Massa sets sights on F1 drivers' title

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Ferrari's Felipe Massa has his eyes firmly fixed on the drivers' title after a piece of luck helped him to his third win of the season at the French Grand Prix.

Massa leads the championship by two points from BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, with Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen a further three behind.

He was quick to acknowledge that he had benefited from Raikkonen's continued run of misfortune.

The Finn, who was six seconds clear of the field in the 30th lap when his right-hand exhaust cracked, was forced to ease off the pace and finished second.

"The win came my way because Kimi had a problem with his car and at the pace he was running, it would have been hard for me to beat him on the track," Massa said.

"I would have been happy with second place but, of course, the win makes me even happier... I am leading the championship and that's a nice feeling, but I am well aware it means nothing because I am aiming for the title and to do that, there is still a long way to go."

Raikkonen, naturally, was disappointed following his crash in Monaco and being shunted out in Canada.

"Unfortunately the right exhaust broke just before half-distance and the engine lost a lot of power, especially on the straight after the slow corners.

"After a few laps, the situation seemed better, but towards the end of the race, I ran the risk of stopping. This sort of thing can happen in racing and I have to try and look on the bright side: eight points is still a good amount and the one-two finish is great for the team."

The Finn remained optimistic, saying he was in a better position than at the same time last year.

Ferrari team sporting director Stefano Domenicali said the one-two finish was a great result for the team.

"It proves we have all the potential to do very well, but it also confirms that we cannot allow ourselves to be perfect in every detail, especially on the reliability front. I am very sorry for Kimi."

However, Domenicali was delighted they now had a 17-point lead over BMW Sauber in the race for the constructors' championship.

"[It] gives a bit of breathing space, but we cannot afford to ease up."

Jarno Trulli », who finished third to give Toyota their best performance of the season after holding off McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen and Kubica », was equally pleased.

"What a great result and a great weekend by the whole team... we had a good pace, even if we had to battle with some cars that were quicker than us. I had to fight really hard but that is what people should expect both from myself and from Toyota."

Renault's Fernando Alonso was left disappointed again after finishing eighth despite starting third on the grid.

"I am sure we could have fought for the podium, but I lost too many positions at the start, and after that I was not able to find the pace I had shown.

"The car was fast in a straight line, but I still couldn't make any progress. I scored a point, but I'm determined to do better for the British Grand Prix."