ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) _ It was a very short race for last year's
Turkish Grand Prix winner, Kimi Raikkonen.
On the first lap, his McLaren-Mercedes punctured a tire.
On the second lap, Raikkonen crashed when he lost a tire.
The problems started after Giancarlo Fisichella of Renault was
involved in an accident.
``It got very messy at the start. I tried to avoid a spinning
Fisichella but then (Scott) Speed hit my left rear tire causing a
puncture,'' Raikkonen said. ``I drove for almost a whole lap with a
damaged tire to get back to the pits to see what could be done.''
When Raikkonen went out again, the wheel structure remained
damaged. He almost immediately lost the tire and crashed into the
barriers on the second lap,
``The team changed my tire but I think the car must have incurred
quite a lot of damage at this point ... I had no rear end grip, got
sideways, ran out of the road, hit the tirewall and that was it.''
After the accident, Raikkonen was seen leaving the car very
slowly.
``My back is a bit sore but nothing to worry about,'' he said.
Raikkonen is fifth in the overall standings this year with 49
points. He was runner-up last season.
