2007 French Grand Prix

The 2007 French Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Grand Prix de France 2007 ) [ 3 ] was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 2007 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours , Magny-Cours , France. It was the eighth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship . Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team won the 70-lap race 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.

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 . [ 4 ] 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. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] However, on the third and final day of testing Felipe Massa put Ferrari on top with a time of 1:20.805. The nearest challenge...

Off track Ferrari launched a criminal investigation in Modena against their own employee Nigel Stepney . [ 10 ] Stepney's lawyer ruled out sabotage claims, [ 11 ] and Stepney said it was part of a "dirty tricks" campaign. [ 12 ]

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. [ 13 ] 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." [ 14 ]

Robert Kubica was back in his BMW after his crash at the Canadian Grand Prix . [ 15 ] Early on Saturday, Nick Heidfeld was cleared to continue in his BMW after experiencing back pains during Friday practice. [ 16 ]

Practice

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 ex...

Race

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 McGill, a New Zealand national. A Bridgestone employee and his niece were injured. [ 33 ] [ 34 ] Longobardi was a popular member of the Formula One Paddock. [ 35 ]

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". [ 36 ] A...

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, h...

External links

46°51′51″N 3°09′49″E / 46.86417°N 3.16361°E / 46.86417; 3.16361

Quick Facts

2007 French Grand Prix Race 8 of 17 in the 2007 Formula One World Championship← Previous raceNext race →

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2007 French Grand Prix Race details[1]

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2007 French Grand Prix Course

2007 French Grand Prix Course length

2007 French Grand Prix Distance

Table 1

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2
1	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:15.303	1:14.822
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:14.805	1:14.795
3	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:14.872	1:14.828
4	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:15.778	1:15.066
5	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1:16.047	1:15.227
6	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	1:15.524	1:15.272
7	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:15.783	1:15.149
8	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:16.118	1:15.379
9	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	1:16.092	1:15.331
10	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Mercedes	1:15.322	1:15.084

Table 2

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired
1	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	70	1:30:54.200
2	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	70	+2.414
3	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	70	+32.153
4	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	70	+41.727
5	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	70	+48.801
6	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	70	+51.940
7	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Mercedes	70	+56.516
8	7	Jenson Button	Honda	70	+58.885
9	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	70	+1:08.505
10	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	69	+1 lap

Table 3

+/–	Pos.	Driver	Points
nan	1	Lewis Hamilton	64
nan	2	Fernando Alonso	50
nan	3	Felipe Massa	47
nan	4	Kimi Räikkönen	42
nan	5	Nick Heidfeld	30
Source:[47]	Source:[47]	Source:[47]	Source:[47]

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F1ABY Commentary

Does the scent of hot asphalt and burning rubber truly capture the ambition etched into a driver’s soul, or merely the fleeting consequence of speed? Magny-Cours offered a brutal baptism for the young guns, didn’t it? Räikkönen, a tempestuous youth, wrestled control from Massa’s calculated dominance – a familiar dance of raw talent against strategic precision. The Ferrari’s crimson blur slicing through the French air, a defiant hymn to instinct. Hamilton, a shadow in McLaren’s wake, seeking a foothold in this battle of wills. The circuit, a brutal, unforgiving canvas, judged them all. A reminder, perhaps, that victory isn’t simply *won*, but *earned* through a communion with the very heart of racing.

The air at Magny-Cours tasted of ozone and ambition—a scent forever intertwined with the legend of Räikkönen’s audacious victory. Witness, if you will, the brutal ballet of speed and strategy unfold, a testament to a driver’s unwavering will against the meticulously crafted machine. This wasn’t simply a race; it was a distillation of motorsport’s very soul.

F1ABY Trivia

The air at Magny-Cours hung thick with the scent of warm asphalt and a palpable tension – a summer afternoon distilled into the roar of seventeen 2. 4-liter V8 engines. Felipe Massa, piloting a Williams-Toyota machine boasting a staggering 800 horsepower, wrestled with the track’s undulating surface, a testament to the brutal, almost tactile nature of this generation’s racing. Kimi Räikkönen, in his scarlet Ferrari, executed a calculated maneuver, exploiting a subtle differential change during the second pit stop to seize the lead – a masterclass in precision engineering amidst a landscape of intense competition. The Ferrari’s 6. 5-liter V10, a symphony of controlled combustion, delivered a measured 950 horsepower, proving decisive in the final reckoning.

Kimi’s victory, snatched with a daring maneuver during that second pit stop, felt almost… spectral. Seven of the twenty-two races completed that season had witnessed a Ferrari triumph, a numerical echo of the Prancing Horse’s dominance in the 1950s. A curious symmetry, wouldn't you agree?

F1ABY Tales

The air thickened, a greasy, ozone-laced scent clinging to the Magny-Cours asphalt. A scream of Bridgestone, a blur of scarlet – Räikkönen was upon him. Massa, momentarily adrift, wrestled with the wheel, the Ferrari’s tires protesting a ferocious, desperate defense. A heartbeat of adrenaline, the subtle shift in grip, the calculated risk. This wasn’t simply a race; it was a ballet of aggression, a desperate dance for dominance under the French sun. The old rhythm of the track, the mechanical pulse of these magnificent machines, it still possessed a savage beauty. A testament to a time when victory was earned, not simply dictated.

The rain, a persistent, sullen grey, mirrored the mood in the Ferrari garage. Massa, meticulously adjusting his helmet, seemed a world apart, a stoic king surveying a kingdom threatened by relentless drizzle. A faint scent of oil and burnt rubber hung heavy in the air, a familiar perfume of ambition and calculated risk. He’d possessed the track, possessed the momentum – a testament to raw speed and tactical brilliance. But the capricious nature of this circuit, this weather, always held a lurking shadow. A shadow, it seemed, that Kimi Räikkönen was prepared to exploit with a surgeon's precision. The young Finn, a whirlwind of controlled aggression, was poised to disrupt the carefully constructed order, a counterpoint to Massa’s measured dominance.