Kimi Raikkonen and the Ferrari 056-powerd F2008 became the became the first duo to win two races in the 2008 Formula World Championship by grabbing the holeshot off the stationary start and never looking back to win the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya. The Finn’s race, literally, got off to a great start when his teammate, Felipe Massa, raced up behind his red rear wing after acing front row starter Fernando Alonso when the lights went out. Just behind were McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, BMW’s Robert Kubica, Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen, BMW’s Nick Heidfeld and Red Bull’s Mark Webber. The complexion of Renault’s outing near Barcelona changed when Nelson Piquet made two costly mistakes and ended up walking back to the pits.

Between laps 16 and 21, Alonso, Massa, Raikkonen, Hamilton and Kubica all rolled in and out of pit lane, with McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen inheriting the lead. It would not last long, however, as a front suspension malfunction pitched his McLaren MP4-23 off the track at the apex of turn nine. It was a frightening high-speed crash was saw the Finn airlifted to a hospital.

After a lengthy safety car period allowed track workers to clean up the mess, leaders Raikkonen and Massa once again took off at the front of the pack racing away from chasers Hamilton, Kubica, Heidfeld, Alonso, Webber and Toyota man Jarno Trulli. On lap number 46 and 47 Massa and Raikkonen pitted, respectively, and from there on in, it was smooth sailing for the two teammates. Raikkonen crossed the finish line 3.2-seconds ahead of Massa, with Hamilton a scant 0.9-secons behind. Kubica was fourth and Webber fifth. Jenson Button enjoyed an excellent race, driving the RA108 to sixth and gathering Honda’s first Grand Prix points of the 2008 season. Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima placed seventh and Toyota’s Trulli was eighth.

With another win in the record books, Kimi Raikkonen now leads Lewis Hamilton in the chase for the F1 World Championship by nine points. Robert sits third with 19 points. Massa is fourth with 18 points, ahead of Nick Heidfeld and Heikki Kovalainen.