French GP Race BroadcastHello and welcome to coverage of the French GP live from the Magny Cours Circuit. Yesterday we saw Sebastian Vettel snatch pole from the hands of Jenson Button in the dying seconds of the session and hopefully we’ll see something equally as dramatic today. However after having had two rain affected sessions already this weekend, the main concern for most teams today will be the weather, especially with rain being forecast for during the race. But anyway, we have all five lights on and we’re ready to go racing…
And we’re away! And Vettel looks a little tardy off the line!
But he manages to hold Button off and he leads after turn 1!
Further round the lap Raikkonen misjudges his breaking point and rolls into the back of Coulthard…
And Sato makes the most of the Finns error and jumps up to 6th
Oh what’s this?! Heidfeld’s down in 22nd
And it look s a though he’s gone off on his own accord
Vettel is setting the pace out front
Meanwhile the two Ferraris are squabbling over 3rd place at the moment
But they won’t be for much longer!
And Alonso is out of the race!
But now with clear in front of him, Massa sets the fastest lap
It hasn’t taken long for Massa to catch up the Button, surely it will only be a matter of time
And indeed next lap he’s up the inside and he’s through and into 2nd place
It looks as though we are starting to see our first dose of rain, whether it is here to stay, we’ll have to wait
and see
However with the rain it’s probably best to get some standings in
The rain however doesn’t seem to be bothering Massa who just keeps going quicker out in front
And Massa is actually the first to pit…
But he’s gone with dry tyres! Will he come to regret that decision…
And if he does, then Button, Rosberg, Raikkonen, Coulthard and Davidson, but not Ralf Schumacher who has
gone for the intermediates
Vettel however is taking no chances and immediately throws on the wets on the following lap
And he comes out just ahead of Massa! But the track is already too wet for the dry tyres!
And Massa cannot avoid contact in the breaking zone! And Massa goes off!!!
He’s forced to wait whilst Vettel continues without losing any places
But that incident has brought Button right back into the equation
Bad news for BAR however, as Sato pulls off with what looks to be broken front right suspension
However Schumacher has gained massively in the pitstops as he emerges from the pits just moments after
Vettel soars past to reclaim his lead
And it seems as though every cloud has a silver lining as Fisichella is currently on the podium for BAR!
However things aren’t as rosy for Heidfeld as he’s the only driver yet to pit for the wets
And it’s not long before he’s collected quite an impressive train behind him
And as everyone queues quietly to pass the slow moving German, Button does the very un-British thing and jumps the queue! Passing Barrichello, Kubica and Da Matta in the process
Meanwhile the two Arrows are fighting it out…
And it’s Glock who prevails
Just as it looked as though the pitstops were done for now, Ralf Schumacher and Webber are both back in for
a set of full wets each, that’ll put them right back down the field…
And it looks as though Zonta too is on the wrong tyres as both Heidfeld and Massa pass him with ease
And unfortunately for Jordan, so is Lotterer
Anyway, now with the first round of stops underway, let’s have an update on the standings
That does not look good for Da Matta!
But he just manages to keep it out of the wall, and keep the engine running
He rejoins back in 18th
Raikkonen is all over the back of Button
And he hustles his way into 6th place
And moments later Button is off into the gravel!
A costly driver error that, he’s now well down the field
And that is Timo Glock pulling off the road! It looks as though he too has suffered an engine failure
The two Minardi’s are getting a bit too close for comfort as Davidson slides into the back of his team mate
And he very cheekly steals the position off him as well, how rude!
However it looks as though that contact has had a lasting effect on Klien’s car as he pulls off the road a very
corners later with a suspension failure
Anyway, time for some more standings
The two Saubers are once again within close proximity of each other
But they get a bit too close as Heidfeld runs into the back of his team mate, sending them both off the track! However they only drop once place as Ralf Schumacher takes advantage
Vettel is in for his second scheduled stop of the afternoon
He’s back out in 3rd, just ahead of Kubica
Meanwhile Fisichella re-emerges in 5th
Lotterer is putting Coulthard under a lot of pressure here…
And it looks to have worked as he drifts aimlessly wide at the next corner!
But he just manages to get his act together, although he now has both Rosberg and Webber for company
That’s Vettel! He’s on fire and out of the race! That puts Michael Schumacher in the net lead of the grand prix!
Whilst Lotterer is busy with Coulthard, Raikkonen is looking to make a move on Barrichello in the other
Renault
And he does so easily
Our new leader is into the pits
And he’s back out comfortably in the lead, it really is his race to lose now
Davidson is doing well to stick with Massa, and is try to get a run on him down the back straight…
But as Davidson goes for the move, Coulthard tries to go up the inside of Davidson!
Contact! Coulthard’s spins across the front of Davidson as Massa flies off into the distance!
The pair get going again in 13th and 14th
Massa’s run wide at turn 9
And Webber takes full advantage
But a just a lap later Webber’s car seems to have given up on him again
An engine failure has ended his race
Meanwhile Heidfeld has been forced to pit with an electrical issue and is now in 16th
And it looks as though someone else’s engine has also given up the ghost! But who is it?
It’s Barrichello! He retires from 7th place
Meanwhile Davidson is into the pits with a throttle problem! It’s all going wrong!
He’s back out in 13th
However back to the main action where the battle for the podium is hotting up with all three contenders in
the same shot
And all three pit together as well!
But they all hold position, with Raikkonen temporally slotting in between Fisichella and Villeneuve
Next lap Raikkonen is in after overtaking Fisichella halfway round
He’s back out in 5th
Whilst Massa, who’s day had started so brightly, is currently in 8th
Now with most of the pitlane action now over for the day, let’s have some standings
The battle for second is very close together now and Kubica is trying it up the inside of Villeneuve!
And he’s through into 3rd place!
But wait! Fisichella’s off!
Heart break for BAR… But at least he manages to keep the car running
But a few moments later it gets worse as he spins it at turn 12!
And now he has Kimi Raikkonen to contend with
Kubica is off at turn 1!
And that puts Villeneuve into 2nd place to make it a Williams 1-2! Who would’ve seen that coming at the start
of the race!
And that’s Raikkonen pulling off! He too suffers an engine failure and is out of the race
And with that Rosberg is into the points
However out in front Schumacher is starting his final lap…
Into the final two corners…
And Michael Schumacher wins the French Grand Prix! A brilliant drive and a superb strategy!
Full Results to follow...
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