ISTANBUL, May 11: Ferrari’s Felipe Massa won the Turkish Grand Prix from pole position for the third year in a row on Sunday after tyre concerns slowed Lewis Hamilton’s challenge.

The Brazilian took the chequered flag 3.7 seconds ahead of the 23-year-old McLaren driver, who ran most of the race on the harder tyres and had to make three pitstops compared to his rivals’ two.

It was Massa’s seventh win in Formula One, at the anti-clockwise track where he took his first in 2006, and his second in five races this season.

Ferrari’s world champion Kimi Raikkonen saw his overall lead trimmed to seven points from nine after finishing a close third.

The Finn, the only driver to score points in every race this season, now has 35 to Massa and Hamilton’s 28.Massa’s win was champions 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 his wins have come in Turkey, prompting a suggestion that the Brazilian 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.

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

Results:

1. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari one hour 26 minutes 49.451 seconds; 2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren +00:03.779; 3. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 00:04.271; 4. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 00:21.945; 5. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 00:38.741; 6. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 00:53.724; 7. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull–Renault 01:04.229; 8. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams–Toyota 01:11.406; 9. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull–Renault 01:15.270; 10. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 01:16.344; 11. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 1 lap; 12. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren 1 lap; 13. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 1 lap; 14. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1 lap; 15. Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Renault 1 lap; 16. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India–Ferrari 1 lap; 17. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso–Ferrari 1 lap.

Retired: Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso–Ferrari 34 laps; Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams–Toyota 57 laps; Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India–Ferrari 58 laps.—Reuters