Fernando Alonso agrees three-deal Ferrari F1 deal

Formula One finally has a rivalry to match Ayrton Senna v Alain Prost after it was confirmed that Fernando Alonso will become a Ferrari driver in 2010.

Renault's two-time world champion, the most successful driver presently on the grid with 21 career victories to his name, joins the Scuderia on a three-year deal worth in the region of £32 million a season with an option to extend.
Race fans will already be salivating at the prospect of a resumption of hostilities with his former team-mate, McLaren's 2008 world champion, Lewis Hamilton. Formula One's two best drivers, one in a Ferrari the other in a McLaren, going head to head with a bit of history between them. It does not get better.

Alonso, who described himself as "very happy and very proud" to be joining Ferrari, replaces Kimi Raikkonen at Maranello, with the Finn's return to McLaren expected to be confirmed shortly.
Raikkonen, too, will be motivated to beat Alonso, having fended off questions about the Spaniard's potential arrival for nearly two years.
Alonso almost signed for Ferrari in 2002, only to change his mind at the last minute and join Renault. It led Ferrari team principal of the time, Jean Todt, to vow that Alonso would never drive for the team while he was there.
Yet despite being Formula One's worst-kept secret, the timing of the announcement actually caught out most observers. Ferrari were expected to say something officially on Thursday, the first day of the Japanese Grand Prix race weekend, but in the end opted to send out a press release at 11pm local time last night.
"As chairman [Luca di] Montezemolo said recently, all the great champions want to come to Maranello sooner or later," Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said.
"Of course, we wish to thank Kimi for everything he has done during his time with Ferrari: in his first year with us, he managed to win the drivers' title, thus making his contribution to Ferrari's history and he played a vital role in our taking of the constructors' title in 2007 and 2008.
"Next to Fernando we'll have Felipe Massa, who is recovering very quickly to his best physical condition, with Giancarlo Fisichella as the surrogate driver. We believe that this is the best possible couple for a team like ours: Fernando and Felipe are two victorious drivers and they integrate very well with each other and with the team."
Alonso told Ferrari's website: "I'm very happy and very proud to become a Ferrari driver. Driving a single-seater for the Prancing Horse is everybody's dream in this sport and today I have the opportunity to make this dream come true.
"We already had an agreement this summer starting in 2011, but then, in the past few days, the picture changed and we decided to anticipate my arrival in Maranello by one year."
Raikkonen, who is understood to have reached a financial settlement with Ferrari over the remaining year of his £31 million-a-year contract, said he was "very sad" to be leaving. His move to Woking is understood to be underwritten by Santander, the Spanish banking giant which now sponsors both Ferrari and McLaren.
Jenson Button's 2010 seat at Brawn-Mercedes looks a little safer with rumours that Rubens Barrichello is close to agreeing a deal to join Williams. Nico Rosberg is moving the other way as part of the deal that will see Mercedes take a controlling interest in Brawn. Williams declined to comment on the speculation.

Renault may quit Formula One over new cheating claim

Nelson Piquet Jr has been accused of crashing his car in the 2008 Singapore race to help team-mate Fernando Alonso.

The FIA examination of last year's Singapore grand prix could lead to Renault quitting Formula One if their team is found guilty of interfering with the result of the floodlit race's inaugural running.

Although not mentioning Renault by name, the sport's governing body is likely to take a closer look at the race following the acquisition of fresh evidence. During the broadcast of Sunday's Belgian grand prix, the Brazilian network Globo TV reportedly said it had received information that Nelson Piquet Jr had been asked to crash on purpose and trigger the sequence of events that led to his team‑mate, Fernando Alonso, moving from the back to the front of the field and scoring a win that went against form in the previous 14 races. A spokeswoman for the ING Renault F1 Team said today that there would be no comment.
Renault have been at the forefront of rumours that they would be the next to pull out of F1 following the withdrawal of Honda and BMW. The French manufacturer was considering quitting last year but Alonso's win in Singapore, and victory at the next race in Japan, secured the team's short-term future. Renault's best finish this year has been fifth place in Spain, an unsatisfactory result that could accelerate the decision to pull out should an inquiry find against the British-based team. If the FIA feels there is a case to answer, Renault could be called before the World Motor Sport Council and, if found guilty, face a heavy fine or even expulsion.

When Piquet crashed on the 14th of 61 laps and sprayed debris across the track, the incident prompted the appearance of the safety car and caused every team bar Renault to immediately rethink their pit-stop strategy. A period of slow laps behind the safety car is the ideal time to refuel without losing an excessive amount of time. Renault were the exception because Alonso had refuelled three laps before Piquet's crash and rejoined at the back of the field. As the 18 cars running ahead of the former world champion made their pit stops, Alonso moved to the front.
The question is: was Piquet ordered to crash or was the accident a handy coincidence for a team under pressure to score their first win of 2008? If it was the former, then Piquet was either incompetent or extremely brave. The heavy collision with the concrete wall lining the street circuit destroyed the right-hand side of the Renault and risked injury. Had Piquet wished to prompt the safety car, it would only have required a slightly more dramatic version of the incident employed by Michael Schumacher in 2005 when he parked his Ferrari against the barrier in Monte Carlo and hampered the progress of rivals during the closing minutes of qualifying. Schumacher was demoted to the back of the grid. A spokesmen for Piquet said he would be making no comment.

The investigation comes less than two weeks after an angry Piquet referred to Flavio Briatore as his "executioner" after being sacked by the boss of Renault F1 and replaced by the Frenchman Romain Grosjean. Ferrari were accused of interfering with the result of the 2002 Austrian grand prix when Rubens Barrichello was ordered to move over in the final 100 metres and allow Schumacher to win. Ferrari were not reprimanded but the FIA banned team orders. The Singapore incident, if deliberate, is much more serious due to the risk of debris injuring other drivers and, possibly, spectators.

Could Kimi make a shock return to McLaren?

With the political rows that have dominated this Formula 1 season more or less over apart from a few late skirmishes, attention in Valencia has turned to the driver market.

The key move this season is Fernando Alonso's prospective switch to Ferrari. This has not been officially confirmed yet, but it is considered a given. And it will trigger a series of swaps that will significantly change the look of the F1 grid next season.
Among the top teams, only Red Bull are not changing their line-up and there are attractive seats available at Ferrari, McLaren and Brawn.
In the wake of Alonso's move, the key men in the market place are Kimi Raikkonen and Robert Kubica.

Assuming Jenson Button stays at Brawn - which is not 100% certain, but looks very likely - they are the A-listers who will be top of most teams' shopping list.
The driver market is always complicated - but the injury suffered by Felipe Massa has made it more Byzantine than usual this summer.
Ferrari have actually got themselves into a bit of a pickle. Alonso's arrival means they have three of the top drivers in F1 for next season and only two cars to put them in, as both Felipe Massa and Raikkonen are under contract until the end of 2010.
They intended to partner Alonso with Massa, but the Brazilian has a fractured skull following his accident in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Although he is expected to make a full recovery, in terms of living a normal life, it is impossible to know right now whether he will be able to race in F1 again, even if Brawn driver Rubens Barrichello and Massa's race engineer Rob Smedley, probably the two people closest to him in the paddock, are optimistic.
Massa is talking about an emotional return for the Brazilian Grand Prix in October, but many feel that may well be over-optimistic, even allowing for the traditionally astonishing powers of recovery of F1 drivers.
And if Massa cannot drive until after the end of the season - which means he might not be able to do so until January, because of the testing restrictions in December - that makes getting rid of Raikkonen less immediately appealing.
Despite that, it does appear that the Finn will be the one to leave Ferrari, for whom one solution would be to gamble on Massa being fit and, if he isn't, take one of the experienced drivers who may be left standing after the game of musical chairs finishes.
Jarno Trulli looks certain to leave Toyota - whose entire future in F1 may be in doubt - and the futures of Rubens Barrichello, Giancarlo Fisichella and Nick Heidfeld are all up in the air. All would make a more than decent one-year stand-in.
In that eventuality, the question is where Raikkonen will end up.
There are a number of interesting possibilities. His advisors are known to have had talks with Brawn, which interests him, and Toyota, which does not. And another obvious possibility is Renault, who need a top-liner to replace Alonso.
And there is one intriguing possibility that I have not heard discussed on the paddock rumour mill - could Raikkonen make a shock return to McLaren?

It comes a bit out of left-field and might seem outlandish, but bear with me on it for a moment.
Lewis Hamilton is locked in there until 2012, but the second seat is open. Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen is under pressure because of his unconvincing performances in races and there has been talk of Nico Rosberg moving over from Williams.
But, if you were McLaren, why replace one guy who is not as quick as Hamilton with, in Rosberg, another who isn't either but might be more disruptive?
Raikkonen, on the other hand, is well known by McLaren having driven for them from 2002-6, and he is low maintenance - he just gets in the car and drives and couldn't care less who his team-mate is.
Rosberg is known to be wary of facing Hamilton in the same car - he was his team-mate in karting and knows how quick he is - and Kubica has a reputation as hard work and demanding.
Raikkonen is the total opposite. He would not be bothered about the team's focus on Hamilton. He would just do his job and go home - just like he always has.
Not only that, but he left McLaren largely because he fell out with Ron Dennis, but the former boss has no involvement in the F1 team any more.
So a fresh link with Raikkonen could be an appealing idea for McLaren - and vice versa.
And read this quote from team boss Martin Whitmarsh after Sunday's European Grand Prix: "Kimi's really raised his game and all weekend has done a great job and Heikki has always been a fantastic team player and a good asset in our team but his race pace hasn't been good enough."
Of course, all of that might be hugely wide of the mark, in which case Raikkonen will probably end up at Brawn or Renault - at both of which Kubica must be considered a contender.
The Pole has been strongly linked with a move to Williams following BMW's decision to quit F1. But this weekend he has opened negotiations with Brawn, which would surely be a more appealing option considering the two teams' respective performance this season.

It is a difficult decision for Brawn. Given that Raikkonen has been a little off the boil in the last couple of seasons, Kubica is arguably the best driver on the market this season.
But he has a reputation for being disruptive inside a team and Ross Brawn might prefer not to disturb the equanimity of Button, the man who still looks likely to be world champion this year.
On top of that, Kubica is understood to want a one-year contract so he has the ability to move on for 2011 if a better drive becomes available, while Brawn would almost certainly want him to sign for two seasons.Traditionally, early September is the time the big pieces in the driver market puzzle begin to fall into place. But given the inherent complications, this season it could be a good deal later than that.

Andrew Benson

Hamilton optimistic for F1 Valencia street fight

Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to pick-up this weekend on the streets of Valencia where he left off in Budapest last month when he takes part in the European Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old Englishman claimed his first win of the season last time out in Hungary for McLaren Mercedes and with a package of improvements on his car believes he can challenge for another win after Formula One's month-long summer break.
Hamilton said: "It's great to be getting back to business after the break and I'm still buzzing from the win in Hungary.
"I'm hopeful of being able to carry that pace into the Valencia weekend - particularly with our new upgrades to the car."
His team boss Martin Whitmarsh is also optimistic that after a desultory start to the year, McLaren will be back with plenty to prove in the second half of the season.
He said he believed the latest upgrades for the MP4-24 car will give Hamilton a great chance to win again on the Mediterranean street circuit laid out around the harbour of the Spanish city.
Whitmarsh said: "It's very important that we are able to maintain the winning momentum into this weekend's race. Fortunately, we have made a structured effort to bring further improvements to the car in Spain.
"The whole team has been buoyed by that win and is really looking forward to another strong set of results this weekend."
Hamilton's improvement and optimism is bad news for championship-leading fellow-Briton Jenson Button of Brawn GP and his Red Bull rivals as they see the title race thrown wide open.
Spaniard Fernando Alonso is another challenger who could upset all the easy predictions of a Button v Sebastian Vettel duel for the crown as the Renault driver bids to give his home fans plenty to cheer in Sunday's race.
He secured his first pole position of the season in Hungary and believes he can fight for a podium this weekend.
"Our performance in Hungary was encouraging as the car was quick and we managed to get pole, which was actually a bit of a surprise," he said.
"To retire from the race was disappointing, but I'm looking on the bright side because I think that the car can be just as competitive in Valencia.
"Last year my race there was very short - less than a lap - so I'm really determined to make up for that this weekend and hopefully we can fight for the podium."
A strong showing by Alonso may also go some way to quell the disappointment of those who bought tickets in anticipation of seeing seven times champion Michael Schumacher make a dramatic comeback for Ferrari as replacement for injured Brazilian Felipe Massa.
Massa crashed in Hungary and suffered head and eye injuries after debris from compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car flew up and hit him.
But after injuring his neck in a motorbike accident in February Schumacher has failed in his fitness fight to make a return and instead Ferrari will run veteran Italian Luca Badoer, a test driver, in the car.
Badoer said: "I have to say, my first thoughts when I take to the track will be for Felipe, because I got a real fright when I saw his accident.
"I have to add that I am also thinking of Michael, because having trained with him over the last few weeks, I know how much he wanted to make this comeback and how much effort he was putting into his preparation."
Massa has made good progress and is targeting a comeback in the season's penultimate race his home Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo.
Button, desperate to recover his form after three races without a win that have seen his lead trimmed heavily, said: "I've kept pretty busy over the past few weeks with the London Triathlon at the start of the month and then some time to relax with my family and friends, but it's seemed like a long time without a race!
"Valencia is a beautiful city and the track is quite fun when it goes round the edge of the marina and over the bridge. It's quite challenging for the drivers with so many turns and the added factor of being surrounded by barriers.So, it will be an interesting weekend."

Renault F1 Team cleared for European GP

Renault and Fernando Alonso have been cleared to compete in the European Grand Prix in Valencia after winning an appeal against a one-race ban.
The French team were punished after allowing Fernando Alonso to leave the pit lane with a loose wheel, which then came off, at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
However, Alonso will now be able to race at his home grand prix this weekend after the ban was overturned.


Motorsport's governing body (FIA) will instead fine Renault £30,000.
Alonso's right front wheel came off and bounced across the track at the race four weeks ago, race stewards subsequently ruling that the team's pit crew knew the wheel was not properly secured and failed to tell the driver.
But Renault team manager Steve Nielsen had said he was confident the team's suspension would be lifted.
"I've been optimistic since we got the penalty. We feel it's unjust," he said.
The stewards said Renault's pit crew "knowingly released car number seven from the pit stop position without one of the retaining devices for the wheel-nuts being securely in position."

They also determined that "being aware of this, Renault failed to take any action to prevent the car from leaving the pit lane... and failed to inform the driver of this problem or to advise him to take appropriate action given the circumstances, even though the driver contacted the team by radio believing he had a puncture."
However, Nielsen insisted his team did not realise there was a problem with Alonso's car.
"We admit we did some stuff wrong, but we don't think that the penalty fits the crime," added Nielsen.
To argue their case Renault used comparative footage from races where drivers breached safety rules - but either went unpunished, or were punished less severely.
One example was German driver Sebastian Vettel racing at the Australian Grand Prix in March with a loose wheel hanging by the side of his car after colliding with BMW's Robert Kubica.
Vettel was fined £30,000 - the maximum amount that race stewards can levy - for continuing on three wheels and Renault said their punishment - at worst - should be a similar fine.
But Whiting said that incidents such as Vettel's had not occurred when leaving the pits, but during the race itself.

Renault engineering director Pat Symonds attended the hearing
Renault were represented at the hearing by engineering director Pat Symonds and technical director Bob Bell, while F1 race director Charlie Whiting represented the FIA.
With the ban overturned Alonso will now race at his home grand prix while Renault test driver Romain Grosjean will take Nelson Piquet Jr's seat.
Frenchman Grosjean was asked to step in after Piquet Jr was told by Renault he will not continue driving for them in F1 this season.
The decision to allow Alonso and his Renault team to race is also likely to delight the Spanish crowd.
"The reason there are two races in Spain is largely because of Fernando's involvement," said Nielsen.
"People in Spain were not so interested in F1 until he got involved, and now it's a big sport there."
The incident was particularly pertinent as it happened the day after Brazilian Felipe Massa was hospitalised with life-threatening injuries suffered while racing.
The Ferrari driver was struck by an object dislodged from the Brawn GP car of Rubens Barrichello car during qualifying at the Hungaroring.
Massa had surgery on his skull and is recovering.
The previous week, 18-year-old F2 driver Henry Surtees - the son of former F1 champion John Surtees- was killed after losing consciousness and crashing into the barrier after a stray tyre hit him.

Nurburgring - The Complete Guide to German GP

The Nurburgring has a reputation for being a 'complete' circuit in the sense that it includes a wide variety of corners. There are high-speed sections, medium-speed chicanes, and some very slow corners with high traction demands. The cars will have to meet all of these challenges this weekend. Overtaking is difficult but possible into the first corner and the chicane at Turns 13 and 14. However, the weather is a constant concern and no matter what the season, rain and cool conditions are an ever-present threat in the Eifel mountains. Renault explain how they plan to tweak their R29 for the German Grand Prix…

Aerodynamics

The Nurburgring demands some of the highest downforce levels of the season, not only for the numerous high and medium-speed corners, but also to maintain good stability under heavy braking for the first corner and the slow chicane of Turns 13 and 14.As Renault driver Fernando Alonso explains: "The left-right chicane of Turns 13 and 14 is probably the best overtaking opportunity as it's one of the biggest braking zones of the lap. If you are following another car closely, you can pick up a good slipstream on the approach and make a lunge down the inside. We take it at about 100 km/h in second gear and you need to be aggressive with the curbs to straight-line the chicane as much as possible and carry speed through the corner."

Chassis balance

Corners such as Turns Five/Six, Eight/Nine and 10/11 in particular demand a neutral handling balance to avoid compromising the optimum line through the second corner in the sequence, and the engineers will often work through the weekend to dial out understeer in the medium-speed corners.A quick, responsive change of direction is required in both the slow-speed section at the start of the lap, and through the quicker corners. Mechanical grip is particularly important through Turns One to Four, but cannot be achieved at the expense of aerodynamic performance around the rest of the lap.

Alonso explains: "The run through Turns One to Four is not very exciting for the drivers, but we spend a lot of time in them and that means that any mistake is likely to be very costly, especially in qualifying. We need to be precise with our braking and keep the car under control all the time as too much understeer, oversteer or a missed apex will put you out of shape for the following corners. The car balance is never perfect at such low speeds either, so we are always fighting understeer in the very slow corners, and a nervous rear end when we accelerate away."

Tyres

Tyre performance will, as always, be a critical performance parameter for all teams this weekend with Bridgestone providing the super-soft and medium compounds from its 2009 range. Ambient conditions will play a role in determining which compound is the preferred tyre for the race as we often experience cool temperatures at the Nurburgring.

Brakes

Wear on the brakes is not a major concern. None of the braking zones are particularly severe and there is no reason to think that wear levels on the discs and pads should be abnormally high as a result.

Engine

The Nurburgring is not a circuit that presents the engines with any extreme challenges, and its overall impact is further reduced by the fact that the circuit is situated at altitude, some 500m above sea level. This has the effect of reducing engine power by approximately five percent, while also reducing loads on certain engine components such as the pistons.The engine is at full throttle for just over 64 percent of the lap - a value slightly above the season average of approximately 62 percent. The longest single period at full throttle barely exceeds ten seconds, so the main challenge for the engine team is ensuring strong performance from low revs so the engine launches well out of the slow corners, particularly Turn Seven which leads onto the uphill drag to Turn 10.

As Nelson Piquet explains: "We approach Turn Seven downhill in seventh gear at almost 300km/h before braking and downshifting to third for the hairpin. It's really important to stay online and hit the apex through this corner so that you can apply the throttle early on the exit to carry as much speed on the long drag back up the hill towards the high-speed chicane of Turns Eight and Nine."The circuit includes a number of elevation changes, but none are sudden enough to cause the engine systems any concern. The only note of caution is finding the best line through some of the bumpier corners, and particularly the chicane, to avoid spending too much time on the rev limiter, which is potentially damaging for the engine.

Source : www.formula1.com

Where will Alonso be in 2011 ?

Fresh reports linking Renault driver Fernando Alonso with a move to Ferrari have surfaced.
Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the Spaniard has a secret deal with Ferrari, whereby he will drive for them in the 2011 season.
Following Kimi Raikkonen's disappointing 2008 season it is likely that Alonso will replace the Finn if the reports are true.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo was noncommittal, saying: "He's a fantastic driver, no question. I like him. Particularly in Japan he drove a great race. He's a champion and a team leader, but for the moment we don't have any problem with our current drivers.
"That is why we confirmed officially Massa and Kimi until the end of 2010. Life is long and in the future we will see. But for the moment we don't have any grey areas regarding drivers for the next two years."

And in another multitasking world we learn that Fernando Alonso has also inked an agreement with Spain's new formula one broadcaster from 2009.

La Sexta will next year take over from Telecinco in broadcasting the sport within Spain.

Alonso, 27, already had a preferential agreement with Telecinco, involving grid interviews and other special access to the former double world champion. The Spanish sports newspaper Marca reports that the La Sexta deal is for 6 million euros over the next five years, which is a slight increase in the Telecinco deal. Marca said the new contract was signed by Alonso a few weeks ago.

Michael Schumacher had a similar exclusive arrangement with the German broadcaster RTL.

Fancy lunch at the Istana with Alonso and Raikkonen?

FORMULA 1 greats Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda have a lunch date with President S R Nathan on the Istana ( Grand Palace now the President & Prime Minister's Office) lawn on Sept 26.

They are both on the invited list for the official Formula 1 party on the first day of the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix onSept 26, and all the current drivers — including world champion Kimi Raikkonen, 2005 and 2006 title holder Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton — will be there too.

The luncheon at the Istana is open to the public, with 18 tables set aside at $30,000 each and another 12 at $50,000 per table. All proceeds will go towards the President’s Challenge charity programme and the organisers, Singapore GP, hope it will raise about $1 million. There will also be an auction of two Chopard watches — a man’s “Tourbillion” timepiece worth $250,000 and a lady’s “Happy Sport” worth $30,000 — and other F1 memorabilia.

“It is a prestigious event and there will be a lot of stars there, but we don’t want people to get stuffy in their coats and ties,” said Singapore GP chairman Teo Hock Seng. “It will be a smart casual affair.”

The lunch is also a first in Formula 1. Formal black-tie dinners are usually held on the first day of races, but Singapore is hosting the sport’s first night race. Twelve tables have been already been sold. Interested parties can email bj_quah@komoco.com.sg or tracyteo@komoco.com.sg. Organisers also revealed that 95 per cent of tickets for the Grand Prix have been sold. Some grandstand and walkabout tickets for Saturday are still available.

Ian de Cotta - Today Paper

Spanish bank to join Ferrari, ahead of Alonso

Spain's largest bank, Santander, is to sponsor Ferrari from 2010, which could facilitate the arrival of Spanish driver Fernando Alonso to the Italian Formula One team, Spanish newspapers said Friday.
A spokeswoman for Banco Santander would not confirm the reports, but said the bank's current sponsorship deal with rival team McLaren-Mercedes ends in 2009.
"The bank has always wanted to be with Alonso but the sponsorship contract was done with McLaren and not with Alonso," she said.
Santander reached a deal with McLaren when Alonso joined the team last year. But after an unhappy season with the British team, Alonso rejoined Renault, where he won the world championship in 2005 and 2006.
After a disappointing season so far with the French team, he has recently been linked with a move to Ferrari.
"Santander leaves McLaren and is going to Ferrari. The company has already informed the team of Ron Dennis and has a deal with the Italians from 2010," the newspaper ABC said, without indicating its sources.
The bank will pay Ferrari 25 millions euros (39.5 million dollars) per year compared to the 15 to 20 millions they pay McLaren, the daily Publico said, noting that the contract has not yet been signed.
The business newspaper Expansion said "the new deal with the Spanish bank could coincide with Alonso leaving Renault to join the Italian team".

Felipe Massa makes it Three in a Row in Turkish Grand Prix

A delighted Felipe Massa swept to a hat-trick of Turkish Grand Prix victories from pole position here on Sunday in the Turkish Grand Prix when he delivered another domineering display for Ferrari at Istanbul Park.
The Brazilian triumphed by 3.7 seconds ahead of McLaren's British driver Lewis Hamilton with Finland's reigning champion Kimi Raikkonen less than half-a-second behind in third in the other Ferrari.
"This feels fantastic," said Massa.
"But actually, it was a very difficult race. Lewis pushed me very hard for a lot of the race and I was worried for a while, but I knew he was lighter than me.
"When the team told me he was running on three stops I felt better so I realised that was a help for me and I had a chance. I could not hold him when he passed me, but I knew I could win the race so I just had to wait.
"To win here for a third time is really fantastic for me. Now I think I can already get a passport here!"
Hamilton pulled off the overtaking move of the race on Massa and denied Ferrari a likely one-two despite adopting a three-stop fuel strategy compared to his rival's two stopper.
But there was no stopping Massa who controlled the 58-lap race on the 5.338-kms track which he clearly loves.
Hamilton said: "I am absolutely thrilled to come second here after starting third and after my form yesterday.
"I knew it would be tough to get points but we did it well and I am happy. The balance of the car was great on the hard tyres, but the soft tyre was not so good at the end.
"We chose a three stop strategy for safety reasons after what happened here last year when we suffered a failure. Three stops was the safest way to go, but it left us in a less strong position to win the race."
Raikkonen's lead in the championship was cut to seven points with Massa now second, on countback, from last year's runner-up Hamilton. Raikkonen has 35, Massa and Hamilton have 28.
Ferrari extended their lead in the constructors' championship to 19 points over BMW with McLaren two points further back after Finland's Heikki Kovalainen paid for an early pit-stop to finish 12th having started second.
The Finn suffered an opening lap puncture after a suspected collision with Raikkonen on the opening lap.
Poland's Robert Kubica was fourth for BMW just ahead of team-mate Greman Nick Heidfeld with Spain's Fernando Alonso sixth for Renault. Red Bull's Australian Mark Webber was seventh and German-born Nico Rosberg eighth for Williams.
There was no points finish for Brazil's Rubens Barrichello in his record-breaking 257 appearance as he finished 14th for Honda.
Massa blasted into lead from the start with all the drama happening behind him as Hamilton powered past his team-mate Kovalainen into second spot.
Kubica also overtook Kovalainen in the race for the first corner where the Finn squeezed compatriot Raikkonen who dropped from fourth to sixth behind former two-time champion Alonso.
Further down the field, Force India's Italian veteran Giancarlo Fisichella drove right over the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima, missing the Japanese driver by inches but sending them both spinning into retirement in the gravel after a collision at the start.
The safety car was immediately deployed, staying out for one circuit as the debris was cleared. Kovalainen was forced to pit at the end of the second lap while on the third lap Raikkonen easily outpaced Alonso to move back to fourth.
Raikkonen took third spot in the first round of pit-stops leapfrogging Kubica as Massa and Hamilton battled it out at the front.
Hamilton, on a lighter fuel load, thrillingly snatched the lead on lap 24 when he darted down Massa's left before forcing his rival to move over as they came up to turn 12 at around 180mph.
The British driver's lead lasted just eight laps before he made another quick pit-stop allowing Massa to regain control of the race. Hamilton regained the lead after Massa, then Raikkonen, made their final stops.
Hamilton made a stop at the end with 13 laps left and although it was not quick enough to deny Massa, he came out just fractions ahead of Raikkonen to snatch second spot from his chief rival.