BEIJING, April 28 -- Kimi Raikkonen won the Spanish Grand Prix yesterday, leading Ferrari to a third straight Formula One win.

    Raikkonen, the defending world champion, captured his 17th race after starting from pole position. Teammate Felipe Massa, who was coming off a win at Bahrain three weeks ago, came second.

    "We didn't have the perfect start, but it was good enough to stay in front," Raikkonen said.

    Lewis Hamilton of McLaren was third. Teammate Heikki Kovalainen was taken to hospital after a high-speed crash. The Finn was in stable condition.

    Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber was fourth and Mark Webber of Red Bull rounded out the top five.

    Raikkonen, who won at the Circuit de Catalunya outside Barcelona in 2005, leads the overall standings with 29 points, nine more than Hamilton. Massa is next on 19.

    Jenson Button of Honda was sixth, followed by Kazuki Nakajima of Williams and Jarno Trulli of Toyota in the final positions to earn points.

    Raikkonen led from start to finish for the sixth time to record his second win of the season. He won the Malaysian GP last month.

    The 28-year-old Finn topped both of Friday's practice sessions before taking his 15th career pole. That makes it eight straight winners at Montmelo to have won from pole.

    Ferrari's one-point effort at the season-opening Australian GP - its worst start for 16 years - is now a distant memory with the Italians winning all three races since.

    McLaren said that a loss of pressure caused Kovalainen's front left tire to explode and send him skidding into the wall at turn No. 9. Stewards needed almost 10 minutes to pry his mangled car out.

    The Finn was rushed to a Barcelona hospital by helicopter after being evacuated from the track wearing a neck brace, but he gave a thumbs-up sign to spectators.

    Nine drivers retired due to mechanical problems or accidents.

    Hamilton, who finished more than four seconds back from Raikkonen, returned to the podium for the first time since winning the Australian GP.

    Two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Renault, who started second, retired with engine problems after 34 laps. "The motor broke, I think," said Alonso, who won his home race two years ago. "It's tough because we're here in Spain. But I think in the next race we can do a better performance."

    Alonso almost didn't make the start after running off the track while working his tires on the formation lap. Alonso had to attack from the start to have any chance of victory in front of 132,000 fans - including Spain's King Juan Carlos. But Massa moved past him on the straightaway leading into the first corner to leave Ferrari in control.

    Hamilton passed Kubica into fourth place to trail Alonso, his former McLaren teammate, after being pushed up the inside.

    All cars were immediately behind the safety car after Adrian Sutil of Force India and Sebastian Vettel of Toro Rosso collided. Vettel failed to finish one lap for the second straight race.

    Sebastien Bourdais of Toro Rosso rammed into Nelson Piquet Jr. as the Renault driver tried an inside move. Both retired after banging front wheels 10 laps in.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily/ Agencies)