ISTANBUL, Aug 26: Ferrari’s Felipe Massa won the Turkish Grand Prix for the second year in a row on Sunday while a late puncture slashed Lewis Hamilton’s championship lead to five points.

Hamilton finished fifth, two places behind his McLaren team-mate and closest rival Fernando Alonso, after the 43rd lap blowout robbed him of a safe third.

The 22-year-old British rookie now has 84 points to double world champion Alonso’s 79.

Brazilian Massa moved up to third overall on 69 points with Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen, runner-up on Sunday, a point further back.

Massa led from pole position, just as he had last year, to beat Raikkonen by 2.2 seconds and secure Ferrari’s second one-two of the season with the Italian team’s home race at Monza next on the calendar. It was his third victory in 12 races.

Alonso, who started the race seven points adrift of his rookie team mate, slipped from fourth on the starting grid to sixth at the first corner behind both BMW Saubers.

But the Spaniard made his way back up the order after Poland’s Robert Kubica and Germany’s Nick Heidfeld pitted and was perfectly placed to take advantage of his team-mate’s misfortune.

Ferrari cut the gap with McLaren in the constructors’ championship to 11 points.

Results:

1. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1 hour 26 min 42.161 seconds; 2. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari +00:02.275; 3. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 00:26.181; 4. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 00:39.674; 5. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 00:45.085; 6. Heikki

Kovalainen (Finland) Renault 00:46.169; 7. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams–Toyota 00:55.778; 8. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 00:56.707; 9. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault 00:59.491; 10. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull–Renault 01:11.009; 11. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Williams–Toyota 01:19.628; 12. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota 1 lap; 13. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 1 lap; 14. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri–Honda 1 lap; 15. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso–Ferrari 1 lap; 16. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1 lap; 17. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1 lap; 18. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri–Honda 1 lap; 19. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso–Ferrari 1 lap; 20. Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) Spyker–Ferrari 2 laps; 21. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Spyker – Ferrari 5 laps.

Retired: Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull–Renault 51 laps.

Fastest lap: Kimi Raikkonen, 1:27.295, lap 57.—Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...
GB polls’ aftermath
Updated 11 Jun, 2026

GB polls’ aftermath

The new administration must address the region’s issues proactively.
Peace in retreat
11 Jun, 2026

Peace in retreat

THE ceasefire announced in April was supposed to create space for negotiations. Instead, it has been repeatedly...
A few good men
11 Jun, 2026

A few good men

IT was a brave move, no doubt. This Tuesday, in the land of the Afghan Taliban, a few good men decided to take a...