A new chicane at Catalunya, a race that lost cars by the lap, and Hamilton's first championship lead after only four Grands Prix.
The 2007 Spanish Grand Prix was held on 13 May 2007 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain and was the fourth race of the FIA Formula One World Championship. Felipe Massa won from pole position, with Lewis Hamilton second and Fernando Alonso third. Hamilton's second place gave him the championship lead.
Felipe Massa won the 2007 Spanish Grand Prix from pole position, almost seven seconds ahead of the McLaren pair. The race that mattered most, though, was the one that gave Lewis Hamilton the championship lead after only four Grands Prix. The race was shortened after a grid start went wrong, and the retirements mounted from the first lap.
What changed at the Circuit de Catalunya for 2007?
The circuit had a new chicane at its final two corners, added to encourage overtaking and to improve safety. Fernando Alonso said he had always enjoyed the old final corners, but the new chicane should lead to more overtaking,.
Because of the changes, the fastest lap of the 2007 race, also by Massa, came out just over six seconds slower than his 2006 effort.
Ferrari and Red Bull had been fast in the wet earlier in the week.
The test also showed the aerodynamic race in full. Honda and McLaren unveiled radical front winglets, and McLaren withdrew from the rained-out Tuesday. Honda ended the final day half a second down on the nearest car, after it unveiled its 'elephant ear' winglets.
Massa won from pole, but Hamilton took the championship lead after only four Grands Prix.
What did the four-day test show?
The four-day session had come about a week before the weekend. Rain on the Tuesday disrupted the programme, although Ferrari and Red Bull were still quickest on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The wet weather led to a fourth day of testing, in which David Coulthard set the fastest time, 0.2 seconds clear of Ferrari. Honda and McLaren both unveiled radical front winglets. McLaren withdrew from the rained-out Tuesday, and Honda's 'elephant ear' winglets appeared on the final day, when it trailed the nearest car by half a second.
Red Bull's result on the fourth day was its best of the week. Coulthard's fastest time came after the wet Tuesday had forced the programme to change, and it ended a run of Ferrari success at the track.
How did Massa take pole?
Hamilton topped the first practice session, just four-tenths of a second ahead of his teammate Alonso, who was in front of his home crowd. Raikkonen was third in his Ferrari, and Massa was demoted to fifth in the closing moments. Robert Kubica took fourth in his BMW.
In the second session Alonso turned the tables with a lead of three-tenths over the rest of the field. Renault's Fisichella and Kovalainen produced a late surge to finish second and third, ahead of both Ferraris. Renault's engineering director Pat Symonds played down the times, saying they had been set on lower fuel loads.
Qualifying put the Ferraris on the front row. Alonso crossed the line at the end of the final session believing he had pole, unaware that Massa still had one lap in hand. Massa took pole by three-one hundredths of a second, so qualifying was decided by a few hundredths.
How did the race start, and who retired early?
The first start was aborted when Jarno Trulli stalled on the grid. The field took another formation lap, and the race was shortened to 65 laps. The race got underway with Massa and Alonso going into the first corner ahead of their teammates, but the two touched, sending Alonso over the gravel and back on track behind Raikkonen in fourth.
The first lap saw the first of eight retirements, when Alexander Wurz was caught unaware by Ralf Schumacher braking suddenly. Six laps later Mark Webber retired when the hydraulic problems that had plagued him in qualifying came back. A lap after that Trulli also pulled into the pits and retired with a failing fuel line.
On lap nine Raikkonen's electrics failed, and he coasted to the pits. Scott Speed's tyre gave way dramatically on the main straight, and debris littered the track for the remainder of the race. Liuzzi suffered hydraulic problems similar to those that had affected him in qualifying.
Key moments in the race
| Lap | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | Massa and Alonso touch at the first corner; Wurz retires |
| 7 | Webber retires with hydraulic problems |
| 65 | Massa wins, almost seven seconds ahead of Hamilton |
Who failed to set a time in qualifying?
Scott Speed set no time in the first part of qualifying because of a gearbox problem. Anthony Davidson also failed to set a time in the second part, after he went off the track at turn nine. Vitantonio Liuzzi, whose car had hydraulic trouble in the race, set no time in the second part either, because of a gearbox problem.
Those problems left several drivers starting well down the grid, while the front of the field was settled by the Ferraris and McLaren pair. Gearbox trouble was the common thread, since both Speed and Liuzzi were affected by it, and Davidson's problem was a driving error rather than a mechanical one. Massa's fire at the first stop left his car undamaged, which meant his pole was not the only point of interest on the afternoon.
How did Honda and Super Aguri do?
Super Aguri's Takuma Sato took eighth, and the result brought the team its first ever points in Formula One. Anthony Davidson had also been eighth fastest in Saturday practice.
Honda had a harder race. That contact between Honda's two cars was a bad end to its race. Honda had unveiled its 'elephant ear' winglets during the test, when it was still off the pace of the leaders.
How did the field finish behind Massa?
Massa finished almost seven seconds ahead of Hamilton, with Alonso third for McLaren. Hamilton's second place put him at the top of the Drivers' Championship, a position he had never reached before with only four Grand Prix starts behind him.
Kubica finished fourth, continuing BMW's run of fourth-place finishes. Sato's eighth place was the first points finish in the team's history.
Coulthard raced to a strong fifth place despite losing third gear in Red Bull's new quick-shift gearbox. Rosberg was unable to pass him. The result was Red Bull's strongest of the season so far, and it showed the improving performance of the Adrian Newey designed RB3.
What happened in the middle of the race?
Renault's day went wrong when a problem with the refuelling rig forced both Fisichella and Kovalainen to pit again. Kovalainen dropped to seventh, a place that could have been fifth, and Fisichella slipped out of the points altogether. Both Renaults stayed ahead of the Hondas of Button and Barrichello.
Other teams had their own difficulties. Ralf Schumacher retired with 20 laps remaining, and the commentary on American television joked about his slow pace all day. Heidfeld lost fourth after a wheel was not properly secured at a pit stop, and he came back to the track more than a lap down.
Button and Barrichello touched as Button left the pits, and Button had to return for a new front wing. Red Bull's Coulthard, meanwhile, lost third gear in the new quick-shift gearbox but still raced to fifth place. That was Red Bull's best result of the season so far, and it highlighted the performance of the Adrian Newey designed RB3.
How did McLaren judge the weekend?
McLaren team boss Ron Dennis said the team had made the best possible start to the weekend. Hamilton had topped the first practice, and the team's pace on the Saturday was strong enough that Hamilton and Alonso filled the top two places in the final session.
How did the championship change?
Hamilton became the youngest driver to lead the championship, and he took the record from McLaren founder Bruce McLaren. He had won no race before this one, so leading the table after four Grands Prix was an unusually early position.
Alonso finished third but was unhappy with a result that put him behind Hamilton. He still believed the two points he had scored would matter at the end of the season.
