Welcome back ladies and gentlemen; I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.  Kicking things off this morning comes a quick recap of the F1 race that transpired in Magny-Cours over the weekend.  As usual, if you have the race TIVO'd and plan on catching it later, then read no further; otherwise keep reading for the full details of how the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team fared.

In qualifying, Lewis Hamilton performed well, noting the third fastest time of the day behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. However, due to his accident in the Canadian Grand Prix and and subsequent 10-place demotion, Hamilton started the race from 13th. His teammate, Heikki Kovalainen, noted the sixth fastest time in qualifying which would have placed him in the fifth starting spot on the grid (after Hamilton's penalty), but Heikki himself was demoted five positions after a questionable blocking penalty was imposed, therefore relegating the Finn to tenth.

At the start of the race, both Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers managed to improve slightly, with Heikki moving up one position into ninth by the end of the opening lap while Lewis managed to move into tenth.  On lap 5, Lewis overtook Heikki, placing him in ninth.

On lap 13, the McLaren Mercedes team's string of penalties continued, with Hamilton receiving a drive-through penalty after missing a portion of turn seven (during the opening lap).  Hamilton drove through the pits a lap later and resumed in 13th, while Heikki held the ninth position.

On lap 16, Heikki moved into eighth following Fernando Alonso's pit stop, and on lap 19, Hamilton overtook Alonso to move into 12th. Lewis then took his first pit stop of the day and resumed the race in 19th.

On lap 25, Heikki made his first stop of the day from fourth, rejoining the race in 10th. Three laps later, Heikki moved up a place into ninth, and two laps later, into seventh.

From there, Heikki continued moving through the field, overtaking Mark Webber of Red Bull Renault on lap 42 to move into sixth and improving another spot after the pit stop of Fernando Alonso.  By lap 50, Heikki had improved to the third position, following pit stops of Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) and Jarno Trulli (Toyota).  Meanwhile, Lewis had managed to work his way up to eighth.

On lap 52, Heikki made his second stop of the day followed immediately by Hamilton, with the drivers resuming in fourth and 12th, respectively. By lap 59, Heikki reduced the gap between himself and Trulli to just 0.7 seconds, while Hamilton had improved to tenth.  After 70 laps, it would be these positions - fourth and 10th - that both drivers finished in, with Ferrari's Felipe Massa taking home the victory followed by his teammate, Kimi Raikkonen.

Overall, it wasn't the best week for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, but a nice showing for Heikki Kovalainen, despite what most would consider to be a ridiculous qualifying penalty.

As for the current F1 standing, as a result of their top-two finish, Ferrari has moved atop the Constructor's Championship leader-board with 91 points (while Vodafone McLaren Mercedes currently is place third with 58 points).  Ferrari's Felipe Massa also leads the individual driver's rankings with 48 points, while Hamilton and Kovalainen hold the fourth and sixth individual positions with 38 and 20 points, respectively.

To read more about how the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team fared at the French Grand Prix and see photos from the race, you can find the full details in the official press release below.

Enjoy.

























OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


F1 Magny-Cours: Heikki Kovalainen Fourth from 10th on the Grid

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Heikki Kovalainen finished the French Grand Prix in Magny-Cours in fourth place. After 70 laps (308.586 kms), he came home 28.9sec behind winner Felipe Massa (Ferrari) despite starting 10th on the grid following a five-place grid penalty. His team mate Lewis Hamilton ended up 10th; qualifying third, he was demoted to 13th due to the 10-place grid penalty he received at the Canadian Grand Prix. Lewis also received a drive-through penalty for missing the apex of Turn Seven following a move on Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap. After the eighth of 18 Grands Prix, Lewis is fourth in the drivers’ ranking with 38 points, Massa leads with 48 points. Heikki is sixth overall with 20 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is third with 58 points; Ferrari leads with 91 points.

The start: In qualifying, Lewis and Heikki were third and sixth fastest respectively. However, the penalty Lewis received in Montreal two weeks ago meant that he was relegated 10 positions on the grid to 13th. Heikki was promoted to fifth due to Lewis’s grid penalty, but later received a five-place grid penalty because of an alleged obstruction of Mark Webber, relegating him to 10th. Heikki was ninth after the opening lap followed by Lewis in 10th place.

The race, lap 5: Lewis overtook Heikki and was ninth.

Lap 13: Lewis received a drive-through penalty for an alleged missing of the apex at turn seven on the first lap. He drove through the pits one lap later and was 13th. Heikki was ninth.

Lap 16: Heikki moved up to eighth following Fernando Alonso’s (Renault) first pit stop.

Lap 19: Lewis overtook Fernando Alonso and took 12th position, then he came in for his first pit stop (8.9sec) and resumed in 19th place.

Lap 25: Heikki pitted from fourth place (9.4sec) and rejoined the race in 10th place.

Lap 28: Heikki was ninth and Lewis 16th.

Lap 30: Heikki improved to seventh place.

Lap 36: Lewis was now in 13th place.

Lap 42: Heikki overtook Mark Webber (Red Bull Renault) at the Adelaide hairpin and moved up to sixth place. He improved to fifth following Alonso’s second pit stop one lap later.

Lap 47: Heikki was fourth after Robert Kubica’s (BMW Sauber) second pit stop whilst Lewis outbraked Alonso - also at the hairpin - and was now 12th.

Lap 50: Jarno Trulli (Toyota) pitted and Heikki was third; Lewis moved up to eighth and was in a points position for the first time today.

Lap 52: Second pit stop of Heikki (6.5sec), he resumed in fourth place. Lewis came in immediately afterwards (7.0sec) and dropped to 12th place.

Lap 57: Rain began to fall. Lewis overtook Timo Glock (Toyota) and was now 10th.

Lap 59: Heikki reduced the gap behind Trulli to 0.7sec. Lewis was 0.8sec behind David Coulthard (Red Bull Renault).
Finish (lap 70): Heikki came home fourth and missed the podium by 0.6sec. Lewis ended up 10th.


Comments

Heikki Kovalainen
“Given yesterday’s grid penalty, this was a very good result. It also shows that we had a great strategy to be able to come from 10th on the grid to fourth at the finish. During the first stint I lost a lot of time trying to get past slower cars; but, after that, fortunately, I was able to overtake, build a cushion and close the gap to the guys in front. The car felt fantastic throughout the whole race and the Bridgestone Potenza tyres worked really well. During the closing laps, I found myself behind Jarno and tried everything I could to overtake him, but I just couldn’t quite make it. He defended third place very well, so well done to him for that.”

Lewis Hamilton
“My drive-through penalty was an extremely close call: I felt I’d got past Vettel fairly and was ahead going into the corner. But I was on the outside and couldn’t turn-in in case we both crashed, then I lost the back-end and drove over the kerb. But, after that, I got my head down and pushed hard until the end of the race. I’ve been out of the points for three races now – but there are still 10 to go. Kimi came from behind to win last year’s championship, so there’s no reason to be disheartened. I’m 10 points behind, but I’m determined to bounce back at Silverstone in front of my home crowd.”

Ron Dennis
“A challenging weekend for us. Having said that, Heikki had a brilliant afternoon, driving superbly and fighting all the way to the chequered flag, and only narrowly missed the podium. Lewis’s race was severely hampered by his drive-through penalty. Now, though, we must draw a line under this weekend and look ahead. We’ve got a competitive car and two excellent drivers, and as such we’re in great shape. So now we need to focus on the Santander British Grand Prix, and on getting the best results we possibly can at Silverstone, where we feel confident we’ll once again be able to challenge at the front.”

Norbert Haug
"Our pace wasn’t too bad. Without his drive-through penalty, third place would definitely have been possible for Lewis despite starting 13th. Heikki did a great job and moved from 10th to fourth. It's a shame that he didn't manage to pass Trulli at the end. However, for the spectators, he at least produced the fight of the race. We all now concentrate on the first of two consecutive ‘home grands prix’ in Silverstone. Lewis’s gap to the top is 10 points and that is still not too big a gap."

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