Type	F1
Country	France
Grand prix	French
Date	July 1
Year	2007
Race no	8
Season no	17
Official name	XCIII Grand Prix de France
Location	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course mi	2.74
Course km	4.411
Distance laps	70
Distance mi	191.8
Distance km	308.77
Pole driver	Felipe Massa
Pole country	Brazil
Pole team	Ferrari
Pole time	1:15.034
Fast driver	Felipe Massa
Fast country	Brazil
Fast team	Ferrari
Fast time	1:16.099
Fast lap	42
First driver	Kimi Räikkönen
First team	Ferrari
First country	Finland
Second driver	Felipe Massa
Second team	Ferrari
Second country	Brazil
Third driver	Lewis Hamilton
Third team	McLaren-Mercedes
Third country	United Kingdom
Lapchart

The 2007 French Grand Prix (formally the XCIII Grand Prix de France) was a Formula One motor race held on July 1, 2007 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France. It was the eighth race of the 2007 Formula One season. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after starting from third position. Felipe Massa, who started the race from pole position, finished second in the latter Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton third in a McLaren car.

Massa controlled most of the race from the front, but Räikkönen overtook him during the second round of pit stops to take the lead.

Report

Background

Following the United States Grand Prix, the Formula One teams headed to Silverstone for a three-day test. Nine teams participated, with the exception of Honda and Super Aguri, who opted to test at the Jerez circuit. Neither Ferrari nor McLaren were fastest on the first two days at Silverstone, rather it was Toyota that was fastest on both of the days. However, on the third and final day of testing Felipe Massa put Ferrari on top with a time of 1:20.805. The nearest challenger, Nico Rosberg was 0.469 behind, with Fernando Alonso a further 0.010 behind. With Ferrari fastest on the third day, both of their drivers, Massa and Kimi Räikkönen were very confident heading into the French round of the season.

Off track Ferrari launched a criminal investigation in Modena against their own employee Nigel Stepney. Stepney's lawyer ruled out sabotage claims, and Stepney said it was part of a "dirty tricks" campaign.

There was also controversy at the rear-end of the grid, as Spyker asked the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to look at the new updates that were put on the Super Aguri at Indianapolis to see whether the Aguri team are receiving current Honda parts. On Saturday, Super Aguri's managing director Daniel Audetto said "We have rules – they [Spyker] can just protest. Tell them to protest – if I have something to complain about, I will make a protest."

Robert Kubica was back in his BMW after his crash at the Canadian Grand Prix. Early on Saturday, Nick Heidfeld was cleared to continue in his BMW after experiencing back pains during Friday practice.

Practice

Ferrari dominated both practice sessions on the Friday, with Räikkönen fastest in the first Practice Session and Felipe Massa was fastest in the second Practice Session. Behind the Ferraris, Alonso was third in his McLaren, but seven tenths behind, with his team-mate and World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton sixth, but lost nearly an hour of the session due to car trouble. The two McLarens were split by David Coulthard and Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton managed to recover from his morning trouble to post the fourth fastest time in the second Practice Session on Friday afternoon. The Ferraris were still leading, but Massa was fastest, just 0.035 seconds ahead of Räikkönen. However, one of the major surprises came from Scuderia Toro Rosso, as Scott Speed posted the third quickest time, with Vitantonio Liuzzi posting the fifth quickest time. During the session, Liuzzi was involved in a bizarre incident with Anthony Davidson; Davidson exited his garage, and smashed his Super Aguri into the side of Liuzzi's Toro Rosso; knocking his front wing off in the accident. Alonso finished the second practice session eighth.

In the final practice session on Saturday morning, Hamilton managed to beat Ferrari, with the Englishman ahead of second-placed Massa by 0.063 seconds. Hamilton and the two Ferraris completed the top three, but Alonso was again down in eighth, having missed nearly the whole of the session with a faulty brake sensor. The Renaults sparked a return to form with Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella fourth and fifth, both ahead of rivals BMW, who were sixth and fifteenth respectively.

Qualifying

Both Spykers and both Super Aguris were knocked out of the first phase of qualifying, along with Alexander Wurz's Williams and Vitantonio Liuzzi's Toro Rosso. For Super Aguri's Takuma Sato, it did not matter where he qualified, as he was docked ten places, due to overtaking Jenson Button under yellow flags at the last Grand Prix. Spykers Adrian Sutil was hoping for a wet race after an unspectacular qualifying. At the front end of the grid, the McLarens were first and fourth, with Hamilton on top, and the Ferraris splitting them in third and fourth. Heikki Kovalainen rounded out the top five.

David Coulthard failed to complete a single timed lap in the second part of qualifying due to a gearbox problem, and started sixteenth. Both Hondas were knocked out also, along with Mark Webber, Scott Speed and Ralf Schumacher. Both Button and Barrichello were happier with the upgraded Honda, with Button saying "the car is certainly better than the last race in Indianapolis, although the positions don't reflect that". Hamilton was again fastest in Part two, with team-mate Alonso down in fifth. Massa, Räikkönen and Kubica rounded out the top four.

After topping the first two parts of qualifying, Hamilton dropped to second in the third and final part, with Massa taking pole position, just 0.070 ahead of the Englishman. Massa stated in the post-Qualifying press conference that "it looks like we [Ferrari] are back and fighting", with Hamilton believing pole was possible had he not made a mistake at Turn 15. Räikkönen qualified third as he lost time on one corner, which he called "all my fault". Alonso was unable to complete a single lap in the session due to a gearbox problem. He was classified tenth and stated that he'd "prefer a wet race". Behind Räikkönen was Kubica in fourth, but despite qualifying fifth, Giancarlo Fisichella believed there was "potential for more" from the Renault. Fisichella's team-mate Kovalainen was sixth, with Nick Heidfeld seventh. Jarno Trulli, Nico Rosberg and Alonso rounded out the top ten. Rosberg also had a slight gearbox problem in the final part of qualifying, which he believed cost him a few tenths coming into the final few corners.

Race

and Lewis Hamilton line up on the front row of the starting grid]] Three people were killed in a helicopter crash at the circuit on Saturday night. They were Emmanuel Longobardi, a PR operative; the pilot Pierre Bennehard; and Simon MacGill, a New Zealand national. A Bridgestone employee and his niece were injured. Longobardi was a popular member of the Formula One Paddock.

Adrian Sutil in the Spyker opted to start from the pitlane. Massa got off to the best possible start and retained his lead, but Räikkönen passed Hamilton into Turn One. At the back of the field, Anthony Davidson hit the back of Vitantonio Liuzzi's Toro Rosso. The Toro Rosso came back onto the track and smashed into the side of the Super Aguri. Liuzzi said afterwards that "all we can do is wait for Silverstone and hope that the definite improvement we have made with the car pays off". At the Adelaide hairpin, Jarno Trulli rammed into the back of Heikki Kovalainen. Trulli was out, but Kovalainen continued at the back of the field. Trulli apologised to Kovalainen after the race, and declared it "a racing accident". The tangle promoted Alonso up to eighth.

Robert Kubica was quickly losing ground on the two Ferraris and Hamilton. Alonso passed Rosberg for seventh, and quickly closed in on Heidfeld, but stayed behind him until he pitted on Lap 16. Alonso attempted to get past on Lap five, but ran wide, giving the position back to the German. Hamilton also pitted on Lap 16, with Massa pitting on Lap 19 and Räikkönen on Lap 21.

Räikkönen decreased Massa's lead back down from four seconds to two seconds. Alonso passed both Heidfeld and Fisichella in the middle section of the race. In the second round of stops, Räikkönen pitted two laps after Massa. These two laps extra gave Räikkönen the lead after his second stop, with Massa now second. Alonso pitted for the second time on lap 35. Heidfeld and Fisichella pitted several laps later, and both of them got out in front of Alonso. Christijan Albers had an unusual accident, his car left the pit lane with the fuel rig attached without being detached by the pit crews. Eventually, he drove to the side of the track and retired.

Räikkönen won the race from team-mate Massa, with Hamilton third. This marked Ferrari's first one-two of the season. Massa stated that the race win was lost "because of traffic", while team-mate Räikkönen stated he was "much happier with the car", as he became the first Finn to win the race. Kubica was a lonely fourth, with Fisichella, Heidfeld, Alonso and Button rounding out the points. Despite it being Button's first points of 2007, he said that he was "not getting too excited about it". Despite finishing seventh, Alonso was still confident about his title chances, saying that he hoped the "two points are important at the end of the season".

Classification

Qualifying

Takuma Sato demoted to 22nd place due to penalty imposed after US Grand Prix

Race

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings {|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |- ! Pos ! Constructor ! Points |- | 1 | Ferrari | align="right"| 89 |- | 2 | BMW Sauber | align="right"| 48 |- | 3 | Renault | align="right"| 28 |- | 4 | Williams-Toyota | align="right"| 13 |- | 5 | Toyota | align="right"| 9 |}

Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

External links

Official website

Official Formula1.com page

Detailed French Grand Prix results

French Grand Prix Category:French Grand Prix Grand Prix

Name	Kimi Räikkönen
Caption	Räikkönen at the 2010 Rally Bulgaria
Nationality
Years	2009–present
Teams	ICE 1 Racing
Races	13
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Stagewins	1
Points	25
First race	2009 Rally Finland
Last race	2010 Rally GB

Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979 in Espoo), nicknamed Iceman, and occasionally described as "the fastest driver on the planet", is a Finnish World Rally Championship and former Formula One driver. After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he now competes in the World Rally Championship for the ICE 1 Racing.

Räikkönen entered Formula One as a regular driver for Sauber-Petronas in . Having previously only raced in very junior open-wheel categories, he was given his Super Licence from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) after a performance delivery promise by his team boss, Peter Sauber. He joined McLaren Mercedes in , and became a title contender by finishing runner-up in the and championships to Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, respectively. Räikkönen's 2003 and 2005 seasons were plagued by severe unreliability from his McLaren car, resulting in many pundits speculating that without the problems, he would have already been World Champion.

Switching to Ferrari in 2007, Räikkönen became the highest paid driver in motor sport with an estimated wage of $51 million per year. In turn his move to Ferrari saw him secure his first Formula One World Drivers' Championship, beating McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by one point, as well as becoming one of the very few drivers to win in their first season at Ferrari. After two more years in the sport, he left the Ferrari F1 team to drive a Citroën C4 for the Citroën Junior Team in the World Rally Championship for 2010.

Räikkönen is known to be very relaxed, calm, cool, and calculating in his everyday life as well as in his racing career—prompting the nickname "Iceman", which Räikkönen has tattooed on the underside of his left forearm and which is also subtly written on the side of his current helmet design. His other nicknames include Kimppa, Räikkä and Kimster (used by his mechanics).

In , Räikkönen was among the two Formula One drivers who made it into the Forbes magazine's The Celebrity 100 list, the other being Fernando Alonso. He is 36th on Forbes magazine's The Celebrity 100 list of 2008, and 41st on the previous year. On the same list, as of 2008, he is listed as the 26th highest paid celebrity overall and the 5th highest paid sportsman behind Tiger Woods, David Beckham, Michael Jordan and Phil Mickelson. In , Räikkönen was listed as the equal 2nd highest paid athlete in the world, behind Woods.

Career

Early career (until 2000)

Räikkönen had a long line of success in karting from the age of ten. His first race outside Finland was in Monaco when he was 15 years old. During the race, the steering wheel broke, but he continued, informing his mechanic by frantically waving the steering wheel in the air on the home straight. Räikkönen's next Monaco race was also memorable; he was thrown on the wrong side of the safety fence in a first lap collision, but continued driving until running out of road. Undeterred, he lifted his kart back on to the track and continued to race. His mechanic thought Räikkönen had retired, but he eventually caught up with the other competitors and finished third. In 1998 he was 1st in Nordic (karting) Championship at Varna in Norway. In 1999, Räikkönen was placed second in the European Formula Super A championship. In the same year, he also competed in the Formula Ford Euro Cup. By the age of twenty, he had won the British Formula Renault winter series, winning the first four races of the year. In 2000, he won seven out of ten events in the Formula Renault UK Championship. Over two series of Formula Renault (1999, 2000), he won 13 out of 23 events — a 56% win rate.

Formula One (2001–2009)

Date of birth	October 17, 1979
Years	–
Team(s)	Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari
Races	157 (156 starts)
Championships	1 ()
Wins	18
Podiums	62
Points	579
Poles	16
Fastest laps	35
First race	2001 Australian Grand Prix
First win	2003 Malaysian Grand Prix
Last win	2009 Belgian Grand Prix
Last race	2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Sauber (2001)

On the basis of these results, Peter Sauber gave the Finn a test with the Sauber Formula One team in September 2000 at the Mugello Circuit. After further tests in Jerez and Barcelona, Sauber signed Räikkönen for the season. However, some critics (including FIA president Max Mosley) voiced concerns over granting an F1 Super Licence to such an inexperienced driver: Räikkönen had only 23 car races to his credit. He was nevertheless granted his license and scored a championship point in his debut at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix. Räikkönen was asleep 30 minutes before the race.

Räikkönen had a solid debut year, achieving four points-scoring finishes and eight finishes in the top eight. Completing the year with 9 points, Räikkönen, along with teammate Nick Heidfeld, helped Sauber to what was then its best result of fourth place in the constructors' championship.

McLaren (2002–2006)

Räikkönen, long linked to Sauber's engine supplier Ferrari, instead sufficiently impressed McLaren to earn a race seat in Ron Dennis's team for , taking the seat left vacant by double-world champion, mentor (and fellow Finn) Mika Häkkinen's sabbatical.

2002

in 2002.]]

Räikkönen scored a third-place podium finish in his first race with McLaren, the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. Although McLaren suffered many Mercedes engine failures in 2002, Räikkönen scored 24 points and four podiums, and held his own against teammate David Coulthard. Räikkönen came close to winning his first Grand Prix in France, but went off track with a handful of laps to go, because of oil from the blown engine of Allan McNish's Toyota on the circuit. He finished the race second. He finished the season in sixth place, one place behind his team mate; together they achieved a solid third place for McLaren in the constructors' championship.

2003

At the opening , Räikkönen qualified 15th in the spare car. In the race he took the lead before being caught speeding in the pitlane, after a software glitch in the car's electronic system. Räikkönen held off Michael Schumacher to finish 3rd. In Malaysia, Räikkönen won his first race The best qualifying position that a McLaren driver could manage in the first 3 races was 6th. Räikkönen compounded this by stalling on the grid of the first race of the season, the , and ending the race with just a point. He looked set for a podium in Malaysia until a faulty tyre valve failed and dropped him out of the points. Bahrain saw him achieve his first podium of the season with a third place behind Renault's Alonso and the Toyota of Jarno Trulli.

Räikkönen then achieved three consecutive poles in San Marino, Spain, and a win after a safety car strategy call by Neil Martin at Monaco. An almost certain win was denied at Imola after a driveshaft failure, but he won the other two races, putting him within 22 points of leader Alonso. He registered strong, comfortable wins at Barcelona, beating local boy Alonso and at Monte Carlo, never dropping his lead in both races. At the , Räikkönen flat-spotted his right front tyre while lapping Jacques Villeneuve (some commentators put a share of the blame on Villeneuve, as he did not give Räikkönen the racing line). The resultant vibrations caused his suspension to fail while he led on the final lap, sending him into the tyre wall and handing a further ten points to his rival Alonso. Changing a tyre would have given him a relatively safe third place. However, tyre changes were only allowed in 2005 in cases where a "punctured or damaged tyre" could be changed for "clear and genuine safety reasons" and there was no precedent for whether the stewards would consider a flat-spotted tyre dangerous enough. This incident, in part, resulted in a rules clarification allowing teams to change a flat-spotted tyre without punishment.

Alonso's first major mistake of the 2005 season handed the to Räikkönen. The following weekend saw all the Michelin teams, including McLaren, withdraw from the for safety reasons. At the , Räikkönen suffered a ten-place grid-penalty following the replacement of his new specification Mercedes Benz engine which failed in Friday practice. Räikkönen, putting in what Ron Dennis called his best ever qualifying lap, qualified 3rd (demoted to 13th) with a significant fuel load. He finished 2nd behind Fernando Alonso. A week later at the , Räikkönen suffered another Mercedes engine failure due to an oil leak; his 2nd place qualifying place became 12th. He claimed 3rd place in the race.

In Germany, Räikkönen was comfortably in the lead having dominated all weekend, but suffered a hydraulics failure, handing victory and a further 10 points to Alonso. It was his third retirement while leading a race during the season. On all three occasions, it was championship rival Alonso who took advantage to win. Significantly, at the opening of the , though saying he was very comfortable at McLaren, Räikkönen raised the possibility that he might leave McLaren when his contract expired in 2006 if reliability issues were not solved. He told a news conference, "We need to work in a better way just to make sure that the car is very reliable." However he went on to take the chequered flag with a convincing victory over Michael Schumacher, albeit after McLaren teammate Montoya retired with driveshaft failure while leading.

Räikkönen won the Hungarian Grand Prix from the most handicapped qualifying position, having had to do his qualifying run first on the notoriously dusty and dirty track because of his early retirement a week earlier at Hockenheim. No other driver had previously managed this feat. Räikkönen then became the first ever winner of the . Two weeks later at the , Räikkönen's pole position was taken from him as he received another 10-position grid penalty for an engine change. It would emerge that he had 5 laps of fuel more than teammate Montoya and 6 more than Alonso during qualifying – and still managed to outpace them. During the race, Räikkönen was forced to take an extra stop when his left-rear tyre delaminated, which dropped him down to 12th. He recovered, but spun his car after pushing too hard while chasing Giancarlo Fisichella. He eventually finished fourth.

He went on to win, for the second year in a row, in Belgium at Spa-Francorchamps. The following race, the , saw Alonso clinch the Drivers' Championship, after finishing third behind Montoya and Räikkönen. In the penultimate race of the year, at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan, Räikkönen took his 7th victory of the season after starting 17th on the grid (as rain, and an engine failure for Räikkönen, had mixed up the qualifying grid). The win was secured when he overtook Renault driver Fisichella (who had started third on the grid, and had led most of the race) on the final lap – which Formula One journalist Peter Windsor thought the most impressive move of the race.

Räikkönen received the F1 Racing "Driver of the Year" accolade, and the Autosport "International Racing Driver of the Year" award.

2006

in early 2006.]] In Bahrain, Räikkönen suffered electronic problems during Friday practice and a spectacular rear suspension breakage during the first qualifying session, which forced him back to 22nd place on the grid. Nevertheless he drove through the field, ending third behind Alonso and Michael Schumacher. In Malaysia, Räikkönen was hit from behind by Red Bull Racing's Christian Klien on the first lap. The impact caused a left rear suspension failure resulting in Räikkönen retiring from the race.

Having started the year clearly behind Renault, McLaren improved in Australia, where Räikkönen finished second after flat spotting a tyre and losing a wing end-plate, which caused him to fall off the pace somewhat around the midpoint of the race. Chasing down Alonso during the final stages of the race, he set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, finishing only 1.8 seconds behind the Spaniard. At the , a bad choice of strategy and a mistake from Räikkönen in qualifying (8th) saw the McLarens get caught in traffic in the early part of the race allowing Michael Schumacher and Alonso to get away at the front. Räikkönen eventually finished 5th, with team mate Montoya ahead in 3rd place. McLaren team boss Ron Dennis blamed what he deemed to be Räikkönen's poor performance for the team's failure to finish in the top two in the race.

in April 2006.]]

At the , Räikkönen qualified 9th. However, he managed to get up to 5th place on the first lap of the race. He retained this position for most of the race, finishing in 5th place. A few days after the Spanish Grand Prix, he admitted that he had no chance of winning the 2006 Championship. In Monaco, Räikkönen qualified third. During the race he got up to 2nd and kept pace with Alonso, however he retired during a safety car period after a failed heat shield led to a wiring loom inside the car catching fire. After the retirement he was seen on live TV walking along the Monaco sidewalks with his helmet still on to the harbour and climbing aboard a yacht.

The at Silverstone saw Räikkönen qualify second behind Alonso and in front of Michael Schumacher. The running order was Alonso, Räikkönen, Schumacher until the second set of pitstops where Räikkönen was demoted to third by Schumacher, a position he held until the end of the race. In Canada, Räikkönen achieved another podium. In the , his teammate punted him out in an expensive seven car accident. The saw Räikkönen qualify his car in sixth. His teammate was now former test driver Pedro de la Rosa in place of Montoya. Räikkönen ended the race in fifth. In Germany, Räikkönen qualified on pole. After a battle with Jenson Button, he finished the race for the first time in his career, ending in third place. Another pole came in Hungary, but he collided with Vitantonio Liuzzi after 25 laps, causing his fourth retirement of the season.

A first turn incident with Scott Speed at the led to an exploded tyre and suspension damage. After a tyre change, Räikkönen's race ended half way into the next lap when he crashed into the barrier at turn 4 because of a loss of rear grip. Räikkönen qualified on pole for the by 2 thousandths of a second from Michael Schumacher. He led the early part of the race until the first pitstops where he was passed by Schumacher. He stayed in second place for the rest of the race. After the race, Schumacher announced that he would retire at the end of the season. Later, Ferrari announced that he would be replaced in the 2007 season by Räikkönen.

The saw another retirement for Räikkönen due to throttle problems. His last two Grands Prix, in Japan and Brazil, did lead to 2 finishes, but he missed the podium on both occasions. Räikkönen ended his time at McLaren-Mercedes with a fifth place in the World Drivers' Championship, with McLaren placing third in the World Constructors' Championship at the end of a winless year.

Räikkönen's British Formula Three Championship team Räikkönen Robertson Racing claimed their first major success, with British driver Mike Conway winning the 2006 British F3 International Series title and the prestigious Macau Grand Prix.

Ferrari (2007–2009)

After the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari announced that Räikkönen had signed a three-year contract with Scuderia Ferrari for the 2007–2009 seasons. Räikkönen said after the move that he was very happy with this change of events but wished McLaren the best of luck in the future. He became the team mate to Brazilian Felipe Massa, who had been driving for Ferrari since 2006. Following the retirement of Michael Schumacher and his new deal with Ferrari, Räikkönen was estimated to be the highest paid driver in F1, with a base salary reportedly worth US $51M annually. At the , Räikkönen qualified fourth, finished fourth and recorded fastest lap of the race. With ten races in the season left, Räikkönen was 26 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship.

In France, Räikkönen qualified third, but overtook Hamilton at the first corner of the race. He subsequently ran second, behind team-mate Massa, for much of the Grand Prix, but overtook the Brazilian during the pit-stops and took his second victory of the season. This was the 11th victory of his Formula One career, as well as Ferrari's first 1–2 win of the 2007 season. At the , Räikkönen qualified in second place, just missing the pole by running wide in the last corner. In the race, again took the lead through pit stops, first overtaking Lewis Hamilton midway through the race and then putting in fast laps as Fernando Alonso pitted for the second time in the closing stages to pass him. Räikkönen led to the end of the race.

At the , Räikkönen captured his second pole position of the season, but retired from the race, run in heavy rain, with a problem with the hydraulics of the car. In Hungary, Räikkönen qualified his car in fourth place, but started from third after Fernando Alonso was penalised. In the race he overtook Nick Heidfeld at the start and pressured Hamilton until the end, but had to settle for second, being 0.7s behind Hamilton. He set the fastest lap time on the last lap of the race, commenting after the race: "I was so bored behind Hamilton, I wanted to see how quick I could have been." In Turkey, Räikkönen missed pole position after making a mistake in the final sector of his fast lap, which left him third on the grid. On race day, he overtook Hamilton in the first corner and took second place, which he kept to the end of the race.

At Monza's third practice session, Räikkönen crashed into the tyre wall before entering the Ascari chicane. He qualified in fifth place, and raced in the Ferrari reserve car while suffering from a neck problem. The Ferrari team employed an unusual one-stop strategy, which left him third after Hamilton passed him late in the race on fresh tyres. At Spa-Francorchamps, Räikkönen's favourite circuit, he secured pole position again and took his fourth victory of the season. Massa finished second, Alonso third and Hamilton fourth. This was also Räikkönen's third consecutive Spa win, which placed him among six other drivers with three or more Spa wins., where he won his fourth race of the year.]]

At the Fuji Speedway in Japan, the only new track on the 2007 calendar, Räikkönen qualified in third position, while Hamilton took pole and Alonso second. In an extremely wet race, which saw the first 19 laps run behind the safety car, both Räikkönen and team-mate Massa were badly affected by having to change to extreme wet tyres during the early stages, because the FIA's tyre-rule notification arrived late at Ferrari. Towards the end of the race, Räikkönen moved through the field to third place, but could not pass his fellow countryman Heikki Kovalainen for second.

At the in Shanghai, Räikkönen dominated the whole weekend with fastest laps in the free-practice sessions. In qualifying, Hamilton took pole position with a lighter fuel load, while Räikkönen qualified second and Massa third. There was light rainfall at the beginning of the race which prompted the cars to start on intermediate tyres. After the first round of pit stops Hamilton lost grip as his tyres suffered graining, and Räikkönen overtook him. Hamilton retired after sliding into a gravel trap in the pit lane. Räikkönen took his fifth win of the season, that revived his title hopes before the last race of the season. This was also the 200th race win and 600th podium in Ferrari's Formula One history. Räikkönen moved to seven and three points behind Hamilton and Alonso in the Drivers' Championship, respectively, going into the last race in Brazil, the first three-way title battle in the final race of the season since .

.]] Räikkönen took the 2007 Formula One Drivers' title with victory in the at Interlagos, in an incident-packed race. Massa had taken pole, followed by Hamilton, Räikkönen, and Alonso. At the start of the race Räikkönen passed Hamilton on the outside and lined up behind Massa. Alonso shortly afterwards passed Hamilton, who fell progressively down the order. Räikkönen eventually overtook Massa, who was already eliminated from contention for the Driver's Championship in the Japanese Grand Prix. Massa's strategy for the second round of pit stops ensured Räikkönen kept the lead. Räikkönen went on to take the chequered flag, which handed him the crown by a single point from Hamilton and Alonso. Championship leader Hamilton eventually finished the race in seventh place, while defending champion Alonso managed third.

While Räikkönen had only one point more than Alonso and Hamilton at the end of the season, he had the most victories (six compared to four by each McLaren driver).

Räikkönen's Drivers' championship was briefly put into doubt when race stewards began an investigation after identifying possible fuel irregularities in the cars of Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld following post-race inspection. Their disqualification and a race reclassification would have seen Hamilton lifted from seventh to fourth in the race result. However the race stewards decided that no sanctions would be given, meaning the results would stand. McLaren appealed against the decision, however the FIA Court of Appeal rejected their appeal on 16 November 2007 thus confirming Räikkönen as the champion.

2008

After a disappointing first race for Ferrari in Australia where Räikkönen eventually finished eighth after starting 15th on the grid owing to a mechanical problem in qualifying, he won his first race of the 2008 season at the , finishing ahead of Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen. His victory in Kuala Lumpur came on the fifth anniversary of his maiden victory at the same track. In Bahrain, Räikkönen qualified in fourth on the grid. He moved up to second place by the third lap and finished in that position, behind his team-mate Felipe Massa. He also secured the lead in the championship.

.]]

In Spain, Räikkönen took the 15th pole of his career and his first of the 2008 season. He managed to take his second race win of the season and the fastest lap of the race. Räikkönen overtook Mika Häkkinen in the list of total number of fastest laps and also in terms of podium finishes, making him the highest ranked Finnish driver in these statistics.

At the , Räikkönen qualified in fourth place. Despite damaging his front wing in the early stages after a collision with fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen, Räikkönen was still able to set the fastest lap and finish in third place.

In Monaco, Räikkönen qualified in second behind teammate Felipe Massa. Räikkönen stayed second behind Massa until he was given a drive-through penalty for an infringement by the team on his car and dropped down to sixth. He was set for fifth until an incident with Adrian Sutil, when Räikkönen lost control on the damp track after exiting the tunnel, and hit Sutil's car in the rear. Räikkönen's car was not badly damaged and he was able to finish in ninth after replacing his front wing, also setting the fastest lap in the process. After the race, Mike Gascoyne, the Chief Technology Officer of Force India announced they were filing official protests with the stewards over the incident, demanding a ban for Räikkönen. However, the stewards decided not to penalise him.

at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.]]

In Canada, Räikkönen qualified third. In the race, he set the fastest lap during the first stint while catching up with Robert Kubica who was in second place. The safety car was deployed when Adrian Sutil's car broke down in a dangerous position. Both he and Kubica jumped ahead of race leader Lewis Hamilton when they pitted during the safety car period. As there was a red light at the end of the pitlane, Räikkönen and Kubica stopped alongside each other and waited for the signal to allow them back on to the circuit. Hamilton failed to notice the red light and hit the rear of Räikkönen's Ferrari, eliminating both cars.

Räikkönen went on to take his 16th pole position in France, which was the 200th pole for Scuderia Ferrari. Räikkönen dominated the race as he set the fastest lap and had a six second lead until a bank exhaust failure some half way through the race reduced his engine's power. He gave up the lead to his teammate Massa, but was far enough ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli, to secure second place and eight points.

Räikkönen qualified third at the . Before the race, Räikkönen pushed noted photographer Paul-Henri Cahier to the ground as he lined up a close-up shot. Raikkönen's manager Steve Robertson claimed the driver was provoked by Cahier touching him with his lens and standing on his belongings, but Cahier disputed this version of events. The race was in wet conditions and Räikkönen stayed third at the first corner behind Hamilton and Kovalainen. He kept pace and got up to second when Kovalainen spun. He then chased after Hamilton, and set the fastest lap as he drew up directly behind the McLaren. During the first pitstop, Ferrari did not change the intermediates on his car in the hope that the track would become dry. However, the track was hit by another shower, and Räikkönen rapidly lost pace, and dropped down to sixth before finally pitting for new tyres. He finished fourth, a lap down.

At the , Räikkönen qualified sixth and dropped down a place at the first corner. He was running fifth when the safety car came out after a crash involving Timo Glock. His teammate Felipe Massa was ahead of him on the track, and as a result, Räikkönen was forced to wait behind Massa when the pitlane opened. This dropped him down to 12th, but he eventually finished in sixth.

At the , Räikkönen again qualified sixth. He lost a position to Alonso at the beginning of the race but managed to finish third owing to Hamilton's tyre puncture, passing Alonso during the pitstops and Massa's retirement after an engine failure.

, where he crashed on the penultimate lap after a duel with Lewis Hamilton.]]

During the , Räikkönen qualified fourth and lost a place at the start to Kovalainen. He stayed fifth until the second round of pitstops when he exited before the fuel hose was properly disengaged from his car and left one of the mechanics with a fractured toe. Two laps later, he suffered a similar engine failure to Massa in the previous race; a connecting rod in his engine broke and he was forced to retire.

At the , Räikkönen again qualified fourth. He passed Kovalainen and Massa at the start to be second, and took the lead from Hamilton on the second lap. He pulled away, setting the fastest lap of the race and built a five second gap. He looked set to win but owing to a late-race rain shower, Hamilton closed right up to him and tried to pass him at the final chicane with two laps to go. Hamilton cut the chicane and rejoined ahead of Räikkönen. He claimed to have let Räikkönen take the place back. Hamilton then repassed him for the lead. The two battled on for the rest of the lap, with Räikkönen retaking the lead when the two stumbled upon spinning backmarker Nico Rosberg, forcing Hamilton onto the grass. Räikkönen spun at the next corner and fell behind Hamilton again. While trying to catch up, he lost control of the car, smashed into a wall and retired.

At the , which was held in extremely wet conditions, Räikkönen qualified 14th. He stayed on the 14th position for the first two stints. He climbed to ninth position in the third and last stint in which he also set the fastest lap of the race.

In Singapore, the first night-time event in Formula One history, Räikkönen qualified third behind Massa and Hamilton. He remained in this position for most of the early laps. On lap 14, Nelson Piquet, Jr.'s Renault hit the wall at turn 17 and the safety car was deployed. Both Ferrari drivers pitted during the safety car period, with Räikkönen queued behind Massa in a busy pitlane. Ferrari released Massa before the fuel hose was disconnected from the car, which compromised Räikkönen who rejoined in 16th. Räikkönen managed to climb to fifth place, but on lap 57, while attacking Timo Glock, he hit the wall after pushing too hard at turn 10 and retired. He set the fastest lap of the race as his tenth of the season. This equalled Michael Schumacher's 2004 record of ten fastest laps in a Formula One season.

At the at the Fuji Speedway circuit, Räikkönen qualified second on the grid, behind Hamilton, and took the lead at the start. Closing up to turn 1, Hamilton attempted to pass on the inside, braked late and went wide, forcing Räikkönen to also go wide. Räikkönen lost out heavily and went down to seventh position. He gained places after a collision between Hamilton and Massa, Kovalainen's hydraulic failure and an overtaking manoeuvre on Jarno Trulli. He eventually finished third, behind Renault's Fernando Alonso and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica. This result meant that it was impossible for Räikkönen to retain his Drivers' Championship title for the second year.

In China, Räikkönen qualified second behind Hamilton. At the start he stayed second with his teammate and now Ferrari's world championship contender, Massa, behind him in third place. However, with Räikkönen out of the running for the world championship he let Massa through into second place on lap 49, to help the latter gain two additional points in his pursuit of Hamilton in the world championship race.

At the , Räikkönen qualified third and finished third, behind Massa and Alonso. As Kubica failed to score, he finished third in the championship.

Räikkönen also won the DHL Fastest Lap Award for the second year in a row. He set 10 fastest laps throughout the season.

2009

, Ferrari's 2009 challenger.]] At the start of the 2009 season in the , Räikkönen qualified in ninth place. The pace of the Ferraris and McLarens in particular was significantly slower than the likes of the Brawn, Red Bull and other outfits who were struggling to keep up with them in 2008. In the race, both Ferraris were running well before Räikkönen hit a barrier. He was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 43 and subsequently retired with differential failure.

.]]

In Malaysia, Räikkönen topped the time sheet in the second practice session. Räikkönen was ninth in qualifying. Sebastian Vettel and Rubens Barrichello's ten and five-place penalties respectively meant that he was promoted to 7th. During the race, rain was predicted and the team took a gamble to change Räikkönen to full wet tyres whilst the track was still dry. The gamble did not pay off, and Räikkönen fell down the field. By the time the race was stopped on the 33rd lap due to torrential rain, Räikkönen was classified 14th.

Räikkönen's season did not get any better in Round 3 in China where he qualified in 8th place. In the wet race, he and Lewis Hamilton had duels early on, with Hamilton having to overtake Räikkönen three times to get the job done. Räikkönen complained about power loss from the engine from near the start and of a lack of grip after his one and only pit-stop. This meant that he could only finish 10th. In Bahrain, Räikkönen secured 6th place and Ferrari's first points of the year, but was disappointed by the team's performance. He retired from the due to a hydraulics failure after qualifying from the back of the grid.

At the , Räikkönen secured 2nd place in qualifying, Ferrari and Räikkönen's best qualifying of the year so far. He admitted that he was still disappointed because he missed out on pole narrowly to the Brawn of Jenson Button. Räikkönen lost out to Rubens Barrichello at the start of the race, dropping back to 3rd. He maintained this position until the chequered flag.

At the , Räikkönen qualified sixth, but damaged his front wing on the first lap. He could only finish ninth, out of the points. At the , Räikkönen qualified ninth but a good start saw him move up to fifth. However, he dropped to eighth during the pit stops because of traffic and remained until the finish.

At the , Räikkönen qualified ninth after a damp session. In the race however he collided with the Force India of Adrian Sutil like in the previous year in Monte Carlo, as the German was emerging from a pitstop. While Sutil managed to recover back to the pits to replace a nosecone, Raikkonen was forced to retire a few laps later with radiator damage as a result of the incident.

At the , Räikkönen took his and Ferrari's best finish of the season in 2nd, after making a great start from 7th. After the first corner Räikkönen was in 4th place, but when Fernando Alonso retired after his early first stop, Räikkönen moved up to 3rd. Räikkönen overtook Webber for 2nd place at the first round of pit stops when Räikkönen and Webber pitted on the same lap. Räikkönen had a clean pit-stop, whereas Webber had a problem and was released into the path of the Ferrari. Räikkönen and Webber avoided collision, and Webber had to slot in behind Räikkönen. On his second pit stop, Räikkönen had a problem with an exhaust pipe. However, having built quite a gap between him and Webber, he held on to take 2nd place.

At the , he qualified 6th. He jumped to 4th at the start of the race. He then moved up to 3rd after the second pit stops jumping Heikki Kovalainen for the last podium place, and stayed in that position until the end of the race, claiming his second straight podium.

At the , he qualified 6th, jumping to 2nd at the start of the race. After the safety car was removed, he passed Giancarlo Fisichella to take the race lead and led all the way to the chequered flag for his first race win in 25 races, and the first and only one for Ferrari in 2009. It was Räikkönen's fourth victory in the last five Belgian Grands Prix, bolstering his reputation as "The King of Spa".

Räikkönen continued his good form at the , qualifying and finishing 3rd, after Lewis Hamilton's last-lap crash. It was his 4th consecutive podium finish.

Singapore saw the end of a great run for Räikkönen where he only finished 10th after qualifying 12th.

In Japan, Räikkönen came very close to another podium, finishing fourth. He had qualified fifth and was not able to gain a place at the start of the race, as he was on hard tyres. He put on softs for his second stint and was able to close in on Nick Heidfeld at about three quarters of a second every lap. He overtook the German after the BMW Sauber came out of the pits. However, an accident involving Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari brought out the safety car on lap 44, which kept the field stationary for a further five laps. Despite Lewis Hamilton suffering a KERS failure, Räikkönen's car did not have the grip necessary and was not able to overtake the third-placed McLaren at the restart. He went wide in an attempt to overtake Hamilton but recovered without losing a further place to Nico Rosberg.

In Brazil, Räikkönen qualified 5th and finished 6th. His race was already ruined when Mark Webber swerved into his path, damaging the Ferrari's front wing. At the pit stop while having the wing changed, fuel dripping from the fuel rig stuck on Kovalainen's car caused the Ferrari to briefly burst in flames as the two cars were exiting their pit stops. For the rest of the race even with his eyes burning from fuel, Räikkönen used his strategy to move up the order and eventually finished in sixth place.

In Abu Dhabi, the last race of the season, Räikkönen qualified 11th with an uncompetitive car. He lost a place at the start of the race to Kamui Kobayashi. For the rest of the race, Räikkönen struggled and finished 12th, out of the points.

Leaving Formula One

Near the end of the 2009 season, Ferrari announced that Räikkönen would be leaving the team, despite having a contract to race for them in he would be replaced by Fernando Alonso. He was expected to return to McLaren alongside Lewis Hamilton but negotiations with the team failed. Räikkönen was linked to Mercedes GP but the team eventually signed Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. Toyota F1, before it pulled out of Formula One, offered Räikkönen a driving contract to replace Timo Glock in 2010. The BBC reported that he refused the contract owing to wanting to drive a race-winning car, not to mention Toyota not offering a large enough salary.

On 17 November 2009, his manager Steve Robertson confirmed that Räikkönen would not drive in Formula One in the 2010 season. But during 2010 itself, rumours emerged once again about another possible Räikkönen comeback this time with the Renault team in 2011. This followed a resurgence in Renault's form, and the fact that the Russian Vitaly Petrov had yet to be re-signed like team-mate Robert Kubica. Team principal Éric Boullier claimed he had been contacted by Räikkönen in connection with a possible return, but said that although he was flattered by Räikkönen's alleged display of interest: However Räikkönen angrily shot down the suggestion that he would race, claiming that Renault had simply used his name for "their own marketing purposes".

Rallying

.]] Räikkönen made his rally debut at the Arctic Lapland Rally, which ran from 23 to 24 January 2009, driving a Tommi Mäkinen Racing-prepared Abarth Grande Punto S2000. He finished in 13th place. Räikkönen made his WRC debut in the 2009 Rally Finland, which took place between 30 July and 2 August, starting just four days after his 2nd place finish in the Hungarian Grand Prix. He was running third in group N and 15th overall before crashing out in Väärinmaja, last stage of Saturday.

.]] On 4 December 2009, it was announced that Räikkönen would shift from Formula 1 to the World Rally Championship for the 2010 season as a full-time driver for the Citroën Junior Team, and that he would be driving a Red Bull-sponsored Citroën C4 WRC with his co-driver, Kaj Lindström. As members of the team, the pair were scheduled to participate in 12 of 13 rallies in the 2010 WRC calendar, the exception being Rally New Zealand.

On 3 April 2010, Räikkönen scored his first WRC points when he finished eighth in the Jordan Rally. Consequently, he became the second driver after Carlos Reutemann to score championship points in both Formula One and the World Rally Championship.

In the next WRC event, the Rally of Turkey, Räikkönen improved his best result with a 5th place finish, 6m 44.3s off the winner, Sebastien Loeb. This result saw him beat established and more experienced drivers in the field.

In the 2010 Rally Finland, retired four time World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen entered the race and said that if Räikkönen can't beat him then he might as well go back to F1. Kankkunen finished 8th and Räikkönen finished 25th due to car trouble. He finished 7th in Rally Deutschland, his 2nd ever asphalt rally, while notching up his first ever career stage win, the last stage of the rally.

On 18 September 2010, Räikkönen achieved his first rally win when he participated in the Rallye Vosgien 2010 in France. He won all six stages in the asphalt rally. Räikkönen couldn't start in the Rally Catalunya because he crashed during the shakedown, leaving the roll cage damaged, and the team didn't have enough time to repair it. Subsequently Räikkönen decided to not take part in the rally at all, even when he could by super rally rules. The reason was stated to be saving the car.

Personal life

Räikkönen married Jenni Dahlman, a Finnish model and former Miss Scandinavia, on 31 July 2004. They currently live in Switzerland. His older brother, Rami Räikkönen, is a rally driver and a national junior-class champion, who also competes in the Finnish Formula 3 Championship; their father Matti was a road builder.

Räikkönen's hobbies include snowboarding and ice hockey. During his spare time he can often be seen watching his hometown ice hockey team Espoo Blues play. He has also competed in several different kinds of motorsport events. In March 2007, while his Formula One rivals were in Australia preparing for the season opener, Räikkönen competed in a snowmobile race in Finland under the pseudonym "James Hunt", referring to the 1976 world champion whose "playboy" lifestyle has been compared with Räikkönen's own. Räikkönen won the Enduro Sprint race by over 20 seconds with his Lynx. Later in the year, he and two friends entered a powerboat race in the Finnish harbour city of Hanko while wearing gorilla suits. Again, he raced under the name "James Hunt". They then won a prize for the best-dressed crew.

In August 2008, it was announced that Räikkönen would appear on a set of Finnish postage stamps. The stamps, which were released to commemorate the Finnish postal service's 370th anniversary, feature images of him racing and on the podium, with the words "F1 World Champion '07 Kimi Räikkönen".

Results and records

Career summary

{| border="2" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 0 1em 0 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- ! Season ! Series ! Team Name ! Races ! Poles ! Wins ! Points ! Final Placing |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="4"| 1999 | European Formula Ford | ? | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| ? | style="text-align:center;"| ? | style="text-align:center;"| ? | style="text-align:center;"| 5th |- | Formula Ford Festival | Continental Racing Van Diemen | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| N/A | style="text-align:center;"| NC |- | Formula Renault 2000 UK Winter Championship | Manor Motorsport | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 40 | style="text-align:center; background:#fbffbf;"| 1st |- | Formula Renault 2000 UK | Haywood Racing | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| ? | style="text-align:center;"| ? |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 2000 | Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup | ? | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 62 | style="text-align:center;"| 7th |- | Formula Renault 2000 UK | Manor Motorsport | style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 6 | style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| 316 | style="text-align:center; background:#fbffbf;"| 1st |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2001 | Formula One | Sauber | style="text-align:center;"| 17 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| 9 | style="text-align:center;"| 10th |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2002 | Formula One | McLaren | style="text-align:center;"| 17 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| 24 | style="text-align:center;"| 6th |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2003 | Formula One | McLaren | style="text-align:center;"| 16 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 91 | style="text-align:center; background:#dfdfdf;"| 2nd |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2004 | Formula One | McLaren | style="text-align:center;"| 18 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 45 | style="text-align:center;"| 7th |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2005 | Formula One | McLaren | style="text-align:center;"| 19 | style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| 112 | style="text-align:center; background:#dfdfdf;"| 2nd |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2006 | Formula One | McLaren | style="text-align:center;"| 18 | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| 65 | style="text-align:center;"| 5th |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2007 | Formula One | Ferrari | style="text-align:center;"| 17 | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 6 | style="text-align:center;"| 110 | style="text-align:center; background:#fbffbf;"| 1st |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2008 | Formula One | Ferrari | style="text-align:center;"| 18 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 75 | style="text-align:center; background:#ffdf9f;"| 3rd |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 2009 | Formula One | Ferrari | style="text-align:center;"| 17 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 48 | style="text-align:center;"| 6th |- | World Rally Championship | Tommi Mäkinen Racing | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| – |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2010 | World Rally Championship | Citroën Junior Team | style="text-align:center;"| 13 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 | style="text-align:center;"| 25 | style="text-align:center;"| 10th |}

Complete Formula One results

() (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Formula One records and achievements

In 2005 Räikkönen equalled the record of wins in a single season without winning the World Title (7), shared with four time World Champion Alain Prost, who initially set the record in 1984 and matched it in 1988, and also with Michael Schumacher, in 2006.

In the 2005 and 2008 seasons, he equalled Michael Schumacher's record of 10 fastest race laps in a season, set in 2004.

He currently holds the third highest record for total fastest laps at 35.

In 2008, Räikkönen scored six consecutive fastest race laps (in Spain, Turkey, Monaco, Canada, France and Britain), equalling Alberto Ascari's record for the most consecutive fastest laps in a single season and placing him one behind Ascari's overall record of seven consecutive fastest laps (which were split across two seasons: six in 1952 and one in 1953).

He was the first driver to win on his Ferrari debut since Nigel Mansell at the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix and the first to win, set the fastest lap and pole position on his Ferrari debut since Juan Manuel Fangio at the 1956 Argentine Grand Prix. His replacement Fernando Alonso also won on his Ferrari debut at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, setting the fastest lap on the way; however Alonso only qualified 3rd.

Following Michael Schumacher's retirement at the end of 2006, Räikkönen was the highest paid driver in Formula One, with a reputed base salary of $51 m per year.

The 2007 Chinese Grand Prix saw Räikkönen give Scuderia Ferrari their 200th Formula One GP win, as well as their 600th podium (along with team-mate Felipe Massa who finished in 3rd).

At the 2008 French Grand Prix Räikkönen gave Ferrari their 200th pole position.

Räikkönen is the second driver to win the World Championship after being third in the drivers standings before the final race. Giuseppe Farina, the first F1 World Champion, was the first to do this in , beating Juan Manuel Fangio by three points and Luigi Fagioli by six points. Sebastian Vettel repeated this feat in 2010, when he won the championship at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Räikkönen is the third Ferrari driver after Juan Manuel Fangio and Jody Scheckter to win the world title in their first year with the team.

Räikkönen is the third Finnish driver to win the World Championship, after Keke Rosberg and Mika Häkkinen. He is also the most successful Finnish Formula One driver in terms of points, podium finishes and fastest laps.

Räikkönen also holds the record for the most wins in a debut year with Ferrari with 6, beating Alain Prost's previous record of 5 from 1990.

See also

Famous Finns

The Flying Finns

References

Bibliography

External links

Kimi Räikkönen official website

Formula One DataBase: Kimi Räikkönen

|after=Lewis Hamilton}} –|after=Sebastian Vettel}}

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:People from Espoo Category:Finnish racecar drivers Category:Finnish rally drivers Category:World Rally Championship drivers Category:Finnish Formula One drivers Category:McLaren Formula One drivers Category:Ferrari Formula One drivers Category:Formula One World Drivers' Champions Category:British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Category:Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Category:Formula Ford drivers Category:Monaco Grand Prix winners Category:CIK-FIA Karting World Championship drivers Category:Finnish expatriates in Switzerland Category:Finnish expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Finnish Lutherans

Gymnastname	Steliana Nistor
Caption	Steliana Nistor in 2008
Fullname	Steliana Nistor
Nickname	Stela, Steliata
Country
Birthdate	September 15, 1989
Birthplace	Sibiu
Height
Weight
Discipline	WAG
Level	Senior
Club	C.S.S. SIBIU
Headcoach	Nicolae Forminte
Assistcoach	Lucian Sandu, Liliana Cozma
Formercoach	Mihaela Stănuleţ, Raluca Bugner, Livia Ponoran
Music	"Happy Valley" by Vanessa Mae
Retired	2008
Show-medals	yes
Medaltemplates

Steliana Nistor (born September 15, 1989 in Sibiu, Romania) is a Romanian gymnast. She is an Olympic and a world bronze medalist with the team. Individually, she is a world all around and beam silver medalist and a multiple European medalist on beam and uneven bars. Her best events were the uneven bars, the beam and the all around. She was a valuable member of the Romanian team between 2006 and 2008, often contributing to the team final score with the highest marks among all her colleagues.

Early gymnastic career

Steliana began gymnastics at the age of five, at the gymnastics club CSS Sibiu under the training of the former Olympic champion Mihaela Stănuleţ and of the coach Raluca Bugner (since 1998). In 1998 she placed first with the team at an international competition in France. In 2001 she won the all-around title, gold on bars and beam and bronze on floor at the Romanian junior championships in her age category. These successes allowed her to join the national junior gymnastic team in 2002. As a national junior she medaled in several international and national competitions. The 2004 European Junior Championships Amsterdam was an especially successful met for Steliana. She won gold in the all around and floor final events and silver in the team and vault finals. Her all around score was the highest score of all the gymnasts, including the senior ones.

Senior life

2005

Since 2005, Steliana has been a member of the senior national gymnastic team. Unfortunately she was sidelined for nearly six months with back and knee injuries and she did not compete at all in 2005. It was only after an intensive rehabilitation process that she was able to return, and Nistor still sometimes wore a protective brace on her right knee. However, during 2006 she reestablished herself as contender in all around competitions wining the all around silver behind Sandra Izbaşa at the Romanian Nationals. Steliana was also a member of the national team competing for the 2006 World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. According to the team's coach Nicolae Forminte, the 2006 team was Romania's most unexperienced generation since the time of Nadia Comăneci. From all the team members only Floarea Leonida had the experience of a world championship. In Aarhus, the Romanian team placed 4th in the team competition, the first time since 1981 that the Romanian team failed to medal at a world championship. She also placed 4th all-around behind her teammate Sandra Izbaşa and 7th on beam and on uneven bars. She ended 2006 by pairing with Marian Drăgulescu for the silver medal at the Swiss Cup and by winning gold on beam and bronze on floor at the Glasgow Grand Prix.

2007

In 2007 she had several successful international meets. In the qualification round of the 2007 European Championships, Amsterdam, The Netherlands she placed second all around, third on beam and floor and fourth on bars. She won silver on bars and bronze on beam. The last Romanian gymnast to medal on bars at European Championships was Claudia Presecan in 1998. Falls from beam and on floor placed her fourth all-around and fifth on floor. Her team colleague Sandra Izbaşa won the all around silver medal.

At the 2007 World Championships, she helped her team to qualify in the third place by scoring the highest all around mark of the women's qualifications. Individually, she qualified first in the all around final and fourth on beam and fifth on uneven bars. She won silver in the all around event behind Shawn Johnson and silver on beam behind Nastia Liukin and placed sixth on the uneven bars finals. She also contributed considerably to the team bronze medal by receiving the highest average score of all her team colleagues.

Besides the European and World championships she competed at various world cup events. She won the Swiss Cup mixed pair event with Flavius Koczi, medaled gold on bars and bronze on floor at the Glasgow Gand Prix and won gold on beam and floor and bronze on bars at the Ghent World Cup She won gold with the team, silver on the uneven bars and after a fall she placed 6th on beam finals. Had there been a senior all around competition, Steliana would have won the title with her 60.700, highlighted by a 15.400 on bars (toe-on-1 and 1/2 to Jaeger; toe-on-Tkatchev-Pak) and 15.800 on beam (flip-flop full). A picture of her performing on the floor exercise at these European Championships appearead on the cover of May 2008 International Gymnastics Magazine.

The 2008 Romanian Nationals coincided with Nistor's exams, so she juggled a full competition with her studies. Nistor won the all-around and two events and scored 10s on Romanian language and literature, English and Sports. Her final average was 8.95, placing her among the top ten students in Deva. The process, Nistor told Prosport, was "draining," and she only competed bars at a dual meet with Italy the following week to give her mind and body a rest.

Together with Sandra Izbaşa, Anamaria Tămârjan, Gabriela Drăgoi, Andreea Grigore, and Andreea Acatrinei, Steliana was a member of the Romanian team at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games Beijing, China. In the team competition she did all four events and contributed heavily to the team score on uneven bars with a world class routine (scored 16.150). She won the bronze medal with the team and placed 5th in the all-around and 7th on uneven bars. Following the Olympic games, Nistor went back home while the other gymnasts went to Constanta for a holiday/training camp by the seaside. A few weeks later, she formally announced on television that she would be retiring, having been bothered by back pains for quite some time.

Skills

Nistor skills included a handspring to back full on balance beam, as well as a front flip to Arabesque. On bars, she performed a toe-on reverse hecht (called a Ray) to a Pak salto.

Floor Music

2006 Ritual fire dance from "El amor brujo" by Manuel de Falla

References

External links

“Steliana Nistor: unofficial website”

Site of fans in Brazil

Steliana Nistor: Unofficial Fan Site (Romanian)

Steliana Nistor photogallery

Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:People from Sibiu Category:Romanian female artistic gymnasts Category:European Champions in Gymnastics Category:Medalists at World Gymnastics Championships Category:Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic gymnasts of Romania Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Romania

{|align="right" |- |

Name	Martin Brundle
Pixels	200px
Caption	Brundle in 2004
Nationality	British
Date of birth	June 01, 1959
Years	–, –
Team(s)	Tyrrell, Zakspeed, Williams, Brabham, Benetton, Ligier, McLaren and Jordan
Races	165 (158 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	9
Points	98
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1984 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last race	1996 Japanese Grand Prix

|- | |} Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959 in King's Lynn, Norfolk) is a British former racing driver from England, known as a Formula One driver and as an F1 commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008 and for the BBC from 2009.

Brundle contested the British Formula Three Championship with Ayrton Senna in 1983, finishing a close second, and the two progressed to Formula One the next year. Brundle failed to score a victory at the top level of single seaters, but he has been very successful in other disciplines. He was the 1988 World Sportscar Champion, with a record points haul, and won the 1990 Le Mans 24 hour Race for Jaguar in an XJR-12.

Career

Early Racing Career

Brundle had an unorthodox route to Formula 1. He began his racing career at the age of 12, competing in grass track racing, The next year, he battled Ayrton Senna, for the F3 championship, which Brundle eventually lost on the final laps of the last race. In 1984, he was promoted to Formula One.

Formula One (1984–1987)

His Formula One career began with Tyrrell in 1984. He put in a number of aggressive and fast drives, finishing fifth in his first race at Brazil and then second at Detroit. with a record points haul. He also won the Daytona 24 Hours the same year, for Jaguar. He became the test driver for Williams and stood in for Nigel Mansell at the 1988 Belgian Grand Prix, prior to his 2010 comeback partnering Nico Rosberg.

To the shock of the F1 paddock,

Joining the team was a case of bad timing in many ways. McLaren were on a downturn and throughout 1994 were unable to win. The team's Peugeot engines were unreliable, as was to be expected from a debuting engine supplier. At Silverstone Brundle's engine appeared to explode just as the starting lights turned green. In reality the culprit was a clutch that cracked spilling its lubricants on top of the hot engine causing a spectacular fire. Nevertheless, when the car was reliable, Brundle put in strong performances that season, most notably at Monaco where he finished second to Schumacher.

Having had poor luck and with Nigel Mansell signed to McLaren for 1995, Brundle once more raced for Ligier that year, although not for the full season. To appease Mugen-Honda he had to share the second seat with Aguri Suzuki, a move denounced by many commentators and fans. He impressed however, a strong fourth at Magny-Cours and what would be his last F1 podium, at Spa, being the highlights. In 1996 he teamed up with Rubens Barrichello at Jordan and enjoyed a good season, despite a slow start and a spectacular crash at Melbourne's inaugural GP, with regular points, fourth his best result. He finished fifth in the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix, which was his last Grand Prix in Formula One.

Brundle achieved 9 podiums, and scored a total of 98 championship points, with a best championship finish of 6th in 1992. He was especially strong on street circuits and similarly slow-speed, twisty courses — Monaco, Adelaide and the Hungaroring each produced 4 points finishes for him.

Brundle first commentated on F1 during the 1989 Belgian Grand Prix on the BBC. Having retired from the race, Brundle was asked by the BBC to enter the commentary box alongside Murray Walker as regular BBC commentator James Hunt failed to show up. Brundle was also part of the 1995 BBC commentary team whenever Aguri Suzuki was driving the Ligier-Mugen Honda such as the 1995 San Marino Grand Prix.

With Steve Rider busy covering the England versus Kazakhstan 2010 FIFA World Cup Group 6 qualification match, Brundle co-commentated and presented coverage of the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway.

Brundle has also been involved in driver management. At present, he is David Coulthard's manager. He also co-owned a management company, 2MB Sports Management, alongside Mark Blundell until January 2009, when he announced his intention to step down in order to focus on his television responsibilities and his son's career. Their clients include McLaren test driver Gary Paffett and British Formula Three champion Mike Conway.

Brundle took the wheel of a Jaguar F1 car for the Formula One demonstration in London prior to the 2004 British Grand Prix and drove a BMW Sauber during a demonstration in 2006. Also in 2006, Brundle drove a 2005 Red Bull Racing car around Silverstone as part of ITV's 'F1 Insight' feature. This was followed up in 2007 with Brundle and colleague Blundell both driving Williams F1 cars to demonstrate overtaking.

In 2004 he released his first book 'Working the Wheel'. The title is a reference to his 1996 crash in Melbourne.

His sports car prowess led to an invitation to the 1990 International Race of Champions, a three-race series in 1990 because of the switch to Dodge cars, where he won the second round at Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport during the Champ Car event.

In 2008 he came out of retirement to drive in the Formula Palmer Audi Championship alongside his son Alex, who was a series regular. He scored three top-eight finishes from the three races in which he took part. Alex will compete in the FIA Formula Two Championship for 2009.

Brundle also presented a documentary show on British television in 1998 called Great Escapes, which showed generally live recordings, and occasionally reconstructions, of stories where human beings managed to somehow survive in face of various dangers or perils. It ran for one series on ITV.

On Friday 13 February 2009, Brundle presented BBC Look East's 6.30pm bulletin, with Susie Fowler-Watt, reproducing his famous gridwalk.

For the Formula 1 season, the BBC announced Brundle was to become the lead commentator, with former F1 driver David Coulthard, who was part 'pundit' team during 2009 and 2010, moving alongside Brundle as co-commentator for the BBC coverage of Formula One.

Criticism of Max Mosley and the FIA

In September 2007 he suggested that the treatment of McLaren "had the feel of a witch hunt" in his Sunday Times column. As a result of these comments Brundle and the Sunday Times received a French writ from Max Mosley and the FIA for libel. In the same column on 9 December 2007 he accused the FIA of double standards and of issuing the writ at the same time as clearing Renault of spying as a warning to other journalists:

The timing of the writ is significant, in my view, given the FIA’s decision to find Renault guilty of having significant McLaren designs and information within their systems, but not administering any penalty. It is a warning sign to other journalists and publications to choose their words carefully over that decision. I’m tired of what I perceive as the "spin" and tactics of the FIA press office, as are many other journalists. I expect my accreditation pass for next year will be hindered in some way to make my coverage of F1 more difficult and to punish me. Or they will write to ITV again to say that my commentary is not up to standard despite my unprecedented six Royal Television Society Awards for sports broadcasting. So be it.

Brundle also asserted his right to voice his opinion about Formula One:

As a former Formula One driver, I have earnt the right to have an opinion about the sport, and probably know as much about it as anybody else. I have attended approaching 400 grands prix, 158 as a driver. I have spilt blood, broken bones, shed tears, generated tanker loads of sweat, tasted the champagne glories and plumbed the depths of misery. I have never been more passionate about F1 and will always share my opinions in an honest and open way, knowing readers will make up their own minds. saying "It's not appropriate behaviour for the head of any global body such as the FIA." In April Brundle argued:

"The specific detail of the scandal surrounding him is largely irrelevant, in my view. The sporting regulation he has used over the years to keep teams in check relates to bringing the sport into disrepute. If you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Sitting on the fence on this issue for any of us inside the sport is not an option. We must condone or condemn the situation he finds himself in. Mosley's position as president is untenable.

Pikey probe

Brundle was the subject of 14 complaints to Ofcom and 22 to ITV, for using the term "Pikeys" during ITV's coverage of the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix. In a pre-race live interview with Bernie Ecclestone, Brundle referred to 'pikeys' making repairs to the surface at turn 10 of the track by laying down fresh tarmac. ITV later apologised for the incident.

The word is considered insulting by the traveller community. The Oxford English Dictionary traced its use to 1837 by The Times, referring to "strangers harvesting in the Isle of Sheppey". Later that century it meant a "turnpike traveller" or vagabond. Laterly, it has become a derogatory term for Irish travellers and Gypsies.

Brundle and ITV were later cleared by Ofcom, as Brundle was not aware of the racial or cultural implications of the word, and ITV did apologise and explain the situation to him.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

* - Tyrrell were disqualified from the entire world championship for 1984 due to a technical infringement.

Personal

The son of a motor car dealer, he and his brother Robin (a fellow racing driver, who today competes in historic racing events), took over the family car dealership from their father. The business closed in 2003 after losing the local Toyota and Peugeot franchises.

Brundle is married to Liz Alex competed in 2006 in the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy . Brundle has always lived within a 5-mile radius of King's Lynn, and currently lives in Gayton, Norfolk.

References

External links

Official Website

Martin Brundle at itv.com

ITV commentator">Quotes as an ITV commentator

Fan site

Category:English racecar drivers Category:English Formula One drivers Category:McLaren Formula One drivers Category:Williams Formula One drivers Category:International Race of Champions drivers Category:British Formula Three Championship drivers Category:British Touring Car Championship drivers Category:British sports broadcasters Category:Motorsport announcers Category:People from King's Lynn Category:Segrave Trophy recipients Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:BRDC Gold Star winners Category:Formula Palmer Audi drivers Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Category:24 Hours of Daytona drivers Category:BBC sports presenters and reporters

at the Nürburgring in 1969]] Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion. He was born in Hampstead, London.

Graham Hill is the only driver to win the so-called Triple Crown of Motorsport and, with his son Damon, is part of the only father and son pair both to have won the Formula One World Championship.

Biography

Professional history

After serving in the Royal Navy as an Engine Room Artificer, Hill re-joined Smiths Instruments. Graham did not pass his driving test until he was 24 years old, and he himself described his first car as "A wreck. A budding racing driver should own such a car, as it teaches delicacy, poise and anticipation, mostly the latter I think!" He had been interested in motorcycles but in 1954 he saw an advertisement for the Universal Motor Racing Club at Brands Hatch offering laps for 5 shillings. He made his debut in a Cooper 500 Formula 3 car and was committed to racing thereafter. Graham joined Team Lotus as a mechanic soon after but quickly talked his way into the cockpit. The Lotus presence in Formula One allowed him to make his debut at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix, retiring with a halfshaft failure.

In 1960, Hill joined BRM, and won the world championship with them in 1962. Hill was also part of the so-called 'British invasion' of drivers and cars in the Indianapolis 500 during the mid-1960s, triumphing there in 1966 in a Lola-Ford.

In 1967, back at Lotus, Hill helped to develop the Lotus 49 with the new Cosworth-V8 engine. After team mates Jim Clark and Mike Spence were killed in early 1968, Hill led the team, and won his second world championship in 1968 . The Lotus had a reputation of being very fragile and dangerous at that time, especially with the new aerodynamic aids which caused similar crashes of Hill and Jochen Rindt at the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix. A crash at the 1969 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen broke his legs and interrupted his career.

Upon recovery Hill continued to race in F1 for several more years, but never again with the same level of success. Colin Chapman, believing Hill was a spent force, placed him in Rob Walker's team for 1970, sweetening the deal with one of the brand-new Lotus 72 cars. Although Hill scored points in 1970 he started the season far from fully fit and the 72 was not fully developed until late in the season. Hill moved to Brabham for 1971-2; his last win in Formula One was in the non-Championship International Trophy at Silverstone in 1971 with the "lobster claw" Brabham BT34. But the team was in flux after the retirements of Sir Jack Brabham and then Ron Tauranac's sale to Bernie Ecclestone; Hill did not settle there.

Hill was known during the latter part of his career for his wit and became a popular personality - he was a regular guest on television and wrote a notably frank and witty autobiography when recovering from his 1969 accident, Life At The Limit. Hill was also irreverently immortalized on a Monty Python episode ("It's the Arts (or: Intermission)" sketch called "Historical Impersonations"), in which a Gumby appears asking to "see John the Baptist's impersonation of Graham Hill." The head of St. John the Baptist appears on a silver platter, which runs around the floor making putt-putt noises of a race car engine.

Hill was involved with four films between 1966 and 1974, including appearances in Grand Prix and Caravan to Vaccarès, in which he appeared as a helicopter pilot.

Although Hill had concentrated on F1 he also maintained a presence in sports car racing throughout his career (including two runs in the Rover-BRM gas turbine car at Le Mans). As his F1 career drew to a close he became part of the Matra sports car team, taking a victory in the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans with Henri Pescarolo. This victory completed the so-called Triple Crown of motorsport which is alternatively defined as winning either: the Indianapolis 500 (won by Hill in 1966), the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1972) and the Monaco Grand Prix (1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969), or the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Formula One World Championship (1962, 1968). Using either definition, Hill is still the only person ever to have accomplished this feat.

With works drives becoming hard to find, Hill set up his own team in 1973: Embassy Hill with sponsorship from Imperial Tobacco. The team used chassis from Shadow and Lola before evolving the Lola into its own design in 1975. After failing to qualify for the 1975 Monaco Grand Prix, where he had won five times, Hill retired from driving to concentrate on running the team and supporting his protege Tony Brise.

Hill's record of 176 Grand Prix starts remained in place for over a decade, being equalled by Jacques Laffite.

Family

Hill married Bette in 1955. Being so short of cash having designated it to his racing career, Bette paid for the wedding. They had two daughters, Brigitte and Samantha, and a son, Damon who later became Formula One World Champion, the only son of a former champion to do so.

Rowing

Before taking up motor racing, Hill spent several years actively involved in rowing. Initially, he rowed at Southsea Rowing Club, while stationed in Portsmouth with the Royal Navy and at Auriol Rowing Club in Hammersmith. He met Bette at a Boxing Day party at Auriol and, while courting her, he also coached her clubmates at Stuart Ladies' Rowing Club on the River Lea.

In 1952 he joined London Rowing Club, then as now one of the largest and most successful clubs in Great Britain. From 1952 to 1954, Hill rowed in twenty finals with London, usually as stroke of the crew, eight of which resulted in wins. He also stroked the London eight in the highly prestigious Grand Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, losing a semi-final to Union Sportif Metropolitaine des Transports, France by a length.

Through his racing career he continued to support rowing and London. In 1968 when the club began a financial appeal to modernise its clubhouse, Hill launched proceedings by driving an old Morris Oxford, which had been obtained for £5, head-on into a boundary wall. Hill made three runs to reduce the wall to rubble, and the car was subsequently sold for £15.

Hill felt that the experience gained in rowing helped him in his motor-racing. He wrote in his autobiography:

"I really enjoyed my rowing. It really taught me a lot about myself, and I also think it is a great character-building sport...The self discipline required for rowing and the 'never say die' attitude obviously helped me through the difficult years that lay ahead."

Famously, Hill adopted the colours and cap design of London Rowing Club for his racing helmet - dark blue with white oar-shaped tabs. His son Damon later adopted the same colours.

Death

In November 1975, returning from the Paul Ricard circuit, France, Hill was killed when the Piper Aztec aeroplane he was piloting crashed while attempting to land in foggy conditions near Arkley golf course in North London. The crash also resulted in the deaths of team manager Ray Brimble, mechanics Tony Alcock and Terry Richards, up-and-coming driver Tony Brise and designer Andy Smallman; all from the Embassy Hill team.

His funeral was at St Albans Abbey, UK.

After his death, Silverstone village, home to the track of the same name, named a road, Graham Hill, after him. Graham Hill Bend at Brands Hatch is also named in his honour.

Race results

Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- !Starts |3 |- !Poles |0 |- !Front Row |1 |- !Wins |1 |- !Top 5 |1 |- !Top 10 |1 |- !Retired |2 |}

Hill's 1966 victory marked the first win by a rookie driver since Frank Lockhart's 1927 win and the last until Juan Montoya's visit to Victory Lane in 2000.

Hill entered the 1969 Indianapolis 500, but his car (Lotus-Ford Chassis 64/2) was withdrawn during practice along with those of Mario Andretti and Jochen Rindt due to delays rectifying problems associated with hub failure on Andretti's car.

Credits

Hill's easy wit and charm helped him become a television personality, notably on the BBC show Call My Bluff with Patrick Campbell and Frank Muir. For a number of years in the early 1970s he appeared as one half of a double act, with Jackie Stewart, as an insert within the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show.

In 1990, Hill was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

A one-off BBC Four documentary called was first broadcast on May 26, 2008.

References

External links

Graham Hill profile at The 500 Owners Association

Grand Prix History - Hall of Fame, Graham Hill

Graham Hill Statistics

Graham Hill Photos

Graham Hill, The Stig

}} }}

Category:1929 births Category:1975 deaths Category:English racecar drivers Category:English Formula One drivers Category:Formula One World Drivers' Champions Category:Formula One drivers and team owners Category:Lotus Formula One drivers Category:Indianapolis 500 drivers Category:Indy 500 winners Category:International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Category:International Race of Champions drivers Category:Accidents involving fog Category:Aviators killed in aircraft crashes in the United Kingdom Category:People from Hampstead Category:BRDC Gold Star winners Category:Monaco Grand Prix winners Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Category:British Touring Car Championship drivers Category:Tasman Series drivers Category:Accidental deaths in England

Name	Felipe Massa
Caption	Massa at the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Nationality	ian
Date of birth	April 25, 1981
2010 team	Ferrari
2010 car number	7
2011 team	Ferrari
2011 car number	6
Races	135 (133 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	11
Podiums	33
Points	464
Poles	15
Fastest laps	12
First race	2002 Australian Grand Prix
First win	2006 Turkish Grand Prix
Last win	2008 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last race
Last season	2010
Last position	6th (144 pts)

Felipe Massa (, born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.

Early years

Born in São Paulo, Massa is a Brazilian whose grandfather emigrated from Cerignola, Italy.

Massa began karting when he was 8 years old, finishing fourth in his first season. He continued in national and international championships for 7 years, and in 1998 moved into Formula Chevrolet, finishing the Brazilian championship in fifth place. During the following season, he won 3 of the 10 races and claimed the championship. In 2000, he moved to Europe to compete in the Italian Formula Renault series, winning both the Italian and the European Formula Renault championships that year. He could have moved to Formula Three, but instead chose the Euro Formula 3000, where he won 6 of the 8 races and the championship. He was then offered a Formula 1 test with the Sauber team, who signed him for 2002. He also drove for Alfa Romeo in the European Touring Car Championship as a guest driver.

Formula One career

Sauber (2002, 2004–2005)

at the 2005 British Grand Prix]] In his rookie year in Formula 1, Massa was paired with 1999 International Formula 3000 champion Nick Heidfeld. He proved he was a competitive driver, but made several mistakes, including spinning off the track several times. Nevertheless, Massa scored 4 championship points in his first season, his best result a 5th place at the at the Circuit de Catalunya. He suffered a one race suspension late in the season, forcing him to miss the . Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Sauber's former driver drove for Massa in his place. Massa returned to the driver's seat for the , but Sauber confirmed that Frentzen would partner Heidfeld in , leaving Massa without a race seat. Instead, He spent a year with Sauber's engine suppliers, Ferrari, gaining experience by testing for the championship-winning team.

Sauber then re-signed Massa for the 2004 season. In 2004, he scored 12 of Sauber's 34 points, his best result was a fourth place at the . Giancarlo Fisichella scored the team's other 22 points. Massa remained at Sauber in . Though he scored only 11 points, he outpaced his teammate Jacques Villeneuve through most of the season, and beat him in the drivers' championship. After Sauber was taken over by BMW, Massa was released and replaced by his former team-mate Heidfeld. In , Massa re-joined Ferrari, paired with Michael Schumacher.

Ferrari (2006–present)

2006

Massa started well at Ferrari, qualifying second at the opening race in Bahrain, and coming from 21st position to 5th in Malaysia, beating teammate Michael Schumacher, who had started from 14th. In Bahrain, however, in both Saturday practice and the race, Massa resumed his tendency to spin, narrowly missing Fernando Alonso, the eventual winner of the race. At the Australian GP he crashed his Ferrari in qualifying, then collided with Christian Klien and Nico Rosberg at the first corner of the race. Nevertheless, Massa scored his first career podium at the Nürburgring, finishing third behind Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. He also set the fastest lap at Barcelona in 2006. Massa had four more podium finishes in 2006, and took his first F1 pole position and his first F1 win at the at the Istanbul Park circuit. His future position at Ferrari was secured when Michael Schumacher announced on 10 September 2006, he would retire from F1 at the end of the 2006 season. On October 22, Massa won his home race at the , making it the first time a Brazilian driver had won at Interlagos since Ayrton Senna in 1993. Massa finished the season third with 80 points, behind world champion Fernando Alonso and Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher.

2007

Massa topped the time sheets on five occasions and set the fastest lap for four circuits during the pre-season testing. However, his 2007 season began with problems. At the season opening , he suffered a gearbox problem during qualifying and required an engine change. Massa started the race from 22nd position due to these problems and a 10-grid-slot penalty for the engine change. He employed a one pitstop strategy for the race and finished in sixth place. Massa's problems continued in Malaysia, where despite qualifying on pole position, the McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton overtook him at turn one. Massa ran off the track while attempting to overtake Hamilton, and lost two more places, dropping down to fifth place, where he finished the race. However, his season subsequently improved, as he won the Grands Prix of Bahrain and Spain, both from pole position, and finished third in Monaco. The race stewards at the disqualified Massa for leaving the pit lane while the red light was showing. After this disqualification, he won one more race at the , and finished on the podium at six more races, including a second place finish at his home grand prix at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Massa led much of the Brazilian Grand Prix, until yielding the lead to teammate Kimi Räikkönen, thus securing Räikkönen's world championship title. Massa finished the 2007 season ranked fourth in the drivers' standing with 94 points.

In October 2007, Massa extended his contract with Ferrari to the end of 2010.

2008

Massa endured a terrible first race weekend of his third year at Ferrari. The team, surprisingly, looked off the pace as Massa qualified fourth and his race was even less successful, spinning off at the first corner of the first lap, on lap 26 he collided with David Coulthard and eventually retired due to engine failure.

Things brightened up in Malaysia as he qualified on pole, half a second clear of Räikkönen in P2, but the race itself didn't go as well. Massa led from pole in the first 16 laps but was jumped by Räikkönen in the pitstops. He was still in contention for the victory battle and was chasing Räikkönen until he spun off on lap 31 while in second and retired.

After these two races people began to speculate that Massa had returned to his mistake-prone ways of when he first entered F1, and that he couldn't handle F1 cars without the help of traction control (which had been outlawed from the start of the 2008 season), but the next race put those thoughts on hold.

Massa went into the (where he won in ) with no points. He dominated the weekend, but Robert Kubica beat him to pole in qualifying. In the start, Massa beat Kubica even before the first corner. Räikkönen soon got up to second but he could not do a repeat of Malaysia. Massa was quicker and easily won by 3 seconds to open up his account.

In Spain, Massa qualified third behind Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso. He passed Alonso at the start and got up to second behind Räikkönen. He stayed on his teammate's shadow for the whole race, but there was no way he could pass or get ahead in the stops. He had to settle for second.

Massa took pole position at the next round at Turkey. He led from the start, and maintained the lead during the round of pitsops, but was passed by Lewis Hamilton's three-stopping McLaren at the start of the second stint. Hamilton pulled away, but he did not have the pace to take the lead that was needed to make his third stop and still come out ahead of Massa. Massa was a full 7 seconds up the road by then and took his second win of the season, and his third consecutive at the circuit.

At Monaco Massa qualified on pole, to his surprise (he had mentioned prior to the weekend that he did not like the circuit) and built up a 15-second lead over Räikkönen in the rain, before that advantage was wiped out by the safety car. Soon Räikkönen was out of contention with a drive-through penalty. After the safety car went, Massa again started pulling away from Robert Kubica, but he ran up an escape road and lost the lead. Massa did jump Kubica in the pitstops but Lewis Hamilton's one-stopping McLaren was by now way ahead of both of them. During the pitstops, Massa was fueled to the end of the race and was struggling, holding Kubica up. The track dried out and Massa had to pit for dries while Kubica took his second fuel stop at the same time and jumped him. Massa thus finished third behind Hamilton and Kubica.

In the , Massa qualified down in 6th place. In the race there was a safety car due to an incident involving Adrian Sutil. All drivers pitted, but Massa had to pit twice due to a delay with his fuel rig, which put him down to 17th. Massa then staged a fightback, charging back up to fifth place by the end of the race. Two of Massa's title contenders failed to finish after Hamilton collided with a stationary Räikkönen in the pitlane, allowing Massa to equal Hamilton and jump ahead of Räikkönen in the driver standings.

In the , Massa qualified 2nd on the grid behind his teammate Räikkönen. Massa stayed some 3 to 4 seconds behind his teammate for the first half of the race. However, Räikkönen had a developing problem in his exhaust system, which allowed Massa to overtake him and win the race. This win gave Massa lead in the championship, 2 points ahead of Robert Kubica, 5 points ahead of Räikkönen and 10 points ahead of Hamilton. Massa was the first Brazilian to lead the championship since Ayrton Senna in the 1993 Formula One season.

In the , Massa set the quickest time in 1st practice but immediately crashed. Things did not go any better during the rest of the weekend, as he had his season's worst qualifying down in 9th. In the wet race, while Hamilton dominated and Räikkönen finished fourth, things made a turn for the worse as he spun an embarrassing five times and finished last in 13th, over a lap down behind both his rivals. And so, at the end of the halfway stage of the season, Hamilton, Massa and Räikkönen were deadlocked on 48 points, with Robert Kubica only 2 points behind them.

The tenth round of the season was in Germany. Massa qualified 2nd behind Hamilton. He stayed second and was set to finish there until a crash involving Timo Glock brought out the safety car. Due to a miscommunication, Hamilton stayed out while the others, led by Massa pitted. However, when all the stops were over, Massa was behind Nelson Piquet, Jr. who had already pitted as he was on a one-stopper. Then, when a charging Hamilton came at him in the last 10 laps, Massa could not hold him off and subsequently finished third. After the race, Massa was 4 points behind Hamilton but 3 ahead of Räikkönen.

At the , the McLarens who were looking dominant locked out the front row, and the best Massa could get was third. However, at the start itself, Massa passed both Heikki Kovalainen and pole sitter Hamilton on the run down to the first corner. He had the race in control from that point, and built up a five-second lead over Hamilton. When Hamilton suffered a puncture, Massa was left 20 seconds in front and seemed to have victory in the bag, but with 3 laps remaining he suffered an engine failure and retired.

The twelfth round of the season, the was in Valencia, Spain. Massa took pole position comfortably at this new circuit, and led right from the start. However, during one of his pitstops he was released early and almost touched wheels with Adrian Sutil who was already coming down the pitlane. Massa let Sutil go ahead so it only cost him a second, he won with ease, including setting the fastest lap. After the race, the stewards decided to fine Massa €10,000 for the incident with Sutil, but the victory stood and he was only 6 points behind Hamilton as well as being 7 ahead of Räikkönen. The race was Massa's 100th Grand Prix entry, making him to date the only driver in history to win his 100th GP.

The next race was Belgium, Massa qualified second behind Hamilton. He lost a place at the start to Räikkönen and stayed in third until lap 42 of 44 when Hamilton passed Räikkönen for the lead, just after cutting a chicane. The two had more battles throughout that lap, which resulted in the Finn crashing out, promoting Massa to second, despite the Brazilian dropping 9 seconds on the last lap. Hamilton crossed the line first, but was penalised 25 seconds by the stewards after the race for cutting the chicane, and so the win went to Massa putting him only 2 points behind Hamilton.

At Italy Ferrari's home race, the weekend was wet throughout, and Massa was off form, qualifying only sixth, but he had a great chance to take the championship lead as Hamilton was down in 15th. During the race, Massa got up to third, but dropped back down to sixth after he pitted once more than most others. He finished there, but as Hamilton only finished seventh, there was only a 1 point gap now between them.

Massa took pole position for what was the first ever F1 night race and inaugural , beating Hamilton's best time by six tenths of a second. He maintained the lead at the start and after 14 laps, was over 5 seconds ahead of Hamilton. However, a crash for Nelson Piquet, Jr. brought out the safety car, bunching up all the cars. It was then time for the first round of stops and during his stop Massa was given the green light to go, but the refueller was still refuelling the car. Massa left with the fuel rig attached and so had to stop at the end of the pitlane. The mechanics ran the whole length of the pitlane and finally removed the rig, but Massa was now last. He was then given a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release, and was 15 seconds behind the rest of the field. His race ruined, he finished 13th and Hamilton who finished 3rd was now 7 points ahead of him.

At the Massa struggled in qualifying, having to settle for 5th on the grid. Meanwhile, Hamilton, his main rival took pole position. At the start there was an incident between Hamilton and Räikkönen, dropping the former to sixth. Massa stayed fifth, a place in front of his rival. On the second lap, as Massa was stuck behind the slower car of Jarno Trulli, Hamilton tried to pass him. The result was a collision, with Hamilton spinning down to the back, and Massa dropping down to seventh. He was given a drive-through penalty for the incident, and found himself down in 14th. He made a charge up the order, setting the fastest lap on his way to getting 8th and one point. This became seventh after a controversial 25-second time penalty was issued to Sébastien Bourdais, who was judged by the stewards to have caused a collision with Massa whilst exiting the pitlane.

At the the following week Massa and teammate Räikkönen, despite strong performances at Fuji, struggled for pace the entire weekend, a situation which Stefano Domenicali (Ferrari team principal) could not explain. Massa qualified 3rd behind Räikkönen's Ferrari and title rival Hamilton. Following the pattern of the weekend Massa struggled to keep up with Hamilton, who raced away and maintained a comfortable margin. Whilst he eventually found some speed after the graining period on the medium compound tyres, he was unable to catch Hamilton. As Räikkönen yielded second place to keep Massa's title hopes alive, Hamilton pulled his lead out to 7 points in the Drivers championship.

Massa remained optimistic stating "For sure we are in a difficult position but we know many things can happen in one race" and "Always when you play at home you usually play better", and emphatically stating he is "No more the Ferrari number two, Massa is now a contender".

During the course of the season, Massa had 6 pole positions – at the Malaysian, Turkish, Monaco, European, Singapore and Brazilian Grands Prix. He had 3 fastest laps – at the European, Japanese and Brazilian Grands Prix. He had 6 wins – at the Bahrain, Turkish, French, European, Belgian and the Brazilian Grands Prix.

2009

Felipe Massa gave Ferrari's 2009 challenger – the F60 – its shakedown test at Mugello on 12 January 2009.

Ferrari confirmed that it would equip the F60 with KERS several days before the season opening . Friday practice session did not begin so well for Massa as he recorded the 7th and 10th fastest times. Saturday qualifying fared little better as he lined up 7th (although was promoted to 6th as Glock's Toyota was disqualified). In the race the Ferrari's poor ability to handle its tyres lead to their aggressive race strategy of super soft/medium/medium compounds paying little dividends after the first 6 laps (where the Ferraris moved to the front of the pack). Although Massa managed to stay in the top 3 for the first half of the race, the exceptionally quick graining of the super soft tyres forced him into a 3 stop strategy. Before he was able to complete the race a mechanical problem forced him to retire.

In Malaysia, an error of judgement by Ferrari meant that Massa failed to make it through the first session of qualifying. In an interview to Rede Globo, Massa revealed that he and the team believed that his initial time was quick enough to proceed into Q2, and refrained from recording further times in order to conserve the car's engine. However, this was not the case, and Massa subsequently ended up in 16th for the race. In the race, Massa was classified as having finished in 9th, just outside of the points-paying positions, after the race was abandoned on the 33rd lap due to torrential rain, poor light, and timing delays. Massa also failed to score in the next two races, retiring from the with electrical problems, and finishing well outside of the point scoring positions in 14th in Bahrain, due to a KERS problem and damaging his car's front-wing on the first lap.

In Spain, Ferrari arrived with an upgraded car which attempted to fix many of the flaws present in the prior races. With the new aerodynamic parts, Massa managed to qualify in fourth place. He managed to maintain third position for a majority of the race before a computer issue showed the car as having less fuel than it should have, forcing him to conserve fuel in the final 10 laps, allowing Vettel and Alonso to cruise past, only for him to realise that the car had enough fuel for him not to need to conserve, after the race. The much upgraded car showed its pace by setting the third fastest time of the race after the two Brawns and in front of both Red Bull cars.

Monaco was another step in terms of improvement for the car as Massa finished fourth in the race, with fastest race lap. After qualifying a disappointing 8th, Massa produced a mistake free drive to net his first podium position of the season with a 3rd place at the at the Nürburgring. After making a great start to 4th place, he used his fuel strategy while defending from other drivers and looking after his tyres to take the final podium place.

Injury

On 25 July 2009, in the second round of qualifying for the , Massa was struck on the helmet by a suspension spring that had fallen from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn, on a high-speed part of the track. He subsequently crashed head-on into a tyre barrier. Massa was airlifted to the ÁEK hospital in Budapest, where he underwent surgery in the area surrounding his left eye. His condition was initially described as "life-threatening but stable", but improved rapidly. Massa was discharged from hospital the following week and returned to Brazil. After further tests it was decided Massa needed a titanium plate inserted into his skull to strengthen it for racing. Ferrari consultant and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was asked to take over Massa's race seat during his recovery, but his comeback was halted by neck injuries sustained during a motorcycle accident earlier in the year. Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer was confirmed as Massa's substitute for the European and Belgian Grands Prix. After two races in which Badoer failed to score a single point, on September 3, 2009 Ferrari announced that Massa's place for the rest of the season would instead be taken by Giancarlo Fisichella who had signed a deal to be a Ferrari test driver for 2010 and had driven for Force India throughout the 2009 season.

As part of his return to Formula One Massa undertook a series of neurological examinations, co-ordinated by the FIA's medical delegate, in Paris on 10 October 2009. The successful completion of these tests led to the announcement by Ferrari that Massa would, from 12 October 2009 be driving a 2007 Formula One car in order to continue re-acclimatising to racing. He waved the chequered flag at the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix.

2010

Massa started the season with a second place finish in Bahrain behind team-mate Fernando Alonso, despite having to save fuel in the last 22 laps.

At the , Massa was appointed a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. Massa qualified fifth for the race, which was marked by changeable weather conditions and ten non-finishers. He finished third, largely managing to steer clear of the chaos. After the race, Massa commented cheerfully that it had been an unusually good start to the season for him. Third was his best ever finish at Melbourne. After a storming drive to 7th from 21st on the grid in Malaysia, he took the lead in the world championship. However, a disappointing ninth in China meant that he dropped back to sixth in the standings.

In Monaco, Massa was very quick during practice and qualified fourth. He got off to a great start and got alongside Robert Kubica, but had to yield the racing line at the first corner and finished the race in fourth, which promoted him to fifth in the championship with 61 points. The next race, the  – at which Massa has historically excelled – ended for him in a disappointing seventh, although he at least managed to out-qualify team-mate Alonso and beat him in the race. Massa described the race as "boring" ; he spent it battling with the Renaults of Kubica and Vitaly Petrov for the minor points positions. In Canada he qualified 7th and after an excellent start he spun Liuzzi 3 times and from there on had a poor race finishing 15th and a lap down.

At the 2010 German Grand Prix Ferrari were investigated for team orders as Massa took the race lead early, ahead of Fernando Alonso in second and Sebastian Vettel close behind in third. During the race these positions were maintained until Massa received instructions from Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley, saying "Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?". Shortly afterwards, on lap 49, Massa allowed Alonso to take the lead, and consequently to win the race. With Smedley then adding after the pass 'Ok mate good lad, stick with him now, sorry.' The incident strongly suggested that a team order had been made to Massa to let Alonso overtake, and race stewards agreed. Despite team boss Stefano Domenicali's denial, Ferrari were fined $100,000 for breaking Sporting Regulations and the matter was referred to the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

In June, Massa agreed to a contract extension until the end of the 2012 season. | 10 | 3 | ? | ? | ? | ? |bgcolor="#FBFFBF"| 1st |- !rowspan=2| 2000 |align=left| Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup |align=left| Cram Competition | 9 | 3 | ? | ? | 4 | 140 |bgcolor="#FBFFBF"| 1st |- |align=left| Formula Renault 2000 Italy |align=left| Cram Competition | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 147 |bgcolor="#FBFFBF"| 1st |- !rowspan=3| 2001 |align=left| Euro Formula 3000 |align=left| Draco Junior Team | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 60 |bgcolor="#FBFFBF"| 1st |- |align=left| European Supertouring Championship |align=left| Team Nordauto | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 23rd |- |align=left| 24 Hours of Sicily |align=left| ? | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | N/A |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| 2nd |- ! 2002 |align=left| Formula One |align=left| Sauber Petronas | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13th |- ! 2003 |align=left| Formula One |align=left| Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro |colspan=7 |Test Driver |- ! 2004 |align=left| Formula One |align=left| Sauber Petronas | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 12th |- ! 2005 |align=left| Formula One |align=left| Sauber Petronas | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 13th |- ! 2006 |align=left| Formula One |align=left| Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 18 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 80 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| 3rd |- ! 2007 |align=left| Formula One |align=left| Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 17 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 94 | 4th |- ! 2008 |align=left| Formula One |align=left| Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 18 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 97 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| 2nd |- ! 2009 |align=left| Formula One |align=left| Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 11th |- |align="center"| 2010 |align=left| Formula One |align=left| Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 144 | 6th |}

Complete Euro Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) {| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;" |- ! Year ! Entrant ! Chassis ! Engine ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! 10 ! 11 ! 12 ! 13 ! 14 ! 15 ! 16 ! 17 ! 18 ! 19 ! WDC ! Points |- | 2002 ! Sauber Petronas ! Sauber C21 ! Petronas 02A 3.0 V10 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| AUSRet |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MAL6 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| BRARet |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| SMR8 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| ESP5 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| AUTRet |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| MONRet |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| CAN9 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| EUR6 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| GBR9 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| FRARet |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| GER7 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| HUN7 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| BELRet |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| ITARet | USA |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| JPNRet | | ! 13th ! 4 |- | 2004 ! Sauber Petronas ! Sauber C23 ! Petronas 04A 3.0 V10 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| AUSRet |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MAL8 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| BHR12 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| SMR10 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| ESP9 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MON5 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| EUR9 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| CANRet |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| USARet |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| FRA13 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| GBR9 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| GER13 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| HUNRet |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| BEL4 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| ITA12 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| CHN8 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| JPN9 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| BRA8 | ! 12th ! 12 |- | 2005 ! Sauber Petronas ! Sauber C24 ! Petronas 05A 3.0 V10 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| AUS10 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| MAL10 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| BHR7 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| SMR10 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| ESP11 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| MON9 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| EUR14 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| CAN4 |bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| USADNS |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| FRARet |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| GBR10 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| GER8 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| HUN14 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| TURRet |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| ITA9 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| BEL10 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| BRA11 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| JPN10 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| CHN6 ! 13th ! 11 |- | 2006 ! Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro ! Ferrari 248 F1 ! Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| BHR9 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MAL5 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| AUSRet |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| SMR4 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| EUR3 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| ESP4 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| MON9 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| GBR5 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| CAN5 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| USA2 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| FRA3 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| GER2 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| HUN7 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| TUR1 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| ITA9 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| CHNRet |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| JPN2 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| BRA1 | |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| 3rd |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| 80 |- | 2007 ! Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro ! Ferrari F2007 ! Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| AUS6 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MAL5 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| BHR1 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| ESP1 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| MON3 |bgcolor="#000000" style="color: #ffffff"| CANDSQ |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| USA3 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| FRA2 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| GBR5 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| EUR2 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| HUN13 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| TUR1 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| ITA Ret |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| BEL2 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| JPN6 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| CHN3 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| BRA2 | | ! 4th ! 94 |- | 2008 ! Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro ! Ferrari F2008 ! Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| AUSRet |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| MALRet |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| BHR1 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| ESP2 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| TUR1 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| MON3 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| CAN5 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| FRA1 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| GBR13 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| GER3 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| HUN17 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| EUR1 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| BEL1 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| ITA6 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| SIN13 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| JPN7 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| CHN2 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| BRA1 | |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"|2nd |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"|97 |- | 2009 ! Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro ! Ferrari F60 ! Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| AUSRet |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| MAL9 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| CHNRet |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| BHR14 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| ESP6 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MON4 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| TUR6 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| GBR4 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| GER3 |bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| HUNDNS | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | BRA | ABU | | ! 11th ! 22 |- | ! Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro ! Ferrari F10 ! Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| BHR2 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| AUS3 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MAL7 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| CHN9 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| ESP6 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MON4 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| TUR7 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| CAN15 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| EUR11 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| GBR15 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| GER2 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| HUN4 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| BEL4 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| ITA3 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| SIN8 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| JPNRet |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| KOR3 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| BRA15 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| ABU10 ! 6th ! 144 |}

Personal life

Felipe Massa married Anna Raffaela Bassi on November 30, 2007, in São Paulo, Brazil. The couple's first son, Felipinho (Felipe Bassi Massa), was born on November 30, 2009.

Massa is a friend of Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille, who has dedicated several models of his watches to him (RM-005FM, RM-011).

Nicolas Todt, son of Ferrari's past team principal and current FIA president Jean Todt, is Massa's manager.

Though Massa supports Brazilian football team São Paulo FC, he also supports the Turkish football team Fenerbahçe that was formerly coached by Zico. On 24 August 2007, Massa said: "Zico was my childhood idol, Roberto Carlos is my best friend. I am a Fenerbahçe fan, because it is just like a Brazilian team. I love Turkey, as I won my first championship race in Turkey, it has special value for me."

Massa holds a charity kart race, Desafio Internacional das Estrelas (International Challenge of the Stars) every year since 2005. Notably, many active top level Brazilian drivers have competed in the event, such as Formula One drivers Rubens Barrichello and Nelson Piquet, Jr., drivers who competed in American open wheel events such as Tony Kanaan, Mario Moraes, Felipe Giaffone, Vitor Meira, Roberto Moreno, and Gil de Ferran, and Stock Car Brasil champion Cacá Bueno. In addition, Brazilian motorcycle racer Alex Barros has competed. Michael Schumacher and Luca Badoer joined the Brazilian contingent in 2007. Vitantonio Liuzzi and Jeff Gordon have also participated.

See also

Famous Brazilians

List of Brazilians in sport

References

External links

The official website for Felipe Massa

Felipe Massa profile and statistics

Felipe Massa statistics

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Brazilian people of Italian descent Category:People from São Paulo (city) Category:Brazilian racecar drivers Category:Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Category:Brazilian Formula One drivers Category:Ferrari Formula One drivers Category:Euro Formula 3000 drivers Category:Brazilian expatriates in Italy Category:Brazilian expatriates in Monaco Category:Brazilian expatriates in Switzerland