2008 Formula One World Championship

The 2008 Formula One season was the 59th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It began on March 16 and was over on November 2 after eighteen races. Lewis Hamilton became the Drivers' World Champion while Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro won the Constructors' title.^[1]

2008 FIA Formula One World Championship
Previous:	2007	Next:	2009
Races by country Races by season

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship:^[2]

Team	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	No.	Race Drivers	Test driver(s)
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari	Ferrari F2008[3]	Ferrari Type 056 2.4 L V8	B	1	Kimi Räikkönen[4]	Luca Badoer[5] Marc Gené[5] Michael Schumacher[6]
					2	Felipe Massa[7]
BMW Sauber F1 Team	BMW Sauber	Sauber F1.08[8]	BMW P86/8 2.4 L V8	B	3	Nick Heidfeld[9]	Christian Klien[10] Marko Asmer[10]
					4	Robert Kubica[9]
ING Renault F1 Team	Renault	Renault R28[11]	Renault RS27 2.4 L V8	B	5	Fernando Alonso[12]	Lucas di Grassi[13] Romain Grosjean[14] Sakon Yamamoto[15]
					6	Nelson Piquet, Jr.[12]
AT&T Williams	Williams	Williams FW30[16]	Toyota RVX-08 2.4 L V8[17]	B	7	Nico Rosberg[18]	Nico Hülkenberg[19]
					8	Kazuki Nakajima[18]
Red Bull Racing	Red Bull	Red Bull RB4[20]	Renault RS27 2.4 L V8	B	9	David Coulthard[21]	Sébastien Buemi[22]
					10	Mark Webber[23]
Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota	Toyota TF108[24]	Toyota RVX-08 2.4 L V8	B	11	Jarno Trulli[25]	Kamui Kobayashi[26]
					12	Timo Glock[27]
Scuderia Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR2B[28]† Toro Rosso STR3[29]	Ferrari Type 056 2.4 L V8	B	14	Sébastien Bourdais[30]	Brendon Hartley[31]
					15	Sebastian Vettel[32]
Honda Racing F1 Team	Honda	Honda RA108[33]	Honda RA808E 2.4 L V8	B	16	Jenson Button[34]	Alexander Wurz[35] Anthony Davidson[36] Mike Conway[37] Luca Filippi[37]
					17	Rubens Barrichello[38]
Super Aguri F1 Team ‡	Super Aguri	Super Aguri SA08[39]	Honda RA808E 2.4 L V8	B	18	Takuma Sato[2]	none
					19	Anthony Davidson[2]
Force India Formula One Team	Force India	Force India VJM01[40]	Ferrari Type 056 2.4 L V8[41]	B	20	Adrian Sutil[42]	Vitantonio Liuzzi[42]
					21	Giancarlo Fisichella[42]
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	McLaren	McLaren MP4-23[43]	Mercedes-Benz FO 108V 2.4 L V8	B	22	Lewis Hamilton[44]	Pedro de la Rosa[45] Gary Paffett[45] Ralf Schumacher
					23	Heikki Kovalainen[46]

^† Team started the 2008 season with an updated version of their 2007 car.
^‡ Super Aguri withdrew from the 2008 Formula One season on 6 May due to financial troubles.

Team changes

• Only a year after Spyker bought the Midland team, Indian businessman Vijay Mallya bought the team for €88 million.^[47] Mallya was allowed to change the team's name to Force India.
• During the 2008 season on 6 May, the Super Aguri team folded and withdrew from Formula One. The team was in financial problems at the end of 2007. The team did not receive payment on a sponsorship deal.^[48]

Driver changes

After competing in the sport for ten years, Ralf Schumacher did not take part in the 2008 season.

Changed teams

• Fernando Alonso: Left McLaren and joined Renault F1
• Heikki Kovalainen: Left Renault F1 and Retired
• Giancarlo Fisichella: Left Renault F1 and joined Force India
• Nelson Piquet, Jr.: Left Renault F1 as a test driver and joined Renault F1
• Timo Glock: Came from racing in GP2 Series and as a test driver for BMW Sauber F1 and joined Toyota Racing
• Vitantonio Liuzzi: Left Scuderia Toro Rosso and joined Force India as a test driver
• Kazuki Nakajima: Came from racing in GP2 Series and WilliamsF1 as a test driver and joined WilliamsF1
• Alexander Wurz: Left WilliamsF1 and joined Honda Racing F1 as a test driver
• Christian Klien: Left Honda Racing F1 as a test driver and joined BMW Sauber F1 as a test driver
• Sakon Yamamoto: Left Spyker F1 and joined Renault F1 as a test and development driver.

Entered F1

• Sébastien Bourdais: Came from Champ Car World Series and joined Scuderia Toro Rosso
• Marko Asmer: Came from British Formula Three Championship and joined BMW Sauber F1 as a test driver.

Exited F1

• Ralf Schumacher: Left Toyota Racing and started being test driver for McLaren.but.

2008 Race Calendar

The FIA World Council approved the 2008 schedule on 24 October 2007. Singapore was Formula One's first ever night race.^[49]

Round	Official race title	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date	Time
					Local	UTC
1	ING Australian Grand Prix	Australian GP	Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne	16 March	15:30	04:30
2	Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix	Malaysian GP	Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur	23 March	15:00	07:00
3	Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain GP	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Manama	6 April	14:30	11:30
4	Gran Premio de España Telefónica	Spanish GP	Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona	27 April	14:00	12:00
5	Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix	Turkish GP	Istanbul Park	11 May	15:00	12:00
6	Grand Prix de Monaco	Monaco GP	Circuit de Monaco	25 May	14:00	12:00
7	Grand Prix du Canada	Canadian GP	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal	8 June	13:00	17:00
8	Grand Prix de France	French GP	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	22 June	14:00	12:00
9	Santander British Grand Prix	British GP	Silverstone Circuit	6 July	13:00	12:00
10	Großer Preis Santander von Deutschland	German GP	Hockenheimring	20 July	14:00	12:00
11	ING Magyar Nagydíj	Hungarian GP	Hungaroring, Budapest	3 August	14:00	12:00
12	Telefónica Grand Prix of Europe[50]	European GP	Valencia Street Circuit†	24 August	14:00	12:00
13	ING Belgian Grand Prix	Belgian GP	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa	7 September	14:00	12:00
14	Gran Premio Santander d'Italia	Italian GP	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza	14 September	14:00	12:00
15	SingTel Singapore Grand Prix‡	Singapore GP	Marina Bay Street Circuit†	28 September	20:00	12:00
16	Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix	Japanese GP	Fuji Speedway, Oyama	12 October	13:30	04:30
17	Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix	Chinese GP	Shanghai International Circuit	19 October	15:00	07:00
18	Grande Prêmio do Brasil	Brazilian GP	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	2 November	15:00	17:00

^† New circuits
^‡ Night Race

Rule changes

• A standard Electronic Control Unit (ECU) was supplied by Microsoft and McLaren Electronic Systems.^[51]
• Traction control and launch control were banned. Other electronic aids including engine braking were also baned.^[52]
• Engine design changes will not be allowed for five years was started in 2008^[53]
• Fuel used in the race cars must contain at least 5.75% biological materials.^[54]
• Gearboxes (transmissions) must last four races.^[55]
• Cockpit protection was improved.^[56]
• Teams were not allowed to bring a third race car to use as a spare.^[55]
• Bridgestone will be the official tyre supplier for the 2008–2010 seasons.^[57]
• Team were not allowed to test more than 30,000 km (18,641 mi) during the 2008 calendar year.^[55]

Qualifying

• The first qualifying session was lengthened to 20 minutes. The third qualifying session was shortened to 10 minutes. After Q3, teams would no longer be allowed to add fuel back to the car. This got rid of the 'fuel-burn' phase.
• A minimum lap time for each qualifying session was implemented starting in Bahrain. This was to stop cars coasting back to the pits at dangerously low speeds.
• Following the departure of Super Aguri from Formula One, only the five drivers would be eliminated from Q1.^[58]

Results and standings

Grands Prix

Rd.	Grand Prix	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning constructor
1	Australian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton	Heikki Kovalainen	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
2	Malaysian Grand Prix	Felipe Massa	Nick Heidfeld	Heikki Kovalainen	Ferrari
3	Bahrain Grand Prix	Robert Kubica	Heikki Kovalainen	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
4	Spanish Grand Prix	Kimi Räikkönen	Kimi Räikkönen	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
5	Turkish Grand Prix	Felipe Massa	Kimi Räikkönen	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
6	Monaco Grand Prix	Felipe Massa	Kimi Räikkönen	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
7	Canadian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton	Kimi Räikkönen	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
8	French Grand Prix	Kimi Räikkönen	Kimi Räikkönen	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
9	British Grand Prix	Heikki Kovalainen	Kimi Räikkönen	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
10	German Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton	Nick Heidfeld	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
11	Hungarian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton	Kimi Räikkönen	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes
12	European Grand Prix	Felipe Massa	Felipe Massa	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
13	Belgian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton	Kimi Räikkönen	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
14	Italian Grand Prix	Sebastian Vettel	Kimi Räikkönen	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso-Ferrari
15	Singapore Grand Prix	Felipe Massa	Kimi Räikkönen	Fernando Alonso	Renault
16	Japanese Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton	Felipe Massa	Fernando Alonso	Renault
17	Chinese Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton	Lewis Hamilton	Ralf Schumacher	McLaren-Mercedes
18	Brazilian Grand Prix	Felipe Massa	Felipe Massa	Felipe Massa	Ferrari

Drivers

Pos Driver AUS MAL BHR ESP TUR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN EUR BEL ITA SIN JPN CHN BRA Points 1 Lewis Hamilton 1 5 13 3 2 1 Ret 10 1 1 5 2 3 7 3 12 1 5 98 2 Felipe Massa Ret Ret 1 2 1 3 5 1 13 3 17† 1 1 6 13 7 2 1 97 3 Kimi Räikkönen 8† 1 2 1 3 9 Ret 2 4 6 3 Ret 18† 9 15† 3 3 3 75 4 Robert Kubica Ret 2 3 4 4 2 1 5 Ret 7 8 3 6 3 11 2 6 11 75 5 Fernando Alonso 4 8 10 Ret 6 10 Ret 8 6 11 4 Ret 4 4 1 1 4 2 61 6 Nick Heidfeld 2 6 4 9 5 14 2 13 2 4 10 9 2 5 6 9 5 10 60 7 Heikki Kovalainen 5 3 5 Ret DSQ 9 4 3 5 1 4 10† 2 10 5 nsn 7 53 8 Sebastian Vettel Ret Ret Ret Ret 17 5 8 12 Ret 8 Ret 6 5 1 5 6 9 4 35 9 Jarno Trulli Ret 4 6 8 10 13 6 3 7 9 7 5 16 13 Ret 5 Ret 8 31 10 Timo Glock Ret Ret 9 11 13 12 4 11 12 Ret 2 7 9 11 4 Ret 7 6 25 11 Mark Webber Ret 7 7 5 7 4 12 6 10 Ret 9 12 8 8 Ret 8 14 9 21 12 Nelson Piquet, Jr. Ret 11 Ret Ret 15 Ret Ret 7 Ret 2 6 11 Ret 10 Ret 4 8 Ret 19 13 Nico Rosberg 3 14 8 Ret 8 Ret 10 16 9 10 14 8 12 14 2 11 15 12 17 14 Rubens Barrichello DSQ 13 11 Ret 14 6 7 14 3 Ret 16 16 Ret 17 Ret 13 11 15 11 15 Kazuki Nakajima 6 17 14 7 Ret 7 Ret 15 8 14 13 15 14 12 8 15 12 17 9 16 David Coulthard Ret 9 18 12 9 Ret 3 9 Ret 13 11 17 11 16 7 Ret 10 Ret 8 17 Sébastien Bourdais 7† Ret 15 Ret Ret Ret 13 17 11 12 18 10 7 18 12 10 13 14 4 18 Jenson Button Ret 10 Ret 6 11 11 11 Ret Ret 17 12 13 15 15 9 14 16 13 3 19 Giancarlo Fisichella Ret 12 12 10 Ret Ret Ret 18 Ret 16 15 14 17 Ret 14 Ret 17 18 0 20 Adrian Sutil Ret Ret 19 Ret 16 Ret Ret 19 Ret 15 Ret Ret 13 19 Ret Ret Ret 16 0 21 Takuma Sato Ret 16 17 13 WD 0 22 Anthony Davidson Ret 15 16 Ret WD 0 Pos Driver AUS MAL BHR ESP TUR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN EUR BEL ITA SIN JPN CHN BRA Points

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Light blue Practiced only (PO) Friday test driver (TD) (starting in 2003) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrew entry before the event (WD) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap

^† Drivers did not finish the Grand Prix, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Constructors

Pos Constructor Car No. AUS MAL BHR ESP TUR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN EUR BEL ITA SIN JPN CHN BRA Points 1 Ferrari 1 8† 1 2 1 3 9 Ret 2 4 6 3 Ret 18† 9 15† 3 3 3 172 2 Ret Ret 1 2 1 3 5 1 13 3 17† 1 1 6 13 7 2 1 2 McLaren-Mercedes 22 9 5 13 3 2 1 Ret 10 1 1 5 2 3 7 3 12 1 5 151 23 5 3 5 Ret 12 8 9 4 5 5 1 4 10 2 10 Ret Ret 7 3 BMW Sauber 3 2 6 4 9 5 14 2 13 2 4 10 9 2 5 6 9 5 10 135 4 Ret 2 3 4 4 2 1 5 Ret 7 8 3 6 3 11 2 6 11 4 Renault 5 4 8 10 Ret 6 10 Ret 8 6 11 4 Ret 4 4 1 1 4 2 80 6 Ret 11 Ret Ret 15 Ret Ret 7 Ret 2 6 11 Ret 10 Ret 4 8 Ret 5 Toyota 11 Ret 4 6 8 10 13 6 3 7 9 7 5 16 11 Ret 5 Ret 8 56 12 Ret Ret 9 11 13 12 4 11 12 Ret 2 7 9 13 4 Ret 7 6 6 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 14 7† Ret 15 Ret Ret Ret 13 17 11 12 18 10 7 18 12 10 13 14 39 15 Ret Ret Ret Ret 17 5 8 12 Ret 8 Ret 6 5 1 5 6 9 4 7 Red Bull-Renault 9 Ret 9 18 12 9 Ret 3 9 Ret 13 11 17 11 16 7 Ret 10 Ret 29 10 Ret 7 7 5 7 4 12 6 10 Ret 9 12 8 8 Ret 8 14 9 8 Williams-Toyota 7 3 14 8 Ret 8 Ret 10 16 9 10 14 8 12 14 2 11 15 12 26 8 6 17 14 7 Ret 7 Ret 15 8 14 13 15 14 12 8 15 12 17 9 Honda 16 Ret 10 Ret 6 11 11 11 Ret Ret 17 12 13 15 15 9 14 16 13 14 17 DSQ 13 11 Ret 14 6 7 14 3 Ret 16 16 Ret 17 Ret 13 11 15 10 Force India-Ferrari 20 Ret Ret 19 Ret 16 Ret Ret 19 Ret 15 Ret Ret 13 19 Ret Ret Ret 16 0 21 Ret 12 12 10 Ret Ret Ret 18 Ret 16 15 14 17 Ret 14 Ret 17 18 11 Super Aguri-Honda‡ 18 Ret 16 17 13 WD 0 19 Ret 15 16 Ret WD Pos Constructor Car No. AUS MAL BHR ESP TUR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN EUR BEL ITA SIN JPN CHN BRA Points † Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance. ‡ Super Aguri withdrew from the Formula One world championship on May 6, 2008.

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Light blue Practiced only (PO) Friday test driver (TD) (starting in 2003) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrew entry before the event (WD) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap

Race-fixing controversy

A scandal developed that became known as "Crashgate" in the media, during the 2009 season around the time of the Belgium Grand Prix. Claims were made by former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. about his crash in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. This led to charges of race-fixing against Renault. Team boss Flavio Briatore and engineering director Pat Symonds left Renault.