SPICING IT UP; Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari return to the front.(Competition)

Byline: NIGEL ROEBUCK

Eight races into the Formula One season, the top four drivers have two wins apiece. Kimi Raikkonen's spell in the relative wilderness ended when he won the last French Grand Prix to be run at Magny-Cours. Following a period of McLaren-Mercedes domination, this was a complete rout for Ferrari: Raikkonen's teammate Felipe Massa finished a close second after taking the pole and leading more than half the race.

The lead changed hands during the second round of pit stops. Massa came in first, on lap 43, Raikkonen on 46. In those three laps, Raikkonen had a clear track and used it to good advantage. When Raikkonen rejoined after his stop, Massa was not quite able to beat him to the first turn.

"I lost the race today because of traffic,'' Massa said. "In the second stint, I was badly held up, and that was very disappointing. You lose so much time behind other cars.''

Most at fault in this respect, Massa said, were the Red Bull cars of Mark Webber and David Coulthard and the Toyota of Ralf Schumacher.

Raikkonen disguised any sympathy for Massa. He was pleased simply to have won again, and he wasn't too concerned about the manner of it. "Finally,'' he said, "the start worked for me, and that helped a lot.''

Against all expectation, Raikkonen got the better of Lewis Hamilton away from the grid, and Hamilton was unable to pass the Ferrari, though his McLaren had a considerably lighter fuel load (to the tune of six laps).