Raikkonen makes it two in a row

Silverstone, England (Sports Network) - Kimi Raikkonen is beginning to show the world why he was hired by Ferrari capturing Sunday's British Grand Prix Formula One race at the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit for his second consecutive win. The No.6 Ferrari driver crossed the finish line 2.459 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso.
The victory was Raikkonen's third of the season and 12th of his F1 career.
The action started even before the green flag dropped when Felipe Massa stalled on the grid and had to start from pit lane which left in last place.
Local hero Lewis Hamilton, the favorite after his pole victory, had a fight on his hands right from the start. He had to fend off Raikkonen at the first corner of the first lap (Copse). Which Hamilton did.
Meanwhile, Massa was flying and after just four laps had passed eight cars.
Hamilton's lead over Raikkonen was one second after four laps, but the Finn was hanging tough. On lap five he was faster and cut into Hamilton's lead. Raikkonen set "fastest lap" on lap eight to further cut into the Englishman's lead. Lap eight also saw the first retirement (Mark Webber) and Massa, still on a charge, cracked the top-10.
Hamilton reset "fastest lap" on lap 11 to open the lead back up to one second. On the next lap Massa set "fastest lap," but his error on the starting grid left him still 27 seconds behind Hamilton.
Raikkonen closed right onto Hamilton's rear bumper and he shadowed him around the old World War II airport course.
Hamilton pitted on lap 16, a little earlier than normal, probably because he was struggling with his handling. A tiny pit lane error for Hamilton, he almost jumped the gun and left his pit too early.
Raikkonen is really fast and puts up a lap of 1:20.638 to build on his lead. He pits one lap later and when he returns to the track he has done enough to stay ahead of Hamilton.
Alonso pits and he comes out ahead of both Raikkonen and Hamilton. The pit error has cost Hamilton two positions.
All the leaders have made their first stops by lap 22 and Alonso owns a 3.2-second lead on Raikkonen and 6.0 seconds on Hamilton. It seems as if McLaren has short-pitted Alonso to get him the lead.
Alonso's laps are faster than both Raikkonen and Hamilton and he is building the margin on each lap. The race is half over and Alonso holds 4.4 seconds on Raikkonen and 11.6 seconds on his McLaren teammate Hamilton.
Alonso continues to build the margin, but will he have to pit before Raikkonen and Hamilton and can they take advantage when he does?
Alonso does pit first, on lap 37, and Raikkonen inherits the lead. The Ferrari driver has clean air and builds the lead to 27.9 seconds on Alonso which should be enough to make his final stop and keep the lead
Raikkonen pits on lap 42 and his stop takes just 6.6 seconds. He makes the drive down pit lane and returns to the track still in the lead of the British Grand Prix. Only a mental mistake or a mechanical failure could keep Raikkonen from the win.
Raikkonen's lead on lap 50 is 6.4 seconds over Alonso and 36.0 seconds over Hamilton. The Ferrari driver cruises to the win.
Hamilton, Robert Kubica, Massa, Nick Heidfeld, Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella completed the points-scoring positions.
A ninth consecutive podium finish for Hamilton leaves him with a 12-point lead in the drivers championship (70-58).
The second half of the F1 season will begin on Sunday, July 22nd at the German Grand Prix.