2008 French Grand Prix
Encyclopedia
The 2008 French Grand Prix (formally the XCIII Grand Prix de France) was a Formula One
motor race held on June 22, 2008 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
, France
. This race is (to date) the last French Grand Prix. It was the eighth race of the 2008 Formula One season
. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by Felipe Massa
for the Ferrari
team after starting from second position. Kimi Räikkönen
, who started from pole position
, finished second in the other Ferrari car; Jarno Trulli
was third in a Toyota.
Räikkönen and Massa both made a clean start. Renault
's Fernando Alonso
, who started third, was overtaken by Trulli and BMW Sauber
driver Robert Kubica
. The front three of Räikkönen, Massa and Trulli maintained their positions through the first round of pit stop
s. On lap 30, Räikkönen led Massa by six and a half seconds, and Trulli by 30 seconds. Just before half distance, Räikkönen's right exhaust pipe broke, which caused the engine to lose power. Massa, in second place, began lapping quicker than Räikkönen, and he caught and passed him on lap 39. Massa maintained his lead through the second round of pit stops, and won the race; Räikkönen finished almost 18 seconds behind. Trulli fended off McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen
, who challenged him in the latter stages, to take third.
Massa's win promoted him into the lead of the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career, overtaking Kubica. Kubica was second, two points behind Massa, while Räikkönen was third. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari increased their lead to 17 points ahead of BMW Sauber, McLaren a further 16 points behind in third.
, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault
, Honda, Force India
-Ferrari, BMW Sauber
, Toyota
, Red Bull
-Renault, Williams
-Toyota and Toro Rosso
-Ferrari. Tyre
supplier Bridgestone
brought two different tyre compounds to the race; the softer of the two marked by a single white stripe down one of the grooves.
Before the race, Robert Kubica
of BMW led the Drivers' Championship, with 42 points, ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton
and Ferrari's Felipe Massa
, who each had 38 points. Massa's team-mate Kimi Räikkönen
was fourth, ahead of Kubica's team-mate Nick Heidfeld
in fifth. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari were leading with 73 points; three points ahead of BMW Sauber with 70 points; McLaren were a further 17 points behind them in third.
Ferrari came into the race with a long series of success at the track, having won seven of the last ten races held at Magny-Cours. In 2007
, Ferrari had taken a one-two, Räikkönen ahead of Massa. Massa said that it was important not to discount McLaren and BMW:
In March 2007, the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile
(FFSA) stated their intention to rest the Magny-Cours circuit from the Formula One world championship for the 2008 season
. Despite this, the race was held in 2008, but the race was dropped from the Formula One calendar for 2009.
At the previous race in Canada, Hamilton had crashed into Räikkönen in the pit lane, when Raikkönën braked to stop in front of the red light at the end of the pit lane. Williams' driver Nico Rosberg
then collided into the back of Hamilton. Hamilton later said that he saw the light too late and could not avoid hitting the Ferrari. Hamilton and Rosberg were both given ten place grid penalties for the French Grand Prix, meaning that whatever their qualifying position, they could start no better than 11th. After the penalty was given, McLaren's CEO, Martin Whitmarsh
, said that he thought the penalty was "severe", citing a similar incident at Monaco
where Raikkönën had crashed into the back of Force India
's Adrian Sutil
. There, no penalty had been given. However, Rosberg said that the penalties from Canada were "deserved". When Hamilton was asked whether the penalty would force him to change his approach, Hamilton said that "it doesn't really. It's a race, I'm here to win and so I approach it the same." "It's going to be harder," he added, "coming from the back, but I don't have any doubts or any worries, I think we're going to have a very strong package this weekend, and I think the car will be as good if not better than it was in the last race. With that pace, as long as we stay out of trouble we should be able to score some good points."
Renault driver Nelson Piquet, Jr., who was in his first year in Formula One and had scored no points prior to this race, said that he thought that the track suited him and the car much better than previous races. BMW Sauber had taken their first victory at the previous race, but team principal Mario Theissen
said that a second win was unlikely at Magny-Cours.
In technical developments, BMW Sauber
, Ferrari
, McLaren
and Toyota
all revised their front wings. BMW brought both their new wing as well as the version they had used for the previous race to Magny-Cours, but decided to use the revised wing, as it offered better levels of downforce
. Ferrari's wing changes aimed at improving the performance of the car's nose hole. The nose hole, which had been introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix
, aimed at creating greater levels of downforce, by chanelling the airflow. Williams changed their front sidepod winglets. At the previous race, Red Bull modified their RB4
's bridge wing to prevent it from flexing, to comply with the latest rule clarifications. For Magny-Cours, the team revised the central section of this element, with the aim of generating greater downforce levels.
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—two on Friday, and a third on Saturday. The Friday morning and afternoon sessions each lasted 90 minutes. The third session was held on Saturday morning and lasted an hour. In the first practice session, which was held in dry conditions, Ferrari's Felipe Massa was quickest, ahead of the McLarens of Hamilton and Kovalainen in second and third. Massa's team-mate, Räikkönen, was fourth quickest. The afternoon session, which was held in very hot conditions, saw Renault's Fernando Alonso
record the fastest lap, ahead of the two Ferrari drivers. The hot weather conditions posed several problems for the drivers, as many of the cars ran off the road, sliding through the gravel or across the asphalt. At the end of the session, a new system—designed to limit the cars' speeds in potentially hazardous situations—was tested. In the third practice session, again held in dry conditions, Renault continued their strong practice performance with Piquet leading the final practice session. Red Bull's Mark Webber
was next quickest while Sebastian Vettel
of Toro Rosso was third. As was the pattern for the season, the McLaren and Ferrari drivers ran heavier fuel loads in this session in preparation for the final section of qualifying.
Saturday afternoon's qualifying session was divided into three parts. In the first 20-minute period, cars finishing 16th or lower were eliminated. The second qualifying period lasted for 15 minutes, at the end of which the fastest ten cars went into the final period, to determine their grid positions for the race. Cars failing to make the final period were allowed to be refuelled before the race but those competing in it were not, and so carried more fuel than they had done in the earlier qualifying sessions.
Räikkönen clinched Ferrari's 200th pole position
, with a time of 1:16.449. He was joined on the front row of the grid by team-mate Massa. Alonso qualified third after Hamilton's penalty moved the quicker McLaren driver to 13th; Toyota's Jarno Trulli qualified fourth. Kovalainen would have started from fifth, but was given a five-place grid penalty for blocking Webber during qualifying and would start from 10th on the grid. Kubica, Webber, David Coulthard
, Timo Glock
and Piquet rounded off the top ten. Heidfeld qualified 11th, with Vettel ahead of Hamilton in 12th, and Bourdais behind in 14th. Rosberg was next quickest, but after his penalty demoted him to the back of the grid his team-mate Kazuki Nakajima
took his place. The final four places went to the Honda and Force India teams, with Button qualifying ahead of Barrichello, Fisichella and Sutil. Barrichello, however, was given a penalty for changing his gearbox, meaning that he started 20th on the grid, one place behind Rosberg.
At the end of the first lap, Räikkönen led from Massa, Trulli, Alonso, Kubica, Glock and Webber. On lap five, Hamilton overtook Kovalainen to move into ninth. On the same lap, Button was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop, due to the damage he had sustained in his first corner incident with Bourdais. This dropped him to the back of the field. By the end of lap 10, Räikkönen led Massa by 3.2 seconds, Trulli a further 8.5 seconds behind. On lap 13, Hamilton was given a drive-through penalty for cutting the corner of Turn Seven on lap one, and gaining an advantage. He took the penalty immediately, and re-emerged in 13th position. Over the next few laps, the Ferrari drivers continued to pull out a gap on Trulli in third, lapping at around a second per lap quicker than the Toyota. On lap 16, Räikkönen set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:16.630, stretching his lead over his team-mate. Further back, Alonso, who had been running fourth, made the first scheduled pit stop, resuming 12th. Button was lapped by several drivers, due to the damage his car had sustained in his first corner incident with Bourdais, and eventually retired on lap 17.
On lap 20, Trulli and Kubica, then in fourth, pitted. Over the next two laps, both Räikkönen and Massa pitted. By lap 30, Räikkönen had opened his lead to 6.6 seconds over Massa, while Trulli was over half a minute behind him in third. Just before half distance, Räikkönen's pace became slower, and Massa behind him caught up, passing his team-mate on lap 39. After the race, Räikkönen explained that his lack of pace was due to his car's right exhaust pipe breaking, causing the engine to lose power. Further back, Kovalainen, who was running seventh, passed Webber to take sixth.
By lap 46, Massa had a 10 second lead over his team-mate. On the same lap, Kubica pitted from fourth, starting the next round of pit stops. Trulli pitted from third on lap 50, and Räikkönen and Kovalainen two laps later. Massa pitted on lap 54, and emerged 13.4 seconds ahead of Räikkönen. Trulli kept his third position, but Kovalainen, who made up several places through the pit stops to move to fourth, was closing behind him. On lap 55, light rain started to fall. Although it would continue to rain lightly for the next few laps, it was never heavy enough to be a problem to the drivers. By lap 58, Kovalainen was right behind Trulli. A few laps later, the exhaust pipe which had broken earlier on Räikkönen's car came off completely, but Räikkönen continued to race with similar lap times. Kovalainen, meanwhile, continued to try to find a way past Trulli. One lap before the end of the race, Kovalainen attempted to pass Trulli, but ran wide as Trulli defended his position.
Massa crossed the line to win the race, with Räikkönen nearly eighteen seconds behind. Trulli retained third, and took his first podium since the 2005 Spanish Grand Prix
, and Toyota's first podium since the 2006 Australian Grand Prix
. Kovalainen finished fourth, ahead of Kubica, Webber and Piquet, who took his first ever points in Formula One. Alonso, Coulthard, Hamilton, Glock, Vettel, Heidfeld and the lapped Barrichello, Nakajima, Rosberg, Bourdais, Fisichella and Sutil were the last of the finishing drivers.
Massa was delighted with his race victory, saying, "A great race, a fantastic result. The win came my way because Kimi Räikkönen
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. I would have been happy with second place but of course, the win makes me even happier." After the race, Räikkönen said,
Trulli said, "Today was a great race, hard and tough. 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." Hamilton commented on his drive-through penalty: "My drive-through penalty was an extremely close call: I felt I'd got past Vettel fairly and was ahead going into the corner. But I was on the outside and couldn't turn-in in case we both crashed, then I lost the back-end and drove over the kerb."
After BMW Sauber's victory at the previous race, their director, Mario Theissen, said that "over the entire weekend here our package did not work perfectly", while driver Heidfeld said that it was a "disappointing result". Alonso said that he felt disappointed after his poor start to the race. Red Bull's director, Christian Horner
, said that their problems lay in the bad starts their drivers had made. Button, who retired during the race, commented on his collision: "I got a good start and was alongside Bourdais. I thought he was going to turn in at turn one and close the door so I pulled in behind him and then unfortunately hit him in the rear as everything slowed down for the corner. I could feel that there was something broken at the front of the car as there was an air coming in from the front, but the car was driveable and I was staying with the back of the pack so I continued. We replaced the nose but the bargeboards had been pulled off and the car had become undriveable so I had to retire." Piquet scored his first points in Formula One in the race, having failed to score up to that point. He said that he was happy, and hoped that the team could "continue like this for the rest of the season".
After the race, Massa moved into the lead of the Drivers' Championship, on 48 points, taking the Championship lead for the first time in his Formula One career. Kubicia lost the lead of the Drivers' Championship, falling two points behind Massa. Räikkönen moved ahead of Hamilton, on 43 points, while Hamilton was five points further behind. Heidfeld remained fifth. Before the race, Ferrari had been just three points ahead of BMW in the Constructors' Championship; after the race, Ferrari moved into a comfortable 17 point advantage. McLaren made up one point on BMW, although they were still 16 points behind.
Nico Rosberg
and Lewis Hamilton
docked ten places on the grid for the race after causing a collision with Kimi Räikkönen
in the previous round, the . Heikki Kovalainen
docked five places for blocking Mark Webber
in qualifying. Rubens Barrichello
penalised five places on the grid for gearbox change.
Constructors' Championship standings
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
motor race held on June 22, 2008 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some 250 km from Paris...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. This race is (to date) the last French Grand Prix. It was the eighth race of the 2008 Formula One season
2008 Formula One season
The 2008 Formula One season was the 59th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It began on 16 March and ended on 2 November with eighteen Grand Prix races....
. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:...
for the Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
team after starting from second position. Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered...
, who started from pole position
Pole position
The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...
, finished second in the other Ferrari car; Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert...
was third in a Toyota.
Räikkönen and Massa both made a clean start. Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...
's Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....
, who started third, was overtaken by Trulli and BMW Sauber
BMW Sauber
BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s , before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s...
driver Robert Kubica
Robert Kubica
Robert Józef Kubica is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006...
. The front three of Räikkönen, Massa and Trulli maintained their positions through the first round of pit stop
Pit stop
In motorsports, a pit stop is where a racing vehicle stops in the pits during a race for refuelling, new tires, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, or any combination of the above...
s. On lap 30, Räikkönen led Massa by six and a half seconds, and Trulli by 30 seconds. Just before half distance, Räikkönen's right exhaust pipe broke, which caused the engine to lose power. Massa, in second place, began lapping quicker than Räikkönen, and he caught and passed him on lap 39. Massa maintained his lead through the second round of pit stops, and won the race; Räikkönen finished almost 18 seconds behind. Trulli fended off McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus....
, who challenged him in the latter stages, to take third.
Massa's win promoted him into the lead of the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career, overtaking Kubica. Kubica was second, two points behind Massa, while Räikkönen was third. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari increased their lead to 17 points ahead of BMW Sauber, McLaren a further 16 points behind in third.
Background
The Grand Prix was contested by 20 drivers, in ten teams of two. The teams, also known as "constructors", were FerrariScuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...
, Honda, Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...
-Ferrari, BMW Sauber
BMW Sauber
BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s , before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s...
, Toyota
Toyota F1
Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002...
, Red Bull
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...
-Renault, Williams
WilliamsF1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...
-Toyota and Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team...
-Ferrari. Tyre
Formula One tyres
Formula One tyres play a significant role in the performance of a Formula One car. The tyres have undergone significant changes throughout the history of Formula One, with different manufacturers and specifications used in the sport.-History:...
supplier Bridgestone
Bridgestone
The is a multinational rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese....
brought two different tyre compounds to the race; the softer of the two marked by a single white stripe down one of the grooves.
Before the race, Robert Kubica
Robert Kubica
Robert Józef Kubica is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006...
of BMW led the Drivers' Championship, with 42 points, ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...
and Ferrari's Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:...
, who each had 38 points. Massa's team-mate Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered...
was fourth, ahead of Kubica's team-mate Nick Heidfeld
Nick Heidfeld
Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German racing driver.Despite scoring regular podium finishes in and , Heidfeld has yet to win a race since entering Formula One in . This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium...
in fifth. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari were leading with 73 points; three points ahead of BMW Sauber with 70 points; McLaren were a further 17 points behind them in third.
Ferrari came into the race with a long series of success at the track, having won seven of the last ten races held at Magny-Cours. In 2007
2007 French Grand Prix
The 2007 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 1, 2007 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France. It was the eighth race of the 2007 Formula One season. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after starting from...
, Ferrari had taken a one-two, Räikkönen ahead of Massa. Massa said that it was important not to discount McLaren and BMW:
In March 2007, the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile
Fédération Française du Sport Automobile
Fédération Française du Sport Automobile , was founded in 1952, with the aim of organising, regulating and developing motorsport in France....
(FFSA) stated their intention to rest the Magny-Cours circuit from the Formula One world championship for the 2008 season
2008 Formula One season
The 2008 Formula One season was the 59th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It began on 16 March and ended on 2 November with eighteen Grand Prix races....
. Despite this, the race was held in 2008, but the race was dropped from the Formula One calendar for 2009.
At the previous race in Canada, Hamilton had crashed into Räikkönen in the pit lane, when Raikkönën braked to stop in front of the red light at the end of the pit lane. Williams' driver Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg is a racing driver for the Mercedes GP Formula One team. He races under the German flag in Formula One, although he competed for Finland earlier in his career...
then collided into the back of Hamilton. Hamilton later said that he saw the light too late and could not avoid hitting the Ferrari. Hamilton and Rosberg were both given ten place grid penalties for the French Grand Prix, meaning that whatever their qualifying position, they could start no better than 11th. After the penalty was given, McLaren's CEO, Martin Whitmarsh
Martin Whitmarsh
Martin Whitmarsh is the CEO of McLaren Racing, a subsidiary company of the McLaren Group and Chief Operating Officer of that group, as well as Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, following Ron Dennis' retirement on 1 March 2009...
, said that he thought the penalty was "severe", citing a similar incident at Monaco
2008 Monaco Grand Prix
The 2008 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 25, 2008, at the Circuit de Monaco; contested over 76 laps, it was the sixth race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race was won by the season's eventual Drivers' Champion, Lewis Hamilton, for the McLaren team...
where Raikkönën had crashed into the back of Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...
's Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil
-Biography:Sutil is the son of professional musicians Monika, a German, and Jorge, a Uruguayan. He has two brothers named Daniel and Raphael. He weighs 165 pounds and is 6 feet tall. A talented pianist, Sutil started karting at 14 before moving up to Swiss Formula Ford 1800 in 2002...
. There, no penalty had been given. However, Rosberg said that the penalties from Canada were "deserved". When Hamilton was asked whether the penalty would force him to change his approach, Hamilton said that "it doesn't really. It's a race, I'm here to win and so I approach it the same." "It's going to be harder," he added, "coming from the back, but I don't have any doubts or any worries, I think we're going to have a very strong package this weekend, and I think the car will be as good if not better than it was in the last race. With that pace, as long as we stay out of trouble we should be able to score some good points."
Renault driver Nelson Piquet, Jr., who was in his first year in Formula One and had scored no points prior to this race, said that he thought that the track suited him and the car much better than previous races. BMW Sauber had taken their first victory at the previous race, but team principal Mario Theissen
Mario Theissen
Dr. Mario Theissen is the former BMW Motorsport Director and was team principal of BMW Sauber, the company's Formula One team from 2005 until 2009, when BMW sold the team back to Peter Sauber....
said that a second win was unlikely at Magny-Cours.
In technical developments, BMW Sauber
BMW Sauber F1.08
The BMW Sauber F1.08 is a Formula One racing car used by the BMW Sauber team during the 2008 Formula One season.-Launch:The F1.08 was launched on January 14, 2008 in Munich. The car was taken out for the first time at the Valencia circuit a day after the launch, where Nick Heidfeld took the car for...
, Ferrari
Ferrari F2008
The Ferrari F2008 is a Formula One motor racing car, which Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro used to compete in the 2008 Formula One season.The car was unveiled to the public on January 6, 2008. It features a new standard Electronic Control Unit , which is the electronic system that controls all the cars,...
, McLaren
McLaren MP4-23
The McLaren MP4-23 was Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes' Formula One car for the 2008 Formula One season. It was revealed at Mercedes-Benz's motor sport museum in Stuttgart on 7 January 2008, and it had its first on-track appearance at Jerez in Spain on 9 January...
and Toyota
Toyota TF108
The Toyota TF108 was a Formula One car with which Toyota competed in the 2008 Formula One season.-Launch:The 2008 Toyota challenger the Toyota TF108 was launched on the 10th of January 2008, at the team's factory in Cologne, Germany....
all revised their front wings. BMW brought both their new wing as well as the version they had used for the previous race to Magny-Cours, but decided to use the revised wing, as it offered better levels of downforce
Downforce
Downforce is a downwards thrust created by the aerodynamic characteristics of a car. The purpose of downforce is to allow a car to travel faster through a corner by increasing the vertical force on the tires, thus creating more grip....
. Ferrari's wing changes aimed at improving the performance of the car's nose hole. The nose hole, which had been introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix
2008 Spanish Grand Prix
The 2008 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 27, 2008 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Spain. It was the fourth race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 66 laps, was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after starting from pole position...
, aimed at creating greater levels of downforce, by chanelling the airflow. Williams changed their front sidepod winglets. At the previous race, Red Bull modified their RB4
Red Bull RB4
The Red Bull RB4 is a Formula One racing car with which the Red Bull Racing team competed in the 2008 Formula One season.-Launch:The RB4 is the team's second Adrian Newey-designed car; this car has had the help of Geoff Willis whom the team had recruited from Honda in 2007...
's bridge wing to prevent it from flexing, to comply with the latest rule clarifications. For Magny-Cours, the team revised the central section of this element, with the aim of generating greater downforce levels.
Practice and qualifying
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....
record the fastest lap, ahead of the two Ferrari drivers. The hot weather conditions posed several problems for the drivers, as many of the cars ran off the road, sliding through the gravel or across the asphalt. At the end of the session, a new system—designed to limit the cars' speeds in potentially hazardous situations—was tested. In the third practice session, again held in dry conditions, Renault continued their strong practice performance with Piquet leading the final practice session. Red Bull's Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...
was next quickest while Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....
of Toro Rosso was third. As was the pattern for the season, the McLaren and Ferrari drivers ran heavier fuel loads in this session in preparation for the final section of qualifying.
Saturday afternoon's qualifying session was divided into three parts. In the first 20-minute period, cars finishing 16th or lower were eliminated. The second qualifying period lasted for 15 minutes, at the end of which the fastest ten cars went into the final period, to determine their grid positions for the race. Cars failing to make the final period were allowed to be refuelled before the race but those competing in it were not, and so carried more fuel than they had done in the earlier qualifying sessions.
Räikkönen clinched Ferrari's 200th pole position
Pole position
The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...
, with a time of 1:16.449. He was joined on the front row of the grid by team-mate Massa. Alonso qualified third after Hamilton's penalty moved the quicker McLaren driver to 13th; Toyota's Jarno Trulli qualified fourth. Kovalainen would have started from fifth, but was given a five-place grid penalty for blocking Webber during qualifying and would start from 10th on the grid. Kubica, Webber, David Coulthard
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons...
, Timo Glock
Timo Glock
Timo Glock is a German motor racing driver, currently driving in Formula One for the Virgin Racing team. At the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix, standing in for Giorgio Pantano who had a contract dispute with Jordan Grand Prix, he joined a select group of drivers who have scored a World Championship...
and Piquet rounded off the top ten. Heidfeld qualified 11th, with Vettel ahead of Hamilton in 12th, and Bourdais behind in 14th. Rosberg was next quickest, but after his penalty demoted him to the back of the grid his team-mate Kazuki Nakajima
Kazuki Nakajima
is a Formula One driver from Japan who drove for the Williams-Toyota team from to . Prior to that he had been their test driver, as well as a competitor in the GP2 Series for the DAMS team....
took his place. The final four places went to the Honda and Force India teams, with Button qualifying ahead of Barrichello, Fisichella and Sutil. Barrichello, however, was given a penalty for changing his gearbox, meaning that he started 20th on the grid, one place behind Rosberg.
Race
The conditions on the grid were dry before the race, although the sky was overcast; weather forecasts predicted rain near the end of the race. Most of the frontrunners began the race on the harder compound tyre. Rain that had fallen earlier that morning had removed some of the rubber on the track, meaning that graining, when small grains of rubber come off a tyre, was likely to be a problem; out of the two tyre types, the harder would better cope with this. Räikkönen made a good start, retaining his first position; Massa behind him maintained his second place. Alonso, who started third, was passed by both Trulli and Kubica, but re-passed Kubica at the hairpin turn exit. Glock also made a good start, taking sixth after passing Webber. Going into the first corner, Button touched Bourdais, resulting in damage to the Honda's front wing. Hamilton, who started 13th, passed several drivers to move into 10th by the end of lap one.By lap 46, Massa had a 10 second lead over his team-mate. On the same lap, Kubica pitted from fourth, starting the next round of pit stops. Trulli pitted from third on lap 50, and Räikkönen and Kovalainen two laps later. Massa pitted on lap 54, and emerged 13.4 seconds ahead of Räikkönen. Trulli kept his third position, but Kovalainen, who made up several places through the pit stops to move to fourth, was closing behind him. On lap 55, light rain started to fall. Although it would continue to rain lightly for the next few laps, it was never heavy enough to be a problem to the drivers. By lap 58, Kovalainen was right behind Trulli. A few laps later, the exhaust pipe which had broken earlier on Räikkönen's car came off completely, but Räikkönen continued to race with similar lap times. Kovalainen, meanwhile, continued to try to find a way past Trulli. One lap before the end of the race, Kovalainen attempted to pass Trulli, but ran wide as Trulli defended his position.
Massa crossed the line to win the race, with Räikkönen nearly eighteen seconds behind. Trulli retained third, and took his first podium since the 2005 Spanish Grand Prix
2005 Spanish Grand Prix
The 2005 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race, held from May 6 to May 8, 2005, at Circuit de Catalunya.Kimi Räikkönen started on pole position ahead of Mark Webber, who set a blistering lap during the second qualifying session to claim the front row, leaving championship leader Fernando Alonso...
, and Toyota's first podium since the 2006 Australian Grand Prix
2006 Australian Grand Prix
The 2006 Australian Grand Prix was the third race of the 2006 Formula One World Championship. It was held on the weekend of 31 March–2 April 2006 at Albert Park, Melbourne...
. Kovalainen finished fourth, ahead of Kubica, Webber and Piquet, who took his first ever points in Formula One. Alonso, Coulthard, Hamilton, Glock, Vettel, Heidfeld and the lapped Barrichello, Nakajima, Rosberg, Bourdais, Fisichella and Sutil were the last of the finishing drivers.
Post-race
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered...
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. I would have been happy with second place but of course, the win makes me even happier." After the race, Räikkönen said,
Trulli said, "Today was a great race, hard and tough. 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." Hamilton commented on his drive-through penalty: "My drive-through penalty was an extremely close call: I felt I'd got past Vettel fairly and was ahead going into the corner. But I was on the outside and couldn't turn-in in case we both crashed, then I lost the back-end and drove over the kerb."
Christian Horner
Christian Horner is the team manager of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team, a position he has held since 2005...
, said that their problems lay in the bad starts their drivers had made. Button, who retired during the race, commented on his collision: "I got a good start and was alongside Bourdais. I thought he was going to turn in at turn one and close the door so I pulled in behind him and then unfortunately hit him in the rear as everything slowed down for the corner. I could feel that there was something broken at the front of the car as there was an air coming in from the front, but the car was driveable and I was staying with the back of the pack so I continued. We replaced the nose but the bargeboards had been pulled off and the car had become undriveable so I had to retire." Piquet scored his first points in Formula One in the race, having failed to score up to that point. He said that he was happy, and hoped that the team could "continue like this for the rest of the season".
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Name | Constructor | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  Kimi RäikkönenKimi Räikkönen Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered... |
Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
1:15.133 | 1:15.161 | 1:16.449 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |  Felipe MassaFelipe Massa Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:... |
Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
1:15.024 | 1:15.041 | 1:16.490 | 2 |
| 3 | 22 |  Lewis HamiltonLewis Hamilton Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire... |
McLaren McLaren McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup... -Mercedes |
1:15.634 | 1:15.293 | 1:16.693 | 13 |
| 4 | 5 |  Fernando AlonsoFernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari.... |
Renault Renault F1 Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking... |
1:15.754 | 1:15.483 | 1:16.840 | 3 |
| 5 | 11 |  Jarno TrulliJarno Trulli Jarno Trulli is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert... |
Toyota Toyota F1 Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002... |
1:15.521 | 1:15.362 | 1:16.920 | 4 |
| 6 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus.... |
McLaren McLaren McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup... -Mercedes |
1:15.965 | 1:15.639 | 1:16.944 | 10 |
| 7 | 4 |  Robert KubicaRobert Kubica Robert Józef Kubica is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006... |
BMW Sauber BMW Sauber BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s , before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s... |
1:15.687 | 1:15.723 | 1:17.037 | 5 |
| 8 | 10 |  Mark WebberMark Webber Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career... |
Red Bull Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the... -Renault Renault F1 Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking... |
1:16.020 | 1:15.488 | 1:17.233 | 6 |
| 9 | 9 | David Coulthard David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons... |
Red Bull Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the... -Renault Renault F1 Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking... |
1:15.802 | 1:15.654 | 1:17.426 | 7 |
| 10 | 12 |  Timo GlockTimo Glock Timo Glock is a German motor racing driver, currently driving in Formula One for the Virgin Racing team. At the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix, standing in for Giorgio Pantano who had a contract dispute with Jordan Grand Prix, he joined a select group of drivers who have scored a World Championship... |
Toyota Toyota F1 Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002... |
1:15.727 | 1:15.558 | 1:17.596 | 8 |
| 11 | 6 | Nelson Piquet Jr. |
Renault Renault F1 Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking... |
1:15.848 | 1:15.770 | 9 | |
| 12 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld Nick Heidfeld Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German racing driver.Despite scoring regular podium finishes in and , Heidfeld has yet to win a race since entering Formula One in . This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium... |
BMW Sauber BMW Sauber BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s , before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s... |
1:16.006 | 1:15.786 | 11 | |
| 13 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and .... |
Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team... -Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
1:15.918 | 1:15.816 | 12 | |
| 14 | 14 |  Sébastien BourdaisSébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais is a French race car driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the Champ Car World Series, having won four successive championships from 2004 to 2007.... |
Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team... -Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
1:16.072 | 1:16.045 | 14 | |
| 15 | 7 | Nico Rosberg Nico Rosberg Nico Erik Rosberg is a racing driver for the Mercedes GP Formula One team. He races under the German flag in Formula One, although he competed for Finland earlier in his career... |
Williams WilliamsF1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head... -Toyota Toyota F1 Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002... |
1:16.085 | 1:16.235 | 19 | |
| 16 | 8 |  Kazuki NakajimaKazuki Nakajima is a Formula One driver from Japan who drove for the Williams-Toyota team from to . Prior to that he had been their test driver, as well as a competitor in the GP2 Series for the DAMS team.... |
Williams WilliamsF1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head... -Toyota Toyota F1 Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002... |
1:16.243 | 15 | ||
| 17 | 16 | Jenson Button Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British... |
Honda | 1:16.306 | 16 | ||
| 18 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello Rubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable... |
Honda | 1:16.330 | 20 | ||
| 19 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo Fisichella , also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver. He has driven in Formula One for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and Ferrari. Nowadays, he drives for AF Corse's GT2 Ferrari in various sportscar events... |
Force India Force India Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and... -Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
1:16.971 | 17 | ||
| 20 | 20 | Adrian Sutil Adrian Sutil -Biography:Sutil is the son of professional musicians Monika, a German, and Jorge, a Uruguayan. He has two brothers named Daniel and Raphael. He weighs 165 pounds and is 6 feet tall. A talented pianist, Sutil started karting at 14 before moving up to Swiss Formula Ford 1800 in 2002... |
Force India Force India Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and... -Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
1:17.053 | 18 | ||
Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg is a racing driver for the Mercedes GP Formula One team. He races under the German flag in Formula One, although he competed for Finland earlier in his career...
and Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...
docked ten places on the grid for the race after causing a collision with Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered...
in the previous round, the . Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus....
docked five places for blocking Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...
in qualifying. Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...
penalised five places on the grid for gearbox change.
Race
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Felipe Massa Felipe Massa Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:... |
Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
70 | 1:31:50.245 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | 1 | Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered... |
Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
70 | +17.984 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | 11 | Jarno Trulli Jarno Trulli Jarno Trulli is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert... |
Toyota Toyota F1 Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002... |
70 | +28.250 | 4 | 6 |
| 4 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus.... |
McLaren-Mercedes | 70 | +28.929 | 10 | 5 |
| 5 | 4 | Robert Kubica Robert Kubica Robert Józef Kubica is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006... |
BMW Sauber BMW Sauber BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s , before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s... |
70 | +30.512 | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | 10 | Mark Webber Mark Webber Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career... |
Red Bull Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the... -Renault Renault F1 Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking... |
70 | +40.304 | 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 6 | Nelson Piquet Jr. |
Renault Renault F1 Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking... |
70 | +41.033 | 9 | 2 |
| 8 | 5 | Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari.... |
Renault Renault F1 Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking... |
70 | +43.372 | 3 | 1 |
| 9 | 9 | David Coulthard David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons... |
Red Bull Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the... -Renault Renault F1 Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking... |
70 | +51.021 | 7 | |
| 10 | 22 | Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire... |
McLaren-Mercedes | 70 | +54.538 | 13 | |
| 11 | 12 | Timo Glock Timo Glock Timo Glock is a German motor racing driver, currently driving in Formula One for the Virgin Racing team. At the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix, standing in for Giorgio Pantano who had a contract dispute with Jordan Grand Prix, he joined a select group of drivers who have scored a World Championship... |
Toyota Toyota F1 Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002... |
70 | +57.700 | 8 | |
| 12 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and .... |
Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team... -Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
70 | +58.065 | 12 | |
| 13 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld Nick Heidfeld Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German racing driver.Despite scoring regular podium finishes in and , Heidfeld has yet to win a race since entering Formula One in . This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium... |
BMW Sauber BMW Sauber BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s , before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s... |
70 | +1:02.079 | 11 | |
| 14 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello Rubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable... |
Honda | 69 | +1 Lap | 20 | |
| 15 | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima Kazuki Nakajima is a Formula One driver from Japan who drove for the Williams-Toyota team from to . Prior to that he had been their test driver, as well as a competitor in the GP2 Series for the DAMS team.... |
Williams WilliamsF1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head... -Toyota Toyota F1 Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002... |
69 | +1 Lap | 15 | |
| 16 | 7 | Nico Rosberg Nico Rosberg Nico Erik Rosberg is a racing driver for the Mercedes GP Formula One team. He races under the German flag in Formula One, although he competed for Finland earlier in his career... |
Williams WilliamsF1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head... -Toyota Toyota F1 Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002... |
69 | +1 Lap | 19 | |
| 17 | 14 | Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais is a French race car driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the Champ Car World Series, having won four successive championships from 2004 to 2007.... |
Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team... -Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
69 | +1 Lap | 14 | |
| 18 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo Fisichella , also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver. He has driven in Formula One for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and Ferrari. Nowadays, he drives for AF Corse's GT2 Ferrari in various sportscar events... |
Force India Force India Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and... -Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
69 | +1 Lap | 17 | |
| 19 | 20 | Adrian Sutil Adrian Sutil -Biography:Sutil is the son of professional musicians Monika, a German, and Jorge, a Uruguayan. He has two brothers named Daniel and Raphael. He weighs 165 pounds and is 6 feet tall. A talented pianist, Sutil started karting at 14 before moving up to Swiss Formula Ford 1800 in 2002... |
Force India Force India Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and... -Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
69 | +1 Lap | 18 | |
| Ret | 16 | Jenson Button Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British... |
Honda | 16 | Collision damage | 16 | |
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felipe Massa Felipe Massa Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:... |
48 |
| 2 | Robert Kubica Robert Kubica Robert Józef Kubica is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006... |
46 |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered... |
43 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire... |
38 |
| 5 | Nick Heidfeld Nick Heidfeld Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German racing driver.Despite scoring regular podium finishes in and , Heidfeld has yet to win a race since entering Formula One in . This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium... |
28 |
Constructors' Championship standings
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing.... |
91 |
| 2 | BMW Sauber BMW Sauber BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s , before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s... |
74 |
| 3 | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 |
| 4 |  Red BullRed Bull Racing Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the... -Renault Renault F1 Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking... |
24 |
| 5 | Toyota |
23 |
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.