European GP 2007

JULY 22, 2007

Race Incidents

Lewis Hamilton, European GP 2007
© The Cahier Archive

* Lap 1: On pole position for the second time this season, Kimi Raikkonen makes a clean start and Felipe Massa gets ahead of second fastest qualifier Fernando Alonso. Lewis Hamilton briefly moves up from 10th to fourth as the two BMWs collide at Turn Two - Nick Heidfeld taking out Robert Kubica - but the order is shuffled drastically as rain begins to fall and cars run wide in all directions. Leader Raikkonen enters the pit lane at the end of the lap, but slithers back out again. Massa pits, as does Alonso. Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli - fourth and fifth - press on. Mark Webber pits from sixth, Takuma Sato and Giancarlo Fisichella stay out. Jenson Button pits. Newcomer Markus Winkelhock - who started on wets after stopping at the end of the formation lap - doesn't. Heikki Kovalainen comes in, the recovered Kubica opts not to stop and the rest all come in for wet tyres, in the order Scott Speed, Tonio Liuzzi, Anthony Davidson, Alexander Wurz, Nico Rosberg, David Coulthard - who has already been through the gravel once - Hamilton, Rubens Barrichello, Heidfeld and Adrian Sutil.

* Lap 2: Winkelhock leads. Fisichella runs through the gravel. All those still on dries make a stop for wets.

* Lap 3: Button, Hamilton, Rosberg, Sutil, Speed and Liuzzi all fly off the road. Only Hamilton rejoins, with help from a crane. Winkelhock makes a quick stop and rejoins at the head of the field. Barrichello, Schumacher, Sato, Trulli, Heidfeld and Davidson make second stops, too. The Safety Car is deployed.

* Lap 4: Red flag. Winkelhock is shown as leader, with Massa, Alonso, Webber, Coulthard, Kovalainen, Raikkonen, Wurz, Barrichello, Fisichella, Kubica, Schumacher, Sato, Trulli, Heidfeld, Davidson and Hamilton completing the 17 remaining cars. The race is suspended for 22 minutes pending a Safety Car restart. Rain is forecast to return in about 25 minutes...

* Lap 5: It has stopped raining as the restart takes place on a damp track. Heidfeld pits for the third time and drops to the tail of the field.

* Lap 6: Trulli and Davidson pit. Hamilton - a lap down - is instructed to pass all other cars and reclaim his missing lap. Once he has done that, he comes in for dry tyres.

* Lap 7: Weather forecast changes: no rain for the next 30 minutes.

* Lap 8: Restart. Massa and Alonso immediately swamp Winkelhock. Massa ends the lap ahead from Alonso, Coulthard, Webber, Kovalainen, Raikkonen, Wurz, Winkelhock, Barrichello, Fisichella, Kubica, Schumacher, Sato, Heidfeld, Trulli Davidson and Hamilton - a lap down again due to his extra stop (and presently slower dry tyres).

* Lap 9: Massa leads by 0.6s. Fisichella passes Barrichello. Schumacher passes Kubica and Barrichello. All of them - plus Heidfeld and Sato - pass Winkelhock.

* Lap 10: Webber passes Coulthard. Trulli and Davidson pass Winkelhock. Hamilton ploughs through the gravel at Turn Seven.

* Lap 11: Hamilton is suddenly the fastest man on the track. Raikkonen, Wurz, Davidson and Winkelhock pit for dries.

* Lap 12: Massa, Alonso, Webber, Kovalainen, Fisichella, Schumacher, Kubica, Barrichello, Sato and Trulli pit. Coulthard leads.

* Lap 13: Coulthard and Heidfeld pit. Massa and Alonso lead from Raikkonen, who passes Webber when the latter runs wide at Turn One following his stop. Hamilton laps in 1m35.911s - the race's best yet.

* Lap 14: Massa leads by 2.1s from Alonso, with Raikkonen, Webber, Wurz, Kovalainen, Coulthard and Kubica completing the top eight. Winkelhock pulls off to retire.

* Lap 15: Massa leads by 2.4s. Raikkonen laps in 1m35.129s.

* Lap 16: Raikkonen goes faster still: 1m34.902s, then Hamilton posts a 1m34.359s.

* Lap 19: Kovalainen passes Wurz at Turn One. Schumacher spins into the gravel at the final corner after a shove from Heidfeld.

* Lap 20: Hamilton laps in 1m34.020s. Sato retires.

* Lap 21: Hamilton ups his pace again: 1m33.765s.

* Lap 22: Massa goes faster: 1m33.732s. He leads by 3.4s, with Raikkonen 0.8s behind Alonso in third. Kovalainen is right on Webber's tail in the battle for fourth.

* Lap 23: Hamilton posts a 1m33.643s. He's still 14th - and last - however.

* Lap 24: Hamilton improves again: 1m33.607s.

* Lap 27: Kovalainen pits. He drops from fifth to 10th.

* Lap 29: Hamilton sets a new fastest lap: 1m33.401s.

* Lap 30: Massa laps in 1m33.351s to extend his lead to 7.1s. Fisichella pits.

* Lap 33: Massa posts a 1m33.165s. Alonso is now lapping at a similar pace to the leader. Hamilton passes Fisichella.

* Lap 34: Massa laps in 1m32.853s but Raikkonen is down in the 1m36s. Trulli and Hamilton pit.

* Lap 35: Raikkonen's car stutters and crawls towards the pit lane. He's out. Webber moves up to third.

* Lap 37: Alonso, Wurz and Heidfeld pit. Hamilton passes Trulli.

* Lap 38: Massa pits. He resumes with a comfortable lead over Alonso. Davidson comes in for fuel and tyres, too.

* Lap 39: Kubica and Barrichello pit.

* Lap 40: With 20 laps to go, Massa is 7.2s clear of Alonso. Webber, Coulthard, Wurz, Kovalainen, Kubica, Heidfeld, Fisichella, Barrichello, Hamilton, Davidson and the lapped Trulli complete the field.

* Lap 41: Webber pits and drops to fourth, behind Coulthard. Hamilton passes Barrichello.

* Lap 43: Coulthard pits. Massa laps Hamilton.

* Lap 48: Massa and Hamilton just miss a fragment of debris lying on the pit straight. Alonso closes to within 4.8s of Massa. The weather forecast predicts rain in seven minutes.

* Lap 49: Drizzle. Kovalainen pits for intermediates.

* Lap 50: Massa leads by 4.4s.

* Lap 51: Fisichella and Hamilton pass the struggling Kovalainen. Davidson pits.

* Lap 52: Proper rain. Coulthard and Kubica pit, as do Fisichella and Barrichello.

* Lap 53: Massa, Alonso, Webber, Wurz and Heidfeld pit, as does Trulli.

* Lap 54: Hamilton pits.

* Lap 55: Alonso is all over Massa. Several passing attempts are rebuffed.

* Lap 56: The leaders take Turn One as one. Massa just stays ahead but only for a couple more corners. The Spaniard is 0.8s clear by the lap's end.

* Lap 57: Alonso extends his lead to 2.4s.

* Lap 58: Hamilton passes Fisichella.

* Lap 60: Alonso wins by 8.1s from Massa, with Webber a distant third after holding off a last-lap challenge from Wurz. Coulthard, Heidfeld, Kubica and Kovalainen complete the top eight. Hamilton, Fisichella, Barrichello, Davidson and Trulli complete the finishers.