Kimi is back and back with a bang.
The World champion failed to finish last weekend's season-opener in Australia but the Iceman's 16th Grand prix victory was sealed when he took the lead from team mate Felipe Massa who was in pole position for the Malaysian Grand prix. Kimi's victory has put Ferrari back to its winning streak taking a three point lead from Lewis Hamilton.
Massa had a tough race, he spun out of an easy second place on the 31st lap, leaving Robert Kubica BMW Sauber finish second, the best result of his Formula One career to date, and McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen was third.
For Lewis Hamilton, it was a race spent playing catch-up. He made a great start to jump from ninth up to fifth place behind the Ferraris, Kubica and similarly fast-starting Mark Webber in the Red Bull. But then a problem with the right-front wheel during his first pit stop dropped him down to 11th place, and he lost time hand over fist in the traffic.
Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais was the first retirement, falling off on the opening lap. Rosberg clobbered Timo Glock then, too, necessitating a pit stop for a new nose cone. The Williams continued, the Toyota was through for the day. Adrian Sutil suffered a mechanical problem that stopped his Force India out on the track, while Sebastian Vettel suffered either engine or transmission failure that brought him to a smoky halt.
The result leaves Hamilton still leading the world championship for drivers with 14 points, ahead of Raikkonen and Heidfeld on 11 apiece. In the constructors’ chase, McLaren lead with 24, ahead of BMW Sauber on 19 and Ferrari on 11.
Race Results
1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 56 1:31:18.555
2 Robert Kubica BMW 56 +19.5 secs
3 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 56 +38.4 secs
4 Jarno Trulli Toyota 56 +45.8 secs
5 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 56 +46.5 secs
6 Nick Heidfeld BMW 56 +49.8 secs
7 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 56 +68.1 secs
8 Fernando Alonso Renault 56 +70.0 secs
9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 56 +76.2 secs
10 Jenson Button Honda 56 +86.2 secs
11 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 56 +92.2 secs
12 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 55 +1 Lap 17
13 Rubens Barrichello Honda 55 +1 Lap 14
14 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 55 +1 Lap 16
15 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 55 +1 Lap 21
16 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 54 +2 Laps 19
17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 54 +2 Laps 22
