| At the completion of Sunday's French Grand | | | | from Heikki Kovalainen. Kovalainen nearly |
| Prix, Felipe Massa walked away the victor. | | | | overtook Trulli late in the race. |
| The win was his third for the 2008 season and | | | | |
| granted him the lead in the championship | | | | Trulli said he enjoyed doing that and it is |
| race. The final standings included Massa, | | | | what he wants to be doing, when asked about |
| Raikkonen, Trulli, Kovalainen, Kubica, | | | | the near-miss with Kovalainen. "I don't think |
| Webber, Piquet and Alonso. Massa followed | | | | we touched, just wheel-to-wheel like we did |
| fellow Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen, | | | | in go-karting. I'd love to fight every race |
| maintaining second position through more than | | | | like that," he said. Trulli dedicated his |
| half of the race. The Ferrari team kept a | | | | third place win to Toyota's former team boss, |
| grip on the top two positions for the | | | | Ove Andersson who was killed in a rally |
| duration of the race. Raikkonen's car | | | | accident the week before the race. |
| suffered from a cracked exhaust that caused | | | | |
| him to drop from first position to second. | | | | Barcelona winner Robert Kubica completed the |
| | | | race in fifth position. Although Massa is now |
| "I just kept losing power and then it came | | | | leading the championship chase, Kubica is |
| back. A few more laps and I don't think I | | | | still a close second. |
| would have finished the race," Raikkonen | | | | |
| revealed the extent of his problems after the | | | | For Red Bull driver Mark Webber, the French |
| race. He continued with, "I had a good car | | | | Grand Prix also proved to be the most |
| all weekend, was easily on the poll, but then | | | | competitive race of his 2008 season. He was |
| I have a problem with the car. I almost | | | | hard pressed to hold off Nelson Piquet Jr. |
| stopped a few times at the end." Raikkonen is | | | | and Fernando Alonso for his sixth position |
| happy he received eight points for his | | | | win. Piquet finished in seventh, and his team |
| second-place win, keeping him in the running | | | | mate Alonso came in eighth. |
| for the championship. | | | | |
| | | | McLaren driver, Lewis Hamilton, began the |
| In a post race interview Massa said, | | | | race at a disadvantage because of an accident |
| "Sometimes you need a bit of luck, and we got | | | | involving Raikkonen in the pits during the |
| that with Kimi's exhaust. It was a good | | | | last race. Hamilton was penalized 10 grid |
| present." He went on to say, "It was a great | | | | positions and completed the French Grand Prix |
| race. We showed our performance here, we are | | | | in 10th position behind David Coulthard. |
| heading in the right direction, with the team | | | | Hamilton is now 10 points behind Massa in |
| doing a fantastic job." The win and second | | | | championship standings. |
| position place were welcomed victories for | | | | |
| the Ferrari team. | | | | Massa is the first Brazilian to lead the |
| | | | championship chase since 1993's winner, |
| Toyota team driver Jarno Trulli completed the | | | | Ayrton Senna. Massa currently has 48 points. |
| race in third position, the first podium | | | | Kubica is only two points behind at 46, with |
| placement finish for the Toyota team since | | | | Raikkonen trailing with 43 points. Hamilton |
| 2006. Trulli may have been able to catch | | | | is still in the running with 38 points after |
| Raikkonen and take second position if he | | | | completing his second race in a row without |
| hadn't had to defend his third place position | | | | scoring any points. |