The Turkish Grand Prix was a thrilling continuation of the current title battle between Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. If only all races would entail such riveting action. But like the Hungarian Grand Prix three weeks earlier, there was so much going on during the race that it was hard to keep track.

Felipe Massa really did a great job to outshine his illustrious teammate and bring home his maiden victory. Unlike Michael Schumacher, he did not make any mistakes throughout the course of the race, albeit he was lucky to have been ‘allowed’ to pit first during the safety car period. At that point Ferrari was confident that their title contender would make it back through the field, but to their disappointment and surprise, he didn’t.

It might not have shown on the podium, but Michael Schumacher was disappointed with the outcome of the race. Remember, this man had come to Istanbul with a team confident on Saturday that they could bring home a 1-2, and at the same time get back on track in the hunt for the title. It was not only the safety car that ruined Schuey’s race, but a mistake that saw him run wide through Turn 8, costing him four crucial seconds. He needed even less to come out ahead of Fernando Alonso during the second pit stop.

It was also interesting to observe how the Spaniard dealt with the pressure throughout the race. Alonso avoided a collision with Schumacher at the first corner after the start, something the German himself may not have done in the same situation with a ten-point advantage in the championship.

Kimi Raikkonen, who drove a terrific race to victory at the inaugrual Turkish Grand Prix last year, added another incident to his seemingly incessant streak of bad luck. Scott Speed shot into the rear of the McLaren at Turn 1, puncturing the rear left tyre. The Finn cane in for a pit stop but after only a few corners, Raikkonen went off the track again and hit the tyre wall, suffering a minor back injury. The team is confident however that he will be fit before the Italian Grand Prix, where some insiders believe he will also announce a long-rumored Ferrari deal.

As the season begins to come to a close, the tension and pressure is mounting. Renault and Ferrari seem to be waging a war on rule conformity on the sidelines, and we may soon see the Ferrari rear wheel fairings be declared illegal. There has been a lot of suspicion regarding the timing of the FIA to ban the ‘Tuned Mass Damper’ (TMD) system used by Renault. The FIA did after all, know of the TMD system since the beginning of the season. What they did accomplish is slow down the Renaults by probably two or three tenths of a second per lap, which makes Alonso’s accomplishment of finishing ahead of Schumacher impressive (and ironic for conspiracy theorists).

The performance hierarchy remains somewhat unclear, as the Bridgestone tyres had a small advantage with the track and temperature conditions at the Turkish Grand Prix. Ferrari is on a good way to winning the constructor’s title, but Michael Schumacher can only hope for his Spanish rival to make a mistake he can capitalize on. But for that to work, he can't afford any himself.