2008 European Grand Prix

Spain  2008 European Grand Prix
Race details[1][2][3]
Race 12 of 18 in the 2008 Formula One season
Date 24 August 2008
Official name LII Telefónica Grand Prix of Europe
Location Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia, Spain
Course Street circuit
Course length 5.419 km (3.367 mi)
Distance 57 laps, 308.883 km (191.931 mi)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver
Ferrari
Time 1:38.989
Fastest lap
Driver Brazil Felipe Massa Ferrari
Time 1:38.708 on lap 36
Podium
First
Ferrari
Second
McLaren-Mercedes
Third
BMW Sauber

The 2008 European Grand Prix (formally the LII Telefónica Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One motor race held on 24 August 2008 at the Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia, Spain. It was the 12th race of the 2008 Formula One season. The 57-lap race was won by Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team after starting from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren car, with Robert Kubica third in a BMW Sauber.

Massa started on pole position, with Hamilton second, and Kubica third. Massa got cleanly away, while Hamilton fought hard to fend off Kubica, but managing to keep second. The top three remained the same through the first round of pit stops, and after the first stop, Massa took a large lead over Hamilton. In Massa's second pit stop he was released straight into the path of Force India's Adrian Sutil, and had to back off to avoid a collision. The stewards announced that they would investigate the incident after the race. They later ruled that Ferrari would be fined €10,000 for the pit lane incident, but that Massa would keep his victory, as although the release was unsafe, no sporting advantage had been gained. Massa went on to take the victory, with Hamilton second and Kubica third. Hamilton's closest rival in the Drivers' Championship going into the race, Kimi Räikkönen, failed to finish, after having an engine failure.

Massa's victory in the race enabled him to overtake his teammate, Räikkönen, in the Drivers' Championship, moving him into second. He was now Hamilton's closest rival, behind by six points. Räikkönen moved eight points further behind Hamilton, due to his non-finish, with a deficit of 13 points now separating the two. In the Constructors' Championship McLaren caught up two points on Ferrari; Ferrari led, eight points ahead of McLaren, with BMW Sauber a further 17 points behind.

Report

Background

The Grand Prix was contested by 20 drivers, in ten teams of two.[4] The teams, also known as "constructors", were Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, Honda, Force India, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Red Bull Racing, Williams and Toro Rosso.[4] 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.[5]

Prior to the race, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton led the Drivers' Championship with 62 points, and Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen was second with 57 points. Behind them in the Drivers' Championship, Felipe Massa was third with 54 points also in a Ferrari, and the two BMW Sauber cars of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld were fourth and fifth, with 49 and 41 points respectively. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari were leading with 111 points, 11 points ahead of their rivals McLaren. BMW Sauber were third with 90 points. Toyota were fourth with 35 points, and Renault were fifth with 31 points.

Bridgestone celebrated its 200th Grand Prix since 1997.

The Grand Prix was the first to be held at the new Valencia street circuit. After seeing the track for the first time, four days before the race, the drivers were positive about the track.[6] Formula One tyre supplier, Bridgestone, celebrated their 200th Formula One grand prix at the race, having now supplied Formula One tyres since 1997.[7] Celebrations included a special "golden tyre" which was displayed at the track, as well as two hoardings, inscribed with "Bridgestone 200".[7]

In technical developments, McLaren and Ferrari modified their front winglets, to make sure that the maximum amount of air flow was diverted.[8] Ferrari also revised their sidepod chimneys and winglets, with the aim of making sure the engine remained cool in hot conditions.[9]

Practice and qualifying

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.[10] The very first practice session on the newly opened Valencia Street Circuit was held on a dusty and slippery track, but despite the drivers' relative unfamiliarity with the circuit there were no major incidents (though David Coulthard did hit the barriers late in the session).[11][12] Sébastien Bourdais went fastest early on, but it was his Toro Rosso teammate Sebastian Vettel who posted the quickest time of the session. Massa and Hamilton finished second and third, with Bourdais just behind them.[13] Following the session, the drivers and personnel observed a minute's silence for those killed in the plane crash in Madrid two days previously.[12][14] Kimi Räikkönen topped the timesheets in second practice, having traded fastest times with teammate Massa for the majority of the session.[15] Fernando Alonso had the set the quickest time late, but was surpassed by Räikkönen in his final flying lap.[16] A notable incident in the session involved Nico Rosberg spinning under brakes in the final corners, and narrowly missing Mark Webber on the inside, before rejoining the track with no damage done.[17] Surprsingly, usual back-runner Jenson Button, driving for Honda, finished third.[18] After the session, Fernando Alonso, driving for Renault, was reprimanded and fined €10,000, after crossing the pitlane entry line early on in the second session.[19] Rain overnight meant that the Valencia track began with almost no rubber on the surface, but Robert Kubica was still able to carry enough speed to become the first man of the weekend to break into the 1:38s, with Rosberg and Bourdais close behind.[20][21] There were minimal mishaps, with only Hamilton and Timo Glock spinning.[22] Jarno Trulli spent the majority of the session in the pits with gearbox problems, completing only two laps.[21][23]

Sebastian Vettel qualified sixth, which at that time was Toro Rosso's best ever qualifying position.[24]

After the third practice, but before the qualifying session, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile safety delegate, Charlie Whiting, announced that he had moved the pole position slot on the grid to the right side, after observing the cars' behaviour during the practice sessions.[25] 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.[10]

Massa clinched pole position with a time of 1:38.989, and was joined on the front row by championship leader, Hamilton.[26] Kubica took third place on the grid, with Massa's teammate Räikkönen taking fourth.[26] Hamilton's teammate, Kovalainen, took fifth; Vettel, Trulli and Nick Heidfeld occupied the next three spots.[26] The two Williams cars of Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima finished ninth and 11th, with Bourdais in between.[26] Alonso qualified 12th, with Timo Glock of Toyota behind him.[26] Mark Webber of Red Bull was 14th, with Nelson Piquet, Jr. of Renault 15th.[26] Jenson Button of Honda qualified 16th, and the other Red Bull car, driven by Coulthard, qualified 17th.[26] The two Force India cars driven by Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil finished 18th and 20th, with the other Honda car driven by Rubens Barrichello qualifying 19th.[26] Later, both Barrichello and Sutil were forced to change their gearboxes; as a result, both drivers started from the pit lane.[27]

Race

The conditions on the grid were dry before the race. The air temperature was 28 °C (82 °F) and the track temperature was 44 °C (111 °F).[28]

The front-runners of the race started the race cleanly, but at turn four Alonso and Nakajima collided; Alonso retired from, what was in effect, his home race, while Nakajima had a new nose, and rejoined.[28][29][30]

At his final stop, Felipe Massa's Ferrari was released from its pit stop into the path of Adrian Sutil's oncoming Force India car. There was no collision as Massa backed off as soon as he realised what had happened. This incident was deemed "unsafe" and was being investigated by the stewards. Shortly afterwards it was announced the incident would be investigated fully after the race. Ferrari was subsequently reprimanded by the stewards and fined €10,000, but the Brazilian kept his victory.[31]

To add to Ferrari's pit stop blunders, Kimi Räikkönen left his pit box with his car's fuel hose still attached. The incident left a Ferrari mechanic with a minor fractures. Räikkönen also lost a place.[32]

Nico Rosberg scored a "rare" point for his Williams Team by finishing eighth.[33]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Grid
1 2 Brazil Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:38.176 1:37.859 1:38.989 1
2 22 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.464 1:37.954 1:39.199 2
3 4 Poland Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:38.347 1:38.050 1:39.392 3
4 1 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:38.703 1:38.229 1:39.488 4
5 23 Finland Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.656 1:38.120 1:39.937 5
6 15 Germany Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:38.141 1:37.842 1:40.142 6
7 11 Italy Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:37.948 1:37.928 1:40.309 7
8 3 Germany Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:38.738 1:37.859 1:40.631 8
9 7 Germany Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:38.595 1:38.336 1:40.721 9
10 14 France Sébastien Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:38.622 1:38.417 1:40.750 10
11 8 Japan Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:38.667 1:38.428 11
12 5 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault 1:38.268 1:38.435 12
13 12 Germany Timo Glock Toyota 1:38.532 1:38.499 13
14 10 Australia Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:38.559 1:38.515 14
15 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault 1:38.787 1:38.744 15
16 16 United Kingdom Jenson Button Honda 1:38.880 16
17 9 United Kingdom David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:39.235 17
18 21 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:39.268 18
19 17 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:39.811 19
20 20 Germany Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:39.943 20
Source:[34]
Felipe Massa won the race for Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton finished second for McLaren.
Robert Kubica finished third for BMW Sauber.

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 2 Brazil Felipe Massa Ferrari 57 1:35:32.339 1 10
2 22 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 57 +5.611 2 8
3 4 Poland Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 57 +37.353 3 6
4 23 Finland Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 57 +39.703 5 5
5 11 Italy Jarno Trulli Toyota 57 +50.684 7 4
6 15 Germany Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 57 +52.625 6 3
7 12 Germany Timo Glock Toyota 57 +1:07.990 13 2
8 7 Germany Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 57 +1:11.457 9 1
9 3 Germany Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 57 +1:22.177 8
10 14 France Sébastien Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 57 +1:29.794 10
11 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault 57 +1:32.717 15
12 10 Australia Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 56 +1 Lap 14
13 16 United Kingdom Jenson Button Honda 56 +1 Lap 16
14 21 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 18
15 8 Japan Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 56 +1 Lap 11
16 17 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Honda 56 +1 Lap 19
17 9 United Kingdom David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 56 +1 Lap 17
Ret 1 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 45 Engine 4
Ret 20 Germany Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 41 Accident 20
Ret 5 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault 0 Collision damage 12
Source:[4]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 70
1 2 Brazil Felipe Massa 64
1 3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 57
4 Poland Robert Kubica 55
1 5 Finland Heikki Kovalainen 43
Constructors' Championship standings
Pos Constructor Points
1 Italy Ferrari 121
2 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 113
3 Germany BMW Sauber 96
4 Japan Toyota 41
5 France Renault 31

References

  1. ↑ "2008 European Grand Prix". The Official Formula 1 Website. 2008-08-24. Archived from the original on 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  2. ↑ "Grand Prix of Europe". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2008-08-24. Archived from the original on 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  3. ↑ "2008 European Grand Prix fastest laps". The Official Formula 1 Website. 2008-08-24. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  4. 1 2 3 "Race Classification". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2008-06-22. Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
  5. ↑ Alan Henry (2008). Autocourse 2008–09. CMG Publishing. p. 171. ISBN 1-905334-31-1.
  6. ↑ Jonathan Noble (2008-08-21). "Drivers praise Valencia track layout". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  7. 1 2 "Bridgestone races to new Formula One landmark". Bridgestone. 2008-08-19. Archived from the original on 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  8. ↑ "McLaren MP4-23 - revised front winglets". The Official Formula 1 Website. 2008-08-26. Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  9. ↑ "Ferrari F2008 - revised sidepod chimneys and winglets". The Official Formula 1 Website. 2008-08-24. Archived from the original on August 25, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  10. 1 2 Glopes (2008-05-19). "2008 Formula One Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2009-08-22. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  11. ↑ "Practice 1: Vettel upstages big guns". ITV-F1.com. 2008-08-22. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  12. 1 2 "Practice One - Vettel pips Massa in maiden Valencia session". Formula1.com. 2008-08-22. Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  13. ↑ Matt Beer (2008-08-22). "Surprising Vettel tops Valencia practice". autosport.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  14. ↑ Jonathan Noble (2008-08-22). "Drivers hold silence for Madrid victims". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  15. ↑ "Practice 2: Kimi's late show pips Alonso". ITV-F1.com. 2008-08-22. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  16. ↑ Matt Beer (2008-08-22). "Raikkonen steals Alonso's thunder in FP2". autosport.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  17. ↑ "Practice 2: Kimi's late show pips Alonso". ITV-F1.com. 2008-08-22. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  18. ↑ "Practice Two - Raikkonen heads three-team tussle". Formula1.com. 2008-08-22. Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  19. ↑ Jonathan Noble (2008-08-22). "Alonso reprimanded for crossing pit entry". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  20. ↑ "Practice Three - Kubica takes his turn at the top". Formula1.com. 2008-08-23. Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  21. 1 2 Simon Strang (2008-08-23). "Kubica tops final Valencia practice". autosport.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  22. ↑ "Sat practice: Kubica fastest for BMW". ITV-F1.com. 2008-08-23. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  23. ↑ "Qualifying - selected driver quotes". Formula1.com. 2008-08-23. Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  24. ↑ Pablo Elizalde (2008-08-23). "Toro Rosso celebrate 'fantastic' result". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  25. ↑ Jonathan Noble (2008-08-23). "Pole slot moved to right side of track". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 2009-08-22. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Matt Beer (2008-08-23). "Massa beats Hamilton to Valencia pole". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publishing. Archived from the original on 2009-08-22. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  27. 1 2 "As it happened - European Grand Prix". BBC Sport. 2008-08-24. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  28. 1 2 Emlyn Hughes and Geoff Creighton (2008-08-24). "As it happened: Raceday in Valencia". autosport.com. Haymarket Publishing. Archived from the original on 2009-09-05. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
  29. ↑ "Official FIA race report". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2008-08-24. Archived from the original on July 31, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  30. ↑ Sarah Holt (2008-08-24). "As it happened - European Grand Prix". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
  31. ↑ "Europe: Massa fined, keeps win". Manipe F1. 2008-08-24. Archived from the original on August 23, 2009. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  32. ↑ "Pit-lane dramas plague Ferrari as Raikkonen retires". 2008-08-24. Archived from the original on 25 August 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  33. ↑ "2008 Formula 1 Telefonica Grand Prix of Europe". The Official Formula 1 Website. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  34. ↑ "Qualifying Classification". The Official Formula 1 Website. 2008-08-23. Archived from the original on 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
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