Kung Fu Panda is the new animation from Dreamworks Animation, following in the footsteps of the Shrek series it’s a barrel of laughs with beautiful animation and colourful characters.

Po is an overweight panda who works for his dad at a noodle shop in the Valley of Peace, He dreams of one day being a Kung fu master and then through a complete fluke accident his prayers are answered when he is chosen to be ‘the dragon warrior’ and save them all from the evil Tai Lung. With the assistance of the Furious Five and the guru he has always worshipped Master Shifu, Po bungles his way through his training initially but proves it’s what is on the inside that matters and that anyone can be a hero.

With great gags and top notch vocal talent from the likes of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan and Angelina Jolie amongst others. Kung Fu Panda marks a step forward for Dreamworks in producing a thought provoking and throughly enjoyable animated feature. Although reliant a lot on the gag’s that made the Shrek franchise great, there is a strong message behind this film and it even manages to stay to the most part faithful to Chinese culture. The animation is very good especially the choreography of the fight scenes. This is a great watch and although in my eyes it doesn’t quite live up to Pixar’s latest effort, it proves that Dreamworks can do more than Shrek. Highly recommended

Heikki Kovalainen claimed his maiden pole position at the British Grand Prix, while his McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton was demoted down to fourth place after making a costly mistake on his first flying lap.

It should have been Hamilton taking the top spot as he had the quickest car around the Silverstone circuit. But that oversteer moment into Priory cost him time. Despite this set back, Lewis still has the opportunity to do well in the race even though his team-mate is at the front of the grid.

Heikki’s pole position time of one minute, 21.049 seconds was half a second quicker than the nearest rival, that of Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber. To qualify ahead of the Ferraris is an impressive achievement for the team and the Australian. It will be fascinating if Webber has the pace or the right fuel strategy to match the top runners in the 60-lap race.

World champion Kimi Raikkonen will start in third place with home crowd favourite Lewis Hamilton joining him on the second row. It wasn’t a great performance from the Scuderia, as both Raikkonen and Felipe Massa seemed to lack the outright speed that many were expected. It was quite a surprise to see the two red cars struggling in Q2. To line up third and ninth (Massa) was not the result the team were looking for.

For the first time this season, Nick Heidfeld outqualified his BMW Sauber team-mate Robert Kubica with fifth position. The German was able to generate enough heat into his Bridgestone (his main problem this year) to edge ahead of Kubica. The Polish driver was unable to set a competitive lap time in Q3 due to puncture and will start in tenth place.

Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet will line up in sixth and seventh respectively. The Brazilian is beginning to regain his confidence in the Renault R28 after a poor show earlier this year.

Sebastian Vettel continued his promising performance with ninth for Toro Rosso, one place ahead of world championship leader Felipe Massa. The Brazilian was heavy comprised in Q3 by a wheel-nut problem in the pits, meaning he missed the chance to set a competitive lap time. To line up on row five is a major disappointment for Felipe.

Two-time Silverstone winner David Coulthard will start the race in eleventh. It will be Scot’s final home race after announcing to the world’s press that he will retire at the end of this year’s championship.

As for the other British driver, Jenson Button got caught out in the brief rain shower in Q1 and was unable to set a lap time in the Honda. He will start the British Grand Prix in P17, behind his team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

Sunday’s race will be deeply fascinating as there is a slight possibility of rain. Can Heikki scored his dream result for McLaren by winning in front of the passionate British crowd? Does Webber have the genuine pace to match him? What about Raikkonen and Hamilton? Can we expect the ‘Iceman’ and the Brit to stage a comeback drive and win the race? Let’s find out tomorrow in the penultimate race at Silverstone.

Qualifying times from Silverstone

1. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.049
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:21.554
3. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:21.706
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.835
5. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:21.873
6. Alonso Renault 1:22.029
7. Piquet Renault 1:22.491
8. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:23.251
9. Massa Ferrari 1:23.305
10. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:19.788
11. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:20.174
12. Glock Toyota 1:20.274
13. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.531
14. Trulli Toyota 1:20.601
15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:21.112
16. Barrichello Honda 1:21.512
17. Button Honda 1:21.631
18. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:21.668
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:21.786
20. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:21.885

As ADV woes continue, Funimation steps in to pick the rights to 30 titles. Those rights include the home video, broadcast, digital, and merchandising rights in North America and other regions so it is posible to see them being released here in Europe also. The complete list are as follows:

# 009-1
# Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy
# Air Gear
# Air movie
# Air TV
# Blade of the Phantom Master
# Comic Party: Revolution
# Coyote Ragtime Show
# Devil May Cry
# Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor TV
# Jing, King of Bandits: Seventh Heaven
# Jinki:Extend
# Kanon
# Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora (once titled as Shattered Angels by ADV Films)
# Le Chevalier D’Eon
# Magikano
# Moeyo Ken TV
# Moonlight Mile
# Murder Princess
# Nerima Daikon Brothers
# Pani Poni Dash!
# Project Blue Earth SOS
# Pumpkin Scissors
# Red Garden
# Sgt. Keroro 1st & 2nd
# Tokyo Majin
# UFO Princess Valkyrie
# Utawarerumono
# Venus Versus Virus
# The Wallflower
# Welcome to the NHK
# Xenosaga

Quite a good list of titles here and lets hope the prices are competitive too if they do make it to our shores.

As mentioned in my Street Fighter 4 Update, there will be an animated short involving Ryu and his storyline against Akuma. Well it looks like Gametrailers has managed to source a world exclusive of this trailer and here it is in all its glory. Enjoy!

Now if only this were a true OVA…

My first series review from spring season and I had to start with what I have to say was the WORST show of the season, Kanokon or what I have affectionately dubbed as the atrocity that is Kano-crap as that is literally what this show is. It’s pointless, mindless and at times uncomfortable rubbish that possesses no point besides to show tits, arse and a very underage boy almost get molested every week. Now I personally wanted to like this show or at least find some point to it, why else do you think I forced myself to watch all 12 episodes. Now I’m not someone to dislike fanservice ecchi show’s but wow this show was terrible (remember this is coming from someone who likes Ikkitousen).

I often found this show an uncomfortable watch and in all honestly I felt like every week they were just trying to see how far they could push it before this would be classed as soft core. The characters aren’t even likable and I think thats what was really missing from this show, they were all wooden, dull stereotypes, even the fox and wolf ears didn’t save it from the depths of, well boring. You can only watch so many pantsu and boob shots with no plot before you start yawning. The art work didn’t live up to much, originally it wasn’t too bad but there was no fluidity to the drawings the movements just seemed too ridged, possibly I’m too used to being spoilt by Kyoto Animation, but still this show just came to represent what is happening with anime currently, where both animation and even plot are sacrificed for overly ecchi scenes that in all reality even in that market don’t live up to much. This show in my eyes was only second to Moetan in making me feel very uncomfortable.

Avoid this show like the plague unless you like shows with no plot, no point and what can almost be classed as soft core. Only for those who like pointless moe fanservice and not much else.

What happens when humanity leaves earth and forgets to turn off the last robot? you get WALL.E the new animated feature from PIXAR or as I like to call it “The little robot that could” which is directed by Andrew Stanton who also wrote and directed Finding Nemo. Take the 80’s classic’s ‘Short Circuit’ and ‘Batteries not included’, throw in a love conquers all story and mix throughly with lashings of PIXAR magic and you get WALL.E. I have to admit I was intrigued from the trailers and the film itself doesn’t disappoint, WALL.E is for lack of a better word adorable.

WALL.E is a little rubbish disposal robot who has lived pretty much alone on earth for the past 700 years, his only friend is a dog like cockroach (you see they were right the bugs will survive anything) humans left earth due to the pollution crisis and are now living in space on huge cruise ship like space stations. One day while WALL.E is doing his own thing tidying and curiously playing with the various discarded objects he finds (often with hilarious results) a strange visiting robot arrives called EVE, she is a probe sent down by the humans to see if the earth is inhabitable. WALL.E’s curiosity gets the better of him, he is intrigued by this new visitor and gradually this curiosity develops into something more.

This really is an amazing film and PIXAR have gone the extra mile this time, I really felt for WALL.E it’s just amazing how they managed to convey so many human emotions in a little robot who to be honest barely speaks besides saying his name. The dialogue in this film is pretty sparse with almost all the emotion pouring through the movements and eyes of the two main characters. PIXAR have proved they truly are a cut above the rest in telling simple stories with HEART and trust me this film has a heart so huge even the coldest person will fall in love with little WALL.E as he tries his hardest to make EVE realise his true feelings. I won’t give away too much but I will say this film is a MUST SEE. I absolutely adored it and the mix of laugh out loud jokes and pure emotion made this a viewing treat. The animation is beautiful as always with PIXAR, with the added great messages regarding pollution and that even a robot has the ability to love. This is a film I will happily go see again and I couldn’t recommend it more highly if I tried.

Staff members from left to right: NeoBlade, TaroTard & Chiisuki

TaroTard: When you are speaking to someone on MSN how do you know the person you’re speaking to is really your friend?

And when I say really your friend, I am not talking about everything you hear on the news these days, because yes that is going on all the time and it’s disgusting. I am talking to a topic closer to home.

How do you know that this person you have never met before but you have been online friends with for several months/ years is really real?

It’s so easy for somone to go online and create a completely new personality an online personality, it happens all the time these days.
Unfortunately in the past I have learned this lesson the hard way, I was friends with a girl for just over a year and went to stay with her in Canada for 2 weeks, but when I got there she wasn’t that nice to me at all really, we had days where we were friends like we were online but at other times she just ignored me and was even quite spiteful and rude to me, I feel.

For some reason I have really been thinking about this a lot recently and so decided to start a discussion to get other opinions.
When you are speaking to someone on MSN it’s not always truthul. When you’re on the phone the person can hear your voice and sense your honesty, that plus you are put on the spot for an answer you have to give it up right away. On MSN/AIM/ICQ (etc.) however you can take your time and edit your answer as you see fit. You can make it sound how you want to sound all honesty disappears. Some people don’t give an answer to a question, they create one.

In real life you might be shy and confident but online you may come across as outgoing and flirty. Or it could work the other way in real life you might be a bit of a perv and a bit big headed but online you come across as modest and friendly.
The issue is you can grow to trust someone on MSN but in the end if you have not met the person in real life you know pretty much nothing about the person and you may find your trust is too easily given…

So my question is, do you think this kind of behaviour is acceptable? Is it ok to create an online personality (and in effect lie to those you call friends)? Is there a way you can know if someone is being honest on MSN/AIM/ICQ etc? If so how? Have you been a victim to anything like this in the past? And do you believe there is anyway in which this kind of behaviour can be prevented?

Chiisuki:
This one particularly hits close to home with me due to several instances, a lot I would rather forget. I dislike how people use the internet to create the person they always wanted to be rather than just be themselves. I often compare the internet to alcohol as in a lot of circumstances it allows you to disregard inhibitions. Your judgement is often clouded and I believe because you are in a safe environment i.e. your own home as opposed to a club etc you open up more freely and often disclose information you wouldn’t dream of telling your family or even partner and yet this stranger online knows all your deepest darkest secrets.

The internet can be a great tool for those who are shyer, from a small town or even live an alternative lifestyle to meet people who are like minded. The problem being the person you are speaking to isn’t often 100% honest, I often hear people claiming I have this or I have that etc. Point is why do people feel the need to boast online and pretend to be someone they aren’t? You often never end up meeting the people you speak to so what is the point when in reality. I guess from what I have witnessed in the past people do it to boost their own ego’s, those who lack confidence in the ‘real world’ can be the confident person they always dreamed of within this second life.

If you consider it discovering the internet is like being ‘born again’ to many people, they can have a blank canvas to work with where no one knows what they have done in reality, no one knows you were the loser at school or that you work a boring mundane job, on the internet in a sense you can become anyone you wish to be, much like playing fancy dress or acting you can create an entirely new personality and for many this is one of the very attractive feature’s of the internet. Just look at the number of people who play Second Life, WoW and many other MMORPG’s where you can even create your own avatar which if you play it for long enough some people can even forget who they really are, their alternative persona becoming the more dominant one.

Sadly I can not see how this can be prevented as until every person is truly happy within themselves there will always be internet ‘fakes’, people who have to be someone else just to feel better about themselves. You often find a lot of people who by nature are compulsive liars use the internet to feed their need. Some people are just incapable of telling the truth and the internet makes this easy. Others just want to get close to people they never could in reality, so they lie about who they are. What is sad is these people don’t realise that it is the illusion others like not themselves. I do find it hard to understand anyone who could be happy with themselves that they need to lie to get people to like them.

The only way I have found to work out who is telling the truth and who is lying is to copy and save conversations with people, if they contradict themselves or if just plain alarm bells ring in your head walk away. You lose nothing if you lose an internet person, Also it is a good idea until you feel truly comfortable with that person to keep ‘reality’ and the internet separate. You often find people become immersed with their internet friends and forget those they have in reality due to them being less fun. Of course this isn’t entirely true but I think the thrill of speaking to someone different brings out most people’s adventurous nature. Fantasy isn’t always better than reality even if to some people it may seem so because at the end of the day when you lie in your bed you are back in the ‘real world’, you are the same person who is shy or was picked on, or never achieved what they believed they should have not the fantasy you have created you don‘t change just because of something you typed online.

TaroTard: I know it is both easier to lie and be honest on MSN, I think it’s like you say because one you’re in your house and feel completely safe and comfortable (never really thought about it but it’s so true) and they lie because it’s easy to and it doesn’t always feel like you’re lying.
I think this is why you have to be weary. It’s a good idea saving convos though, would be interesting to compare, to be honest though these days I don’t really talk to a lot of people that I have never met, since my learning experience actually ^^; wonder if it had a subconscious affect on me haha.

I have noticed though that I have a couple of real life friends that talk completely different online and it’s what brought this topic to the front of my mind really. I always want to ask ‘why are you being like that?’ I’d much prefer them to be themselves than put up a front it seems really silly and sometimes it annoys me a little because I know it isn’t them. These aren’t particularly close friends and I think their online personalities hinder that because they then come across as dishonest to me.

I do not understand myself why people have to lie though. In the end it’s not only doing the other person a diservice but themselves too. I always feel incredibly guilty if I lie about myself online, I felt bad having a male avatar as a mule on one site once, because I’m not male I actually stated in the signature for that particular avatar that I was actually a girl in real life haha ^^;

The second life thing has caught my attention I remember my Mom mentioned a while back that it was on TV. It seems a biy … wow! to me… it’s really a second life, I guess where you can be who you want to be.
Personally even though I’m not always happy with myself I would much prefer to be myself than anyone or anything else, so I will always be honest on these kind of sites.

Obviously I think it’s completely wrong and some people take it way too far, it can be quite scary when you think about it…

NeoBlade: It does raise a lot of questions and something I wanted to explore more about, more specifically in Online Safety however this is a very good start. Many people though sadly do lie out of their own teeth online to get attention to themselves most likely because in reality they could never command it for whatever reason. I’m pretty sure that if they were as open or as friendly in person then they would be able to make new friends or acquaintances at least without too much trouble. However the temptation of being ‘larger than life’ online is often too much to resist.

There are many people in real life that are really fantastic to speak to but online they feel like a totally different person. This is not because their personality as such has drastically changed. It is just I think we take it for granted that everyone uses MSN or other Instant Messaging systems all the time and expect the same level of transparency online as they do offline. Not everyone are able to do so really however the main issue is the reverse… I.E The people you talk to on MSN are really lively, bubbly and friendly yet in person they are not and quite the opposite as TaroTard pointed out earlier in her post. I find these characters more suspectable really since if they make the effort to converse online and you know they have the ability to hold a conversation, then why not at least show a glimpse of that when you meet up? You do have to take account of how shy a person might be as well, but then if they are comfortable enough to speak to you beforehand and know it is safe to (as in you also give the same amount of effort back to the conversation) then they should feel comfortable enough.

Points made earlier about having a Second Life/Persona online often happens and there is nothing wrong for example in questioning certain things to find out the truth. There has been times where for example asking for certain bits of information there was a break in conversation flow, allowing them to think of something up or stalling the matter. There have been other cases as well of people being open to editing and creating an online persona just to make them look better. As mentioned before it is a lot easier to do online than in real life since most of us can read body language and tone of voice to detect lies. Online however you can only see text and that’s it. There is no face to the text, no voice, no body language. The safety net of being in the comfort of your own place, miles away from the person you are talking to also gives you that physical presence of mind as there is a smaller chance of being caught out.

Of course everything is context sensitive so you cannot use it as a cast iron rule that if people go quiet they are trying to fabricate something. If you are friends online and indeed there is a level of trust, most people would go about sending pictures of each other. I’ve had some females send a fake picture which is fair enough - The online space does contain its fair share of dodgy characters much like in real life so there is no harm in safeguarding yourself, as long as you are comfortable with it.

Safety is important, even more so if you actually decide to go and see them in real life after. In which case I would advise on taking a friend along with you and indeed to let someone else know your location and time of visit. We often hear such stores on the internet and they are not totally unfounded so it is always bes to er on the safe side, more so if you are female.

With Second Life/World of Warcraft I have known many people to be addicted to it and indeed I’ve lost friends over it! They become so compulsive towards the game that they often forget that there is a world out there that can be explored, people to meet etc. I know I have become addicted to the online world also however I do like my breaks away from it as you get to see the larger picture rather than to be confined behind a desk on a computer.

Looking at this from a different angle though, for those who are shy but are honest online it does help to build confidence within yourself. Going back to a point made by Chiisuki though it is true how it is just as easy to give away personal information as it is to lie. There are some that are a bit too forthright with information that in normal circumstances would not be released. Things like numbers, addresses, photos and specific information… All of which leads to Social Engineering but we’ll cover that another time!

TaroTard: The internet is a lot colder, I’ve said this before when I am talking to a friend online and I am down it helps, but nowhere near as much as it would if I actually spoke to the person on the phone or face to face.

It lacks that comforting and supportive edge that you get actually speaking to a person. Hence when I am feeling really down, to be honest I don’t usually want to be on the net, I start to feel alone and crave actually talking to somone.
Also I find sometimes that I hide my emotions more online and when I say that, Anger and sadness being the ones I mean. If I’m happy you don’t need to hide it really do you? But it’s easier to because the person can’t hear your voice, if they could they would KNOW you are not happy. But yeah I tend to take a breath leave it and move on and the other person is none the wiser. Mind you recently I’ve been better with that

It’s on TV a lot recently about how just leaving a child in front of a computer all the time is causing all kinds of social problems in later life and I can totally understand where that is coming from.
Being online you can’t show real emotion and you’re not really interacting with a person, the only thing there is the speech. If you know a person then it’s better because obviously you know how the person reacts in reality and can imagine it. But if you are talking to a person you have never met before. It is impossible to imagine them and it is near impossible to honestly understand them, because as has been mentioned above by everyone it is very easy to be someone completely different to yourself online… meep!

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is the new film from the Disney Studio, Directed by Andrew Adamson. This second adventure in Narnia is by far superior to the first in my personal opinion. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe always seemed very rushed to me, with poor quality special effects especially in the final battle scene.

This time around it has been 100’s of years since the last installment. (Or at least in Narnia it has, in good old England it’s only been a few months) Narnia has now fallen under the tyrannical rule of the Telmarine King Miraz. The Pevensie siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are called back to Narnia by Prince Caspian, the true heir to the throne of Cair Paravel by blowing Susan’s magical horn. Will the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve be able to help the Prince and return Narnia to it’s former Glory?

This time around I throughly enjoyed my trip to Narnia, if anything a couple of years has definitely helped the acting skills of the young cast and Ben Barns pulls off a very convincing Prince Caspian. I especially liked how the Telmarines spoke with a Hispanic accent to contrast them completely with the very English Pevensie family. I will have to say that Peter Dinklage as Trumpkin and Eddie Izzard as Reepicheep the warrior mouse stole the show, they had me laughing most of the time they were on screen.

A heart felt, fun, fantasy adventure for the whole family which thankfully they kept the Christian values to a minimum. The special effects are by far superior to the first and the pacing of this installment was by far more thrilling. With the success of this film I sense that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will definitely be in the pipe line, here’s hoping it’s more like this film than the former. Worth the price of a cinema ticket, especially if you want to entertain some younger members of the family or just experience some good old fantasy, even Aslan himself would have to roar with joy at this adaption of C.S. Lewis classic.

Well it’s summer season already (strange I didn’t think Spring had actually finished yet) and we welcome back the series with the serious jiggle factor, Ikkitousen : Great Guardians or as the joke goes they’ve gone from a DD to a GG this time around. So it’s a short season of boobs, pantsu, fighting, school uniform shredding fun, oh yeah did I mention this is an ecchi series for anyone who has been asleep for the last few years and isn’t aware of the pretty infamous Ikkitousen.

We have a new season and apparently a new story line (It seems “The Romance of The Three Kingdoms” hash up is less apparent), as considering one of the characters this season was meant to be dead but magically appears I am slightly confused but you can’t complain too much about seeing Ryofu again right? This season we’re introduced to Hakufu’s little sister Goei who seems a stark contrast in personality to Hakufu, roll on the ‘little sister’ jokes we can all see them coming. Yes I did hear the screaming of ‘oneesama’ in episode 2 god help me it’s yuri camp-ness to the extreme.

Besides that finally we have another major yuri edge, unlike in Dragon Destiny, the usually reserved, cool, Amazonian like Kanu is positively drooling over Ryuubi. So much for the odd blush like before it seems Kan-san has suddenly become slightly too sexually frustrated and now MUST have Ryuubi. Either way it’s put a big smile on my face seeing the usual dignified (yes I did say dignified in an Ikkitousen review) Kanu having a jealous hissy fit because Ryuubi isn’t noticing quite how badly she wants her. Well it made me giggle anyway. With Ryofu appearing out of no where with apparent memory loss and the usual cast back for some very OTT fun this could be good ride, as long as you remember to leave your brain at the opening song and don’t forget to collect it on the way out.

The animation is the same affair as in Dragon Destiny not much has really changed there, the OP and ED credits are pleasing enough. Lets just say if you enjoyed the first two series you’ll like this overly camped up and seriously stupid 3rd season as well, if you didn’t well why are you reading this review?

Let the bouncing and jiggling begin…. FIGHT!!

Felipe Massa heads the drivers’ championship after a decisive victory at Magny-Cours. The Brazilian was behind his Ferrari team-mate in the first 38 of the 70 laps race, but when Kimi Raikkonen developed an exhaust problem (losing him vital horsepower), Massa was able to benefit and take the chequered flag.

Even though Raikkonen had a problem with his F2008, the pace of the red cars was significant compared to the rest of the 20-car field. Jarno Trulli finished in a distant third, earning the team’s first podium since Melbourne 2006. It was nice gesture for Trulli to dedicate this podium finish to the former Toyota team boss Ove Andersson, who was killed in a car crash earlier this month.

The Italian was under extreme pressure from McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen in the closing stages of the race. On the run down to the Imola chicane, the Finn tried a move around the outside. The two cars touched but Trulli held the racing line and stayed in front.

As for Lewis Hamilton, this wasn’t a great weekend for the British driver. After his mistake in Canada in which he was penalised by crashing into the back of Raikkonen’s Ferrari in the pits, Lewis had a tough race in the French Grand Prix.

Starting from P13 on the grid, he was given a second penalty (a drive-through) when he cut the Nurburgring chicane while passing Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap. It was a little harsh by the race stewards in my opinion – Lewis couldn’t take the racing line into the chicane after just passing the Toro Rosso. He was going way too fast! So with this punishment and his low grid position, Hamilton’s race was already comprised. He tried in vain to regain lost ground by overtaking several cars, including arch-rival Fernando Alonso, but in the end Lewis finished tenth.

After winning the previous race in Montreal, Robert Kubica struggled with pace in the BMW Sauber. The Polish driver lacked the performance many people when expecting and to finish sixth was disappointing. At least Robert did a better job behind the wheel of the F1.08, as team-mate Nick Heidfeld was the last remaining runner on the lead lap (he finished P13).

Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber led home an intense and private Renault battle with sixth, ahead of Nelson Piquet (who scored his first points of the season), Fernando Alonso and David Coulthard. The young Brazilian was able to move ahead of his Renault team leader when Alonso slid wide when lapping Giancarlo Fisichella’s Force India three laps from the end. It was a great result for Piquet after several bad races.

Toyota’s Timo Glock hung to eleventh position despite a late challenge from Vettel in the Toro Rosso. Nick Heidfeld was a disappointing P13 for BMW Sauber (he finished second in Montreal). Rubens Barrichello, who started from the back of the grid after a gearbox change, was the first lapped runner in P14 heading home the Williams duo of Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg (who also received a penalty in the pit-lane crash at Montreal).

Sebastien Bourdais was P17 for Toro Rosso ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil in their Force Indias. Jenson Button was the only retirement after his Honda made first-lap contact with Bourdais and sustained irreparable damage.

Massa’s third Grand Prix victory of the season (the eighth in his Formula One career) means he becomes the fourth driver to lead the championship standings. In addition, Massa is the first Brazilian to lead the world championship since the late great Ayrton Senna back in 1993. He has 48 points compare to Kubica’s 46 and Raikkonen’s 43. Hamilton trails with 38 after his second race without scoring points.

Meanwhile Ferrari extends their lead in the constructors’ championship to a commanding 17 points over BMW Sauber.

French Grand Prix, Magny-Cours:

1. Massa Ferrari 1h31:50.245
2. Raikkonen Ferrari +17.984
3. Trulli Toyota +28.250
4. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes +28.929
5. Kubica BMW Sauber +30.512
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault +40.304
7. Piquet Renault +41.033
8. Alonso Renault +43.372
9. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault +51.021
10. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes +54.538
11. Glock Toyota +57.700
12. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari +58.065
13. Heidfeld BMW Sauber +1:02.079
14. Barrichello Honda +1 lap
15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota +1 lap
16. Rosberg Williams-Toyota +1 lap
17. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
18. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari +1 lap
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari +1 lap

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:16.630

Not classified/retirements:
Button Honda 17 laps

World Championship standings, round 8

Drivers:

1. Massa 48
2. Kubica 46
3. Raikkonen 43
4. Hamilton 38
5. Heidfeld 28
6. Kovalainen 20
7. Trulli 18
8. Webber 18
9. Alonso 10
10. Rosberg 8
11. Nakajima 7
12. Coulthard 6
13. Barrichello 5
14. Glock 5
15. Vettel 5
16. Button 3
17. Piquet 2
18. Bourdais 2

Constructors:

1. Ferrari 91
2. BMW Sauber 74
3. McLaren-Mercedes 58
4. Red Bull-Renault 24
5. Toyota 23
6. Williams-Toyota 15
7. Renault 12
8. Honda 8
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7

Next race: British Grand Prix, Silverstone July 4-6