Turkish GP: Massa wins, Ferrari in driver8217;s seat

Massa held off McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton8217;s challenge for a 3.779-second victory at the Istanbul Speed Park circuit to give his championship bid extra momentum.

Massa joined Hamilton on 28 points to trail Ferrari teammate and overall leader Kimi Raikkonen, who finished third, by seven.

A victory at Bahrain and a runner-up finish at the Spanish GP has Massa shaking off a start that featured retirements at the first two races.

8220;I8217;m right in there in the fight,8221; Massa said. 8220;The competition is very high, but after some races I feel that I can be competitive everywhere and I8217;m just happy to reduce the gap a little bit, being similar to Lewis and just concentrate on the next races.8221;

Though Raikkonen couldn8217;t make it a third straight Ferrari 1-2 sweep, the defending champion overcame his car8217;s set up problems and a start that had him sixth with a clipped front wing around the first bend to finish third on the podium.

Ferrari leads BMW Sauber in the constructors8217; standings by 19 points and has both drivers challenging for the title. But the Italians head to Monaco knowing Hamilton 8211; and McLaren 8211; is has them in their sights.

8220;I don8217;t think it8217;s correct to say that we are dominating because if you look at the championship, the situation is very close,8221; Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said. 8220;I always said that they are very strong and 8230; that McLaren in order to attack us changed the philosophy of the race and changed the philosophy of qualifying, above all with Lewis, so I think this is important, because they also have to react on the performance that we are doing.8221;

Hamilton was forced into a three-stop strategy when his tires could not be guaranteed for the entire GP by the manufacturer. The 23-year-old Hamilton gained steadily on Massa before overtaking 24 laps in, but Massa had the comfort of knowing the McLaren driver had to return to the pits to make up the difference.

Hamilton drove his 8220;best ever race8221; for his 14th podium from 22 races as the McLaren driver matched 8211; and exceeded 8211; Ferrari8217;s pace.

8220;Its not about winning, its about feeling that you extract 100 percent from yourself and the car, and I did that today. Before the race our prediction was that all being well I would finish fifth, so second is such a bonus,8221; said Hamilton, who lost a podium place here last year when his tire blew at turn No. 8.

Teammate Heikki Kovalainen, who started on the front row, punctured a tire after tangling with Raikkonen and never recovered to finish 12th.

The result was encouraging for Kovalainen considering he was in hospital two weeks ago after being knocked unconscious from a high-speed crash into a wall at the Spanish GP.

8220;I think it8217;s been the most competitive weekend for me.

Hopefully it carries on from this,8221; Kovalainen said.

Kovalainen8217;s slip-up allowed Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber to remain in the title race. The Polish driver finished fourth and has 24 points. Teammate Nick Heidfeld moved up from ninth to finish fifth.

Renault8217;s Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber of Red Bull, Nico Rosberg of Williams, Red Bull8217;s David Coulthard and Jarno Trulli of Toyota round out the top 10.

Ferrari8217;s championship challenge can continue to gain momentum at upcoming races at Monaco and Montreal, where an improved performance from 2007 is key.

8220;We have prepared for Monaco with a different approach,8221; Domenicali said. 8220;I think that not only McLaren will be strong, I am expecting Renault and BMW Sauber, of course, to be strong again.

I think Monte Carlo will be a very important race for everyone.8221;

The Monaco GP races on May 25.