2007 European Grand Prix

The 2007 European Grand Prix, formally known as the 2007 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe, was the tenth race of the FIA Formula One World Championship, held on 22 July 2007 at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Germany.'Europe 2007: Re-born Alonso walks on water.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 22/07/2007), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/59371/1/europe-2007-re-born-alonso-walks-on-water, (Accessed 17/02/2020) The race would be won by Fernando Alonso amid changing conditions, although it was more notable for the exploits of one-time starter Markus Winkelhock.
Winkelhock, the son of former F1 racer Manfred Winkelhock, got his F1 debut after being called up by , who had decided to drop Christijan Albers.Pablo Elizalde, 'Spyker confirm Winkelhock for Nurburgring', classic.autosport.com, (Haymarket Media, 18/07/2007), http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/60889/, (Accessed 17/02/2020) The cause of Albers' absence was due to a lack of payment from his sponsors, with his future in F1 in serious doubt as Spyker were actively seeking a replacement driver.
Qualifying would see Winkelhock lap a second and a half off his teammate Adrian Sutil at the back of the field, a fact which proved significant on race day. At the head of the field, meanwhile, the familiar / duel for pole position was concluded in the Scuderia's favour, as Kimi Räikkönen beat Alonso to the top spot on the grid.
Heavy rain greeted the field as they were released to start the formation lap, with everyone starting on slick Bridgestone tyres. Seeing this, Spyker decided to call Winkelhock in at the end of the formation lap to stick him on wet tyres, a worthwhile gamble given that he was starting at the back regardless.
The start itself was fairly even at the front, with Räikkönen easing ahead while Felipe Massa beat Alonso into the first corner. Behind, Championship leader Lewis Hamilton charged up to sixth off the grid, having qualified in tenth after a heavy accident in qualifying, but would get caught in a collision with the two s and picked up a puncture.
The opening lap proved chaotic, with many drivers slithering off circuit and hence prompted most of the field to dive in for intermediate tyres. The rest, bar Räikkönen who had slid wide trying to enter the pits on lap one, would stay out in hopes that the rain would clear, leaving Winkelhock with a fair lead in the #21 Spyker.
The German debutante's lead would only grow, however, for the rain continued to pound the circuit and make it necessary for everyone bar Winkelhock to stop for full wets. However, an en-masse slide into the gravel at turn one would bring the race to a halt on lap four with a red flag, although only Hamilton was put back on track, a controversial decision.
The race restarted once the rain had cleared behind the Safety Car, with the order restored to how it had stood at the end of lap three. It was further agreed that those who were a lap down would be allowed to overtake the SC train, a major benefit to Hamilton who had lost a lap while beached at turn one.
The Brit duly unlapped himself and then stopped for slicks, although this gamble backfired when he slid off the circuit while trying the catch the SC train. Winkelhock, meanwhile, would do his best to hold the lead, but the Spyker simply lacked the pace to keep the rest of the field at bay, being the only car still on full wets.
With that the race became a duel between Massa and Alonso, with Räikkönen out of serious contention after his pit-in issues. Their fight would continue through to the point when the circuit finally dried out, with the field switching to drys with twenty laps to go.
It would take a robust move from Alonso to settle the fight, with the Spaniard barging his way around the outside of Massa through turn five to claim the lead, before escaping up the road to claim victory. Massa was irate at the Spaniard's move but settled for second, while Mark Webber completed the podium for . Alexander Wurz, David Coulthard, Nick Heidfeld, Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen completed the scorers.
Star of the European Grand Prix Winkelhock retired with a hydraulics failure on lap thirteen, while Hamilton failed to score points, or a podium finish, for the first time in his F1 career. The race was also set to be named the 2007 German Grand Prix, but a naming rights dispute with the Hockenheimring resulted in the race being labelled as the European Grand Prix.
==Background==
A second consecutive victory for a resurgent Kimi Räikkönen had moved the Finn up to third in the Championship leaving the UK, and left him just six behind Fernando Alonso in second. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, had seen his lead reduced to twelve at the head of the field, with nineteen points covering the top four at the halfway point in the season. Elsewhere, Nick Heidfeld had lost ground to teammate Robert Kubica as the Polish racer challenged him for fifth, with seventeen drivers on the scoresheet after nine races.
In the Constructors Championship it had been an even day for the two main protagonists, with maintaining their advantage over . Heading into the second half of the season the Anglo-German alliance were 25 points ahead of the Scuderia, although Ferrari held the advantage in terms of race wins by five to four. Behind, ended the first half of the season in a secure third ahead of , with and the only teams yet to score.
===Entry list===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Fernando Alonso 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-22 	 	FO 108T 2.4 V8 	
2 	Lewis Hamilton 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-22 	 	FO 108T 2.4 V8 	
3 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	ING Renault F1 Team 	 	R27 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
4 	Heikki Kovalainen 	ING Renault F1 Team 	 	R27 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
5 	Felipe Massa 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F2007 	 	056 2007 2.4 V8 	
6 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F2007 	 	056 2007 2.4 V8 	
7 	Jenson Button 	Honda Racing F1 Team 	 	RA107 	 	RA807E 2.4 V8 	
8 	Rubens Barrichello 	Honda Racing F1 Team 	 	RA107 	 	RA807E 2.4 V8 	
9 	Nick Heidfeld 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.07 	 	P86/7 2.4 V8 	
10 	Robert Kubica 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.07 	 	P86/7 2.4 V8 	
11 	Ralf Schumacher 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF107 	 	RVX-07 2.4 V8 	
12 	Jarno Trulli 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF107 	 	RVX-07 2.4 V8 	
14 	David Coulthard 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB3 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
15 	Mark Webber 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB3 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
16 	Nico Rosberg 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW29 	 	RVX-07 2.4 V8 	
17 	Alexander Wurz 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW29 	 	RVX-07 2.4 V8 	
18 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR2 	 	056 2006 2.4 V8 	
19 	Scott Speed 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR2 	 	056 2006 2.4 V8 	
20 	Adrian Sutil 	Etihad Alder Spyker F1 Team 	 	F8-VII 	 	056 2006 2.4 V8 	
21 	Markus Winkelhock 	Etihad Alder Spyker F1 Team 	 	F8-VII 	 	056 2006 2.4 V8 	
22 	Takuma Sato 	Super Aguri F1 Team 	 	SA07 	 	RA807E 2.4 V8 	
23 	Anthony Davidson 	Super Aguri F1 Team 	 	SA07 	 	RA807E 2.4 V8 	
Source:'Europe 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/engages.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/engages.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/engages.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/engages.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/engages.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/engages.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/engages.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/engages.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
===Q2===
===Q3===
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	Grid
1 	6 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	3 	1:31.522 	 	4 	1:31.237 	 	1 	1:31.450 	1
2 	1 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	1 	1:31.074 	 	2 	1:30.983 	 	2 	1:31.741 	2
3 	5 	Felipe Massa 	 	 	2 	1:31.447 	 	1 	1:30.912 	 	3 	1:31.778 	3
4 	9 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	 	5 	1:31.889 	 	6 	1:31.652 	 	4 	1:31.840 	4
5 	10 	Robert Kubica 	 	 	6 	1:31.961 	 	5 	1:31.444 	 	5 	1:32.123 	5
6 	15 	Mark Webber 	 	 	13 	1:32.629 	 	7 	1:31.661 	 	6 	1:32.476 	6
7 	4 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	 	12 	1:32.594 	 	8 	1:31.783 	 	7 	1:32.478 	7
8 	12 	Jarno Trulli 	 	 	10 	1:32.381 	 	10 	1:31.859 	 	8 	1:32.501 	8
9 	11 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	 	11 	1:32.446 	 	9 	1:31.843 	 	9 	1:32.570 	9
10 	2 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	4 	1:31.587 	 	3 	1:31.185 	 	10 	1:33.833 	10
11 	16 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	7 	1:32.117 	 	11 	1:31.978 	 	 	 	11
12 	17 	Alexander Wurz 	 	 	8 	1:32.173 	 	12 	1:31.996 	 	 	 	12
13 	3 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	 	9 	1:32.378 	 	13 	1:32.010 	 	 	 	13
14 	8 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	 	14 	1:32.674 	 	14 	1:32.221 	 	 	 	14
15 	23 	Anthony Davidson 	 	 	16 	1:32.793 	 	15 	1:32.451 	 	 	 	15
16 	22 	Takuma Sato 	 	 	15 	1:32.678 	 	16 	1:32.838 	 	 	 	16
17 	7 	Jenson Button 	 	 	17 	1:32.983 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	19 	Scott Speed 	 	 	18 	1:33.038 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
19 	18 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	 	 	19 	1:33.148 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
20 	14 	David Coulthard 	 	 	20 	1:33.151 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
21 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	 	21 	1:34.500 	 	 	 	 	 	 	21
22 	21 	Markus Winkelhock 	 	 	22 	1:35.940 	 	 	 	 	 	 	22
Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/817/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/02/2020)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
*Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
===Grid===
** Winkelhock would start the race from the pitlane after pitting at the end of the formation lap.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	1 	Fernando Alonso 	 	60 	2:06:26.358 	2 	10
2 	5 	Felipe Massa 	 	60 	+8.155s 	3 	8
3 	15 	Mark Webber 	 	60 	+1:05.674 	6 	6
4 	17 	Alexander Wurz 	 	60 	+1:05.937 	12 	5
5 	14 	David Coulthard 	 	60 	+1:13.656 	20 	4
6 	9 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	60 	+1:20.298 	4 	3
7 	10 	Robert Kubica 	 	60 	+1:22.415 	5 	2
8 	4 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	7 	1
9 	2 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	10 	
10 	3 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	13 	
11 	8 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	14 	
12 	23 	Anthony Davidson 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	15 	
13 	12 	Jarno Trulli 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	8 	
Ret 	6 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	34 	Hydraulics 	1 	
Ret 	22 	Takuma Sato 	 	19 	Hydraulics 	16 	
Ret 	11 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	18 	Collision 	9 	
Ret 	21 	Markus Winkelhock 	 	13 	Hydraulics 	16 	
Ret 	7 	Jenson Button 	 	2 	Spin 	17 	
Ret 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	2 	Spin 	21 	
Ret 	16 	Nico Rosberg 	 	2 	Spin 	11 	
Ret 	19 	Scott Speed 	 	2 	Spin 	18 	
Ret 	18 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	 	2 	Spin 	19 	
Source:'Europe 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/classement.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/classement.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/classement.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/classement.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/classement.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/classement.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/classement.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)	Source:'Europe 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/classement.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
==Milestones==
* made their 400th Grand Prix appearance as an engine supplier.'10. Europe 2007', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe.aspx, (Accessed 17/02/2020)
* Debut (and only) Grand Prix for Markus Winkelhock.[Archived] '2007 European GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190409230353/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2007&gp=European%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 17/02/2020) - Original
* Fernando Alonso scored his eighteenth career victory.
* secured their 153rd win as a constructor.
** powered a car to a 58th win.
* Felipe Massa recorded the 200th fastest lap for a chassis and engine.
==Standings==
Victory for Fernando Alonso had sent the Spanish ace streaking to the top of the Championship hunt in Germany, demolishing Lewis Hamilton's lead to just two points. Indeed, the Brit's first failure to score looked to have been a costly one, with Felipe Massa having also closed to within eleven of the rookie. Kimi Räikkönen, meanwhile, had effectively lost ground having also failed to score, with Nick Heidfeld a distant fifth.
In the Constructors Championship it had been a marginally better afternoon for , as they extended their lead by two points as they moved onto 138 for the campaign. retained their spot in second, moving onto 111, and hence opened out a 50 point gap to third placed . Elsewhere, had been the biggest winners at the Nürburgring, moving up to fifth ahead of .
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Lewis Hamilton 	70 	
2 	Fernando Alonso 	68 	
3 	Felipe Massa 	59 	1
4 	Kimi Räikkönen 	52 	1
5 	Nick Heidfeld 	36 	
6 	Robert Kubica 	24 	
7 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	17 	
8 	Heikki Kovalainen 	15 	
9 	Alexander Wurz 	13 	
10 	Mark Webber 	8 	4
11 	David Coulthard 	8 	1
12 	Jarno Trulli 	7 	2
13 	Nico Rosberg 	5 	2
14 	Takuma Sato 	4 	1
15 	Ralf Schumacher 	2 	
16 	Jenson Button 	1 	
17 	Sebastian Vettel 	1 	
World Championship for Constructors*	World Championship for Constructors*	World Championship for Constructors*	World Championship for Constructors*
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	138 	
2 	 	111 	
3 	 	61 	
4 	 	32 	
5 	 	18 	
6 	 	16 	1
7 	 	9 	1
8 	 	4 	
9 	 	1 	
Only points scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
** Includes points scored by before their exclusion prior to the 2007 Belgian Grand Prix.
== See also ==
* GP2 2007 Nürburgring Feature Race
* GP2 2007 Nürburgring Sprint Race
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
es:Gran Premio de Europa de 2007
Category:2007 Grands Prix
Category:European Grand Prix
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Formula One races in Germany