FORMULA ONE/FRENCH GRAND PRIX:FELIPE MASSA lucked into his third win of the season and into control of the Formula One driver's championship standings after the race of Kimi Raikkonen, his Ferrari team-mate, was blighted by an exhaust problem that saw the Finn limp home to second with half his engine cover melted away.
After two races without points, France was looking like a comfortable weekend for the defending champion Raikkonen when he claimed a ridiculously easy pole on a blazing hot Saturday afternoon.
With McLaren's Lewis Hamilton penalised after his pitlane smash into Raikkonen in Canada and with the BMWs of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld strangely off the pace at the rural Circuit de Nevers, Raikkonen's only task was to dismiss his team-mate. He did it with shocking ease.
"I could have gone two-tenths quicker," a stone-faced Raikkonen said afterwards.
The race should, therefore, have been a foregone conclusion. Hamilton was starting 13th, Kubica lay fifth and again the Finn's only problem would be Massa. That problem was put aside by turn one after the start.
Raikkonen powered away from the second Ferrari and opened a six-second lead that should have left the rest of the race an exercise in watching the local grass grow.
But then Raikkonen slowed, dropping an alarming two seconds a lap to Massa. On lap 38 he had to cede the lead to his Brazilian team-mate and it was then his problem became visible, part of his exhaust system flapping around behind, heat from the exhaust searing through the carbon of his car's bodywork.
A few laps previously, Jarno Trulli, over 30 seconds behind, had posed no threat. Now it was a question of whether Raikkonen would be able to hang on as the Toyota pursued vigorously.
The Italian closed the gap but then Raikkonen picked up the pace, his engineers telling him the problem was less severe than first feared. A quick check during his second stop and the Finn was free and clear, his times becoming, if not electric, then respectable enough to keep Trulli at bay.
Massa acknowledged luck had played a significant part in his win.
"I didn't expect that," he said. "Sometimes we need a little bit of luck. Today we had an element of luck because of his exhaust.
"I think we are in the right direction. The team did a fantastic job."
Massa now leads the title race on 48 points, two clear of Kubica, who finished a solid fifth, and five ahead of Raikkonen.
The Finn was philosophical, explaining he had been in danger of stopping altogether.
"It was disappointing in the end. That happens sometimes. We were still lucky to finish the race and score eight points," he said.
"On the last couple of laps the car almost stopped a few times. So even if it's disappointing not to win I still took eight points - and I'm in a more confident position (in the championship).
"A great the result for the team, just an unlucky situation.
"The car was slow in the straight line and out of the low-speed corners so it was difficult," he added. "But luckily we were fast enough in the beginning to go away from the others, and we had a big-enough gap.
"Two more laps and we would have not finished the race."
If Raikkonen's last 30 laps represented a fine effort in difficult circumstances, Trulli was no less an example of grace under pressure.
Toyota embody the stodgy midfield of the Formula One grid better than any other team. They rarely stop but similarly they are seldom the most heart-stoppingly quick or adventurous.
As such Trulli, at 33 classed as a veteran, has done remarkable things this year, elevating the Toyota beyond its natural home of a late top-10 finish to solid points positions. Yesterday he was exceptional, holding off the much faster McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen for the final 20 laps, even indulging in a little wheel-banging when a few laps from home the Finn got alongside. Nothing, though, was going to deny the Italian his first podium finish since Melbourne 2006.
"What a great result and a great weekend by the whole team," said Trulli. "Today was a great race, hard and tough. We had a good pace, even if we had to battle with some cars that were quicker . . .
"When the rain came at the end I had to take care because it's always difficult to judge how bad it is when you're in front. But I got back into a rhythm and had a wheel-to-wheel fight with Heikki, just like in go-karts."
For Hamilton there were more penalties. After posting the third-fastest time in qualifying, the young Briton was dropped to 13th on the grid, penalised for failing to see the red light at the end of the pitlane during a safety-car period at the Canadian Grand Prix. So before he even arrived in Magny-Cours his French GP was compromised. It was hampered further soon after the start yesterday.
On the first lap, after clambering past a couple of opponents, he attempted to pass the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Vettel. It was a foolhardy move. He gained the place but only by cutting the chicane, which earned him a drive-through penalty. He dropped to 13th again and could only claw his way back to 10th by the end.
"I don't think he gained a position by being off the road," the McLaren team boss, Ron Dennis, remarked later. "No position was gained."
Leading drivers
1 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 48pts
2 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 46
3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari43
4 Lewis Hamilton (Brit) McLaren 38
5 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 28
6 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 20
7 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 18
8 Mark Webber (Aust) Red Bull 18
9 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 10
10 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 8
11 Kazuki Nakajima (Jap) Williams 7
Constructors
1 Ferrari 91pts
2 BMW Sauber 74
3 McLaren-Mercedes 58
4 Red Bull-Renault 24
5 Toyota 23
6 Williams-Toyota 15
7 Renault 12
8 Honda 8
9 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7
10 Force India-Ferrari 0
11 Super Aguri-Honda 0
