we expected to be challenging, so all in all we are not too upset with today’s result. Our pace was good and Fernando and Lewis both put in strong performances. Lewis's tyre failure came at an unfortunate time as he had enough fuel to go a few laps longer than the Ferraris, so we may have challenged them at the end. Anyway we now look forward to the next race at Monza where we expect to be stronger than we have been this weekend."

Norbert Haug
“It’s a shame -.the puncture on Lewis’s car prevented him from finishing on the podium, but Fernando did it with a very good drive. However, Lewis saved four important points under very difficult conditions following the failure of his right front tyre 15 laps from the finish. These points could be decisive in the end. Important is that with Fernando and Lewis, who finished third and fifth today, we retain the one-two lead in the Drivers’ World Championship and stay ahead as well in the Constructors’ rankings.”

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