(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-05-12 10:59

ISTANBUL - Ferrari's Felipe Massa won the Turkish Grand Prix from pole position for the third year in a row on Sunday after safety fears slowed Lewis Hamilton's challenge.

Ferrari Formula One driver Felipe Massa of Brazil celebrates during the victory ceremony, watched by second placed McLaren Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, after he won the Turkish Grand Prix at the Istanbul Park Formula One circuit in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, May 11, 2008. [Agencies]

The Brazilian finished 3.7 seconds ahead of the 23-year-old McLaren driver, who had to make an extra third pitstop because of concern that his front right tyre could not take the punishment.

Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen finished a close third and saw his overall lead trimmed to seven points from nine. The Finn now has 35 to Massa and Hamilton's 28.

It was Massa's seventh win in Formula One, and his second success in five races this season revived his title hopes.

The last driver to win the same grand prix three times in a row was former Ferrari team mate Michael Schumacher, in the United States from 2003 to 2006.

Massa's win was Ferrari's fourth in a row and meant that the Turkish Grand Prix, which made its debut in 2005, has still only ever been won by the driver on pole position.

Three of the Brazilian's victories have come in Turkey, including the first of his career, prompting a suggestion that he should change nationality: "I think I can get a passport here already," he grinned.

Poland's Robert Kubica was fourth, ahead of BMW Sauber team mate Nick Heidfeld. Champions Ferrari lead the constructors' standings with 63 points to BMW's 44 and McLaren's 42.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso put Renault back in the points with sixth place while Red Bull's Australian Mark Webber was seventh to score for the fourth race in a row. Germany's Nico Rosberg took the final point for Williams.

TYRE CONCERNS

Massa led from the start while Hamilton, winner of the season-opener in Australia, accelerated past his McLaren team mate Heikki Kovalainen from third on the grid with Kubica close behind.

The safety car came out at the end of the opening lap when Italian Giancarlo Fisichella's Force India slammed into the back of Kazuki Nakajima's Williams at the first corner, leaving debris on the track.

Kovalainen, coming back from a big accident two weeks ago and making his first start on the front row, went to the back of when he pitted at the end of the second lap with a puncture after banging wheels with Raikkonen. He finished 12th.

Hamilton, who overtook Massa for the lead after their first pitstops and led again before his final change of tyres, was still pleased with his result.

"I probably drove the best race I've ever done," he said.

"It doesn't particularly matter whether you win or not. It's whether you drive 100 percent, it's whether you extract the most out of the car."

The Briton revealed that his hopes of winning had already been compromised even before Saturday's qualifying when Bridgestone raised fears that his style was putting too much of a load on the tyre.

"Bridgestone were concerned the tyre was going to fail as it did last year," said Hamilton, who suffered a costly blowout in Turkey last August while in third place.

"That put us in not such a strong position to win the race. But if I'm given a problem, I deal with it and so does the team," he added.

Raikkonen, who has also won two races this season, broke part of his front wing in the skirmish with compatriot Kovalainen but decided to continue with it rather than lose time in changing it.

"The weekend was a little difficult but at least we got some good points," said the Finn.

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello made a record 257th race start and finished 14th for Honda.