Felipe Massa (Ferrari) has taken his third win of this season and the fifth of his career after a dominant display on Bridgestone’s hard and medium compound Potenza tyres in the hot and gruelling conditions of the Turkish Grand Prix.
Massa employed a medium-medium-hard tyre strategy to win his second Turkish Grand Prix, this race in 2006 being the scene of his very first Grand Prix victory, which was also scored on Bridgestone tyres. Crossing the finish line in second place was Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who employed the same tyre strategy to finish 2.2 seconds behind. Fernando Alonso (McLaren Mercedes) finished in third, using a hard-hard-medium strategy.
Illustrating the competitive nature of the Bridgestone Potenza tyres here the fastest lap time on both compounds was quicker than the fastest race lap set in 2006, by Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), also on Bridgestone tyres. Massa set the fastest lap time on the medium compound, a 1min 27.922secs on lap 18. Raikkonen set the fastest time on the hard compound, a 1min 27.295 secs, on the race’s penultimate lap.
A diverse range of strategies were used by the teams with both Ferraris starting on the medium compound, unlike the majority of the field. They opted for two stints on this tyre unlike Alonso’s two on the hard compound. Two stop strategies were the most numerous, although two cars employed a one stop strategy.
Lewis Hamilton experienced a problem with his right front tyre on lap 44 which his McLaren Mercedes team and Bridgestone are investigating. He finished in fifth place and continues to lead thedrivers’ championship with 84 points to Alonso’s 79. Massa is in fourth with 69 points, just one point ahead of Raikkonen. The constructors’ championship is led by McLaren Mercedes on 148 points, ahead of Ferrari on 137.
Bridgestone Potenza Formula One tyres will next be in race action at the Gran Premio d’Italia at Monza on September 7-9 where Bridgestone’s medium and soft compound Potenzas will be used. All teams will test these compounds prior to the race at Monza on August 28-30.
Kees van de Grint, Bridgestone Motorsport Head of Track Engineering Operations said:
“Today’s race was all about the start. The Ferrari drivers both took advantage of the medium compound for their opening stints and from that point on, it looked like a straightforward race. The lap time difference between the two specifications of Bridgestone tyre closed as the race progressed and both specifications had similar wear levels. We did observe some chunking of the tyres today due to the long left hand corner in the Turn Eight complex and we will take this into consideration for next year’s race. Unfortunately, Lewis Hamilton’s front right tyre deflated on his second stint and we are still investigating the reason for this. The cause is not immediatelyevident following our preliminary investigations. Fortunately Hamilton was able to pit and finish the race to take points. ”
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