HEIKKI Kovalainen became the 100th winner in Formula One history with the first victory of his career to cap a surprising Hungarian Grand Prix.
The triumph was totally unexpected as Felipe Massa was on course to comfortably take the chequered flag, only for the engine in his Ferrari to blow just three laps from the finish.
The bitter blow for Massa means Lewis Hamilton now has a five-poin
t lead in the title race from reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen as the young Briton could only finish fifth due to another tyre problem.
It should have been a straightforward afternoon for Hamilton as he began the race on pole, the 10th of his career after dominating practice.
Kovalainen was alongside him on the front row.
But Massa, from third on the grid, pulled off a daring overtaking manoeuvre,
blazing past the first McLaren of Kovalainen before reeling in Hamilton and passing him at turn one.
Massa had a lead of 3.5secs by the first round of pit stops.
Even on fresh rubber Hamilton failed to make any impression and Massa eased away. By lap 40 the lead had grown to 40 seconds, and then came the second surprise. Those Bridgestone tyres that had apparently been working so well for Hamilton suddenly failed him, in particular the front left.
Hamilton lost pressure, forcing him to brake heavily into turn two, and from that point it resulted in a slow tour back into the pits.
Once the dust had settled on the second round of stops, Hamilton had dropped to sixth.
But then came Massa's engine blow-out, robbing him of 10 points and with it the lead of this current remarkable season.
"It's the best of the worst. What can you do when you have a puncture?" said Hamilton.
Kovalainen said: "I'm very happy. There have been various incidents this season that have happened when I've been in a position to fight for a victory.
"At the end I tried to put pressure on Massa and hoped something would happen, and it worked out that way. The team have kept pushing and I'm very glad to get this first win.
"It's fantastic, a great moment, something I've been targeting."
The full article contains 377 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
