MAGNY-COURS, France — At Indianapolis, McLaren Mercedes gave Ferrari a good slap with a convincing first- and second-place finish. In the French Grand Prix two weeks later, however, Ferrari severely trounced McLaren as Kimi Raikkonen led teammate Felipe Massa in a one-two sweep.
Is this the beginning of the Red Revival? Can Ferrari, which was on top in the early races of the season, regain the momentum from the McLaren Silver Arrows that won the three previous races?
“I think so,” Raikkonen said. “We didn't expect to have the problems that we had in the last few races, so I think we are back where we expected to be. It wasn't that we lost something. Maybe we just didn't get everything out of the car. Everything works well, and we try to keep it up and improve.”
And has Raikkonen, who won for the first time since his victory in Australia, found the form to consistently run at the front after the difficulties he has had?
“We had a bit of a hard time,” he said, “but I kind of expected to have a bit of a difficult time. People always think that you've lost it when you don't have a good result, but we just worked hard and try to get it right. We are definitely much happier with the car since the last test.”

WELL ON HIS WAY: Kimi Raikkonen leaves pit lane after a stop in Sunday's French Grand Prix. (Steve Etherington Photo)

The Magny-Cours track definitely suited Ferrari rather than McLaren. Lewis Hamilton finished third in his McLaren, crossing the line a whopping 29 seconds behind Massa. It was even worse for Fernando Alonso who had to start 10th after gearbox problems in qualifying. Alonso, had some fierce fights with Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) and Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) on his way to finishing seventh.
Massa started from the pole and took the lead. Raikkonen, who lined up third, passed Hamilton, who qualified second, just after the start.
That set the tone for the race. Hamilton was on a three-stop strategy that depended on him being second rather than third.
While Massa pulled out a bit of a lead in the first stint, Raikkonen stayed closer to him in the second stint. The lap before Massa made his second and final pit stop, he had a 3.3- second lead. Raikkonen pitted three laps later and came out 1.8 seconds ahead of Massa.
Heidfeld finished fifth behind his BMW Sauber teammate Robert Kubica, who showed no ill effects or drop-off in speed from his Montreal accident.
The fact that Giancarlo Fisichella qualified his Renault fifth and ended up sixth behind the two BMWs proves that Renault is getting ever closer to the third-placed team.
Alonso, wary of the final goal, which is winning the title, was disappointed with seventh but glad to add more points to his tally.
Speaking of points, Honda earned its first one of the season. Jenson Button finished eighth, and it was on pace, not because of attrition.