- Hungarian Grand Prix
Kovalainen takes first F1 win
ESPNF1 Staff
August 3, 2008
Kovalainen celebrated his first win in F1 © Sutton Images
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The enduring image of the Hungarian Grand Prix was Felipe Massa's Ferrari coasting to a halt three laps from home, its engine dead and smoke belching from the rear of the car. Heikki Kovalainen inherited the win, the first of his career, but acknowledged his luck as not one - but two of his rivals hit trouble.
Massa made a brilliant start from third on the grid to squeeze around the outside of Lewis Hamilton who started on pole and the Ferrari soon settled into a rhythm up front. Hamilton chased him as hard as a he could but a third of the way around lap 40 he suffered a puncture and had a long slow in-lap. That dropped Hamilton out of the equation and allowed Kovalainen up to second place with Massa clear in the lead.
Then, crossing the line on lap 67, plumes of white smoke came from the back of the Ferrari and Massa's race was done. Dejected, almost tearful, he walked away to face a barrage of reporters asking what had happened. In his place on the top step of the podium was Kovalainen who hadn't looked like a winner all weekend. Instead, he became the 100th different winner of a Formula One race.
Timo Glock bounced back from his accident in Germany to take second for Toyota with Kimi Raikkonen giving Ferrari some consolation by taking third. With Hamilton fifth and Massa not scoring, the Brit led the championship by five points.
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