2008 Japanese Grand Prix
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Japanese Grand Prix (formally the XXXIV Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One
motor race held on October 12, 2008, at the Fuji Speedway
, Oyama
, Japan. It was the 16th race of the 2008 Formula One season
. The race, contested over 67 laps, was won by Fernando Alonso
for the Renault
team from fourth position on the starting grid. Robert Kubica
finished second for BMW Sauber
, and Kimi Räikkönen
third for Ferrari
.
Lewis Hamilton
, the eventual Drivers' Champion, led the Championship going into the race, and started from pole position
alongside Räikkönen. Hamilton's McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen
began from third, next to Alonso. At the first corner Hamilton braked late, forcing Räikkönen wide. Hamilton was later given a penalty, and was criticised by the British racing press for overly aggressive driving. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa
, Hamilton's principal Championship rival, was penalised after an incident on lap two in which he touched Hamilton's car, causing it to spin. The incident dropped Hamilton to the back of the field, from where he was unable to regain a points scoring position. Massa later collided with Sébastien Bourdais
of Toro Rosso
. Bourdais was penalised after the race, and demoted from sixth to tenth position. The penalty prompted widespread criticism from the racing media and ex-drivers.
The victory was Alonso's second consecutive win; he started from 15th on the grid to win the Singapore Grand Prix
two weeks prior. Kubica held off a determined attack from Räikkönen in the closing laps to take second place. Massa's seventh place narrowed his gap to Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship to five points. Ferrari established a seven point lead over the McLaren team in the Constructors' Championship, with two races of the season remaining.
, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault
, Honda, Force India
, BMW Sauber
, Toyota
, Red Bull Racing
, Williams
and Toro Rosso
.
Prior to the race, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton
led the Drivers' Championship with 84 points, and Ferrari driver Felipe Massa
was second with 77 points. Behind them in the Drivers' Championship, Robert Kubica
was third with 64 points in a BMW Sauber, and Massa's Ferrari teammate Kimi Räikkönen
was fourth with 57 points. Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld
was fifth with 56 points. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren–Mercedes were leading with 135 points, one point ahead of their rivals Ferrari, whom they had overtaken at the previous race. BMW Sauber were third with 120 points. In the battle for fourth place, Renault had 51 points, five points ahead of Toyota.
A botched pit stop
at the Singapore Grand Prix
had demoted Massa from first position to the back of field. With three races remaining in the Championship and a seven point deficit, Massa remained confident about his title chances: "If you look at what happened to me in Singapore where my gap went from one point to seven so suddenly, then you have to consider it could easily go the other way as well." Hamilton emphasised the value that a conservative racing strategy could hold for his title chances:
Fernando Alonso
's victory at the Singapore Grand Prix was his first Formula One win since rejoining the Renault team, after driving for McLaren in 2007. After qualifying in 15th and making an early pit stop, Alonso had managed to jump to the front of the race when his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed. Left with no opportunity to pit, the frontrunners had to delay their stops until the damage was cleared, allowing the heavily fuelled Alonso to move to the front once they did so. Though Alonso questioned whether his Renault team could match the pace of Ferrari and McLaren at Fuji, he said "We must remain focussed and try to repeat our level of performance from Singapore to fight at the front." Renault's technical director Bob Bell said that the team's improvement from the start of the season was encouraging, but "we recognise that we're not going to overhaul McLaren and Ferrari this season". Bell said that the objective for the last races was to win more Grands Prix and, importantly, secure fourth position in the Constructors' Championship from Toyota.
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
(FIA), the sport's governing body
, launched the Formula One component of their Make Cars Green
campaign at the Japanese Grand Prix. For the weekend, the grooves in the tyres
were painted green to promote environmentally friendly
driving. FIA president Max Mosley
said "The FIA is determined to ensure that future investment in motor sport will also help drive the development of technologies that will benefit the public at large." As is normal for a Formula One race, 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.
was just off Massa's pace; Räikkönen, Alonso and Piquet rounded out the top six, still within a second of Hamilton's time. In the second practice session, Timo Glock
, of Toyota, was fastest with a time of 1:18.383, ahead of Alonso, Hamilton, Massa, Räikkönen and Red Bull driver Mark Webber
. The top seventeen drivers set times within a second of Glock's fastest lap, indicating a competitive field. The Saturday morning session was held on a damp track, where grip was poor and many drivers were forced to use the run-off area
s after sliding off the track. Kubica was quickest with his final lap of the session at 1:25.087; Glock, Piquet, Nick Heidfeld
of BMW, Kazuki Nakajima
of Williams, Red Bull driver David Coulthard
, and Massa rounded out the top seven positions. Hamilton managed only eleventh, but was ahead of Kovalainen and Räikkönen, in 16th and 17th positions, respectively. Both Adrian Sutil
and Giancarlo Fisichella
of Force India spent most of the session in their garage, suffering numerous mechanical problems.
The qualifying session on Saturday afternoon was split into three parts. The first part ran for 20 minutes, and cars that finished the session 16th or lower were eliminated from qualifying. The second part of qualifying lasted 15 minutes and eliminated cars that finished in positions 11 to 15. The final part of qualifying determined the positions from first to tenth, and decided pole position
. Cars which failed to make the final session could refuel before the race, so ran lighter in those sessions. Cars which competed in the final session of qualifying were not allowed to refuel before the race, and as such carried more fuel than in the previous sessions.
Hamilton clinched his sixth pole position of the season with a lap time of 1:18.404. He was joined on the front row by Räikkönen, who was fastest for most of the final session. Provisionally sitting in third as the session drew to a close, Massa was pushed back to fifth as Kovalainen and Alonso put in last-minute laps to fill the second row of the grid. Kubica took sixth place, ahead of both Toyotas of Jarno Trulli
and Glock and the Toro Rossos of Sebastian Vettel
and Sébastien Bourdais
. Coulthard bettered teammate Webber when he qualified 11th; Piquet split the Red Bull drivers in 12th. The only Japanese driver in the field, Nakajima, managed 14th ahead of his Williams teammate Nico Rosberg
. Heidfeld could only achieve 16th place, ten places behind his BMW teammate Kubica. Heidfeld spent the majority of the first session struggling with the set-up
of his car. The Hondas of Rubens Barrichello
and Jenson Button
filled the ninth row in front of the constructor's home crowd. The Force Indias qualified last; Sutil comfortably outqualified his teammate Fisichella by 0.8 seconds, to sit in 19th place.
at the end of the lap for a new wing.
At the end of the first lap, Kubica led from Alonso, Kovalainen, Trulli, Massa, Hamilton and Räikkönen. On lap two, Massa braked late into the chicane at turn 10, briefly letting Hamilton past, before running over the kerbs on the exit from the corner and hitting the McLaren driver's car. Hamilton was spun round by the contact and pitted at the end of the lap for new tyres and more fuel, which dropped him to 18th place. Massa continued in seventh place. On lap eight Räikkönen passed Trulli into turn 10 to take fourth position. In third place, more than a second ahead of the Ferrari driver, Kovalainen set a new fastest lap
of 1:19.258 on lap 12 to which Räikkönen responded with a 1:19.193 four laps later. Two more drivers joined Coulthard in retirement before the first round of fuel stops: Glock pitted on lap five and again on lap six, before retiring because of handling difficulties resulting from a broken seat fixing; Sutil retired on lap nine with a puncture caused by running over carbon fibre shards.
On lap 17, Massa and Hamilton were given drive-through penalties, Massa for colliding with Hamilton and Hamilton for forcing Räikkönen off the track into turn one. Hamilton took his penalty immediately. Massa pitted for fuel and tyres on the next lap, before coming into the pits again on lap 20 to serve his penalty, which dropped him to 14th place, one place ahead of Hamilton. Meanwhile, Kubica and Räikkönen pitted on lap 17 for tyres and fuel. On the same lap, Kovalainen pulled over to the side of the track with engine problems and retired from the race. Alonso pitted on lap 18, emerging ahead of Kubica to take the provisional lead, with cars in front still to pit. Trulli, Vettel and Bourdais pitted over the following six laps. Fisichella retired from the race with gearbox problems on lap 21. Piquet took his first pit stop on lap 28, emerging ahead of Bourdais as Alonso opened the gap on Kubica to 7.8 seconds. Massa overtook Button to take 12th position one lap later.
Alonso lapped consistently in the low 1:19 range, setting the new fastest lap of the race on lap 41, a 1:19.101, to extend his lead over Kubica to more than 12 seconds. Räikkönen was five seconds behind Kubica in third. Alonso pitted for the second time on lap 43 and changed to the softer compound tyre. Kubica, complaining of understeer
over the team radio, made his second stop on lap 46, two laps ahead of Räikkönen. Trulli, Bourdais, Vettel and Piquet pitted over the next five laps, their teams giving them sufficient fuel to finish the race. As Bourdais exited the pit-lane in seventh place on lap 51, Massa, who was eighth, but yet to make his final pit stop, attempted to pass him and the two cars collided at the first corner. Massa spun, but rejoined the race behind Bourdais. Three laps later, the stewards announced that they were investigating the incident, and would make their decision after the race. On lap 52, Räikkönen attempted to pass Kubica on the approach to turn one after drafting behind him up the straight, but Kubica drove right as a blocking manoeuvre, braked late, and defended his position. On the following lap Kubica attempted to replicate his block, but Räikkönen out-braked him into turn one, and the two drew alongside. Kubica held the inside line on the turn three left-hander, and drove the racing line as Räikkönen left the track at the run-off area
. Räikkönen then rejoined behind the BMW driver. Kubica faced similar challenges from Räikkönen over the next two laps into turn one, but he successfully defended his position.
Massa pitted on lap 53, and rejoined behind Heidfeld in tenth. He subsequently set the fastest lap of the race on lap 55, a 1:18.426. Meanwhile, Piquet was able to close the gap on Räikkönen to under a second, before losing time by running wide at turn five on lap 60. Massa passed Heidfeld for ninth on the same lap, and began closing in on Webber. On lap 65, Massa drafted down the straight and attempted to pass Webber, who defended his position by driving to the right. Crossing the track boundary into the end of the pit-lane, Massa managed to pass Webber, and out-braked him into turn one, to take eighth place. Alonso crossed the finish line on lap 67 to take his second win of the season, five seconds ahead of Kubica. Räikkönen was third, ahead of Piquet, Trulli, Bourdais, Vettel and Massa. Webber took ninth on the line, ahead of Heidfeld, who struggled with a heavy car and failed to improve on a poor qualifying performance. Rosberg finished in front of Hamilton, in 11th. Barrichello and Button took the next two positions; both drivers blamed their Hondas for their uncompetitive performance at the Fuji circuit. Nakajima finished last, in 15th, unable to recover after his forced pit-stop early in the race.
earlier in the season. He added that to finish on the podium after BMW Sauber's failure to improve the car from the beginning of the season was a "great result for the team in, I think, a very difficult moment". Räikkönen said that he was "a bit disappointed because being in first place in the first corner but then being pushed out didn't help and being in the front could have given us a better result but anyhow, that's racing". He added that Kovalainen's impact with him at the first corner had caused handling difficulties in his car, which left him unable to improve on his third-placed finish.
Forty minutes after the race, Bourdais received a 25-second penalty from the stewards for his collision with Massa on lap 50. This demoted him from sixth to tenth, and promoted Massa to seventh, giving him one more Championship point. Bourdais blamed Massa for the incident:
Massa denied responsibility, and agreed with the stewards' decision: "I think there's little to say: I had already entered the turn and he hit me from behind, spinning me round." The penalty was largely criticized in the media. GrandPrix.com called the penalty "bizarre", saying that Bourdais "could not just disappear". James Allen
of ITV
said that in light of FIA race director Charlie Whiting's
announcement prior to the race, which indicated that cars exiting the pit-lane would have right of way, the penalty was "ridiculous". French sporting newspaper L'Équipe
criticized the stewards for their intervention, saying that both drivers held their lines and the collision was just a racing incident. Mark Blundell
, who drove in Formula One for five years, called for former drivers to be part of the stewards meetings which award penalties: "You can examine pieces of paper, graphs, telemetry, but you don't know what's going on in a driver's brain until you've experienced it." Blundell's suggestion eventually became fact - the 2010 season introduced a system whereby a former F1 driver acted as a steward during each Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton was criticized for his aggressive drive into the first corner by much of the British press. Edward Gorman
of The Times
described Hamilton's move as "impetuosity and untamed aggression", adding that Hamilton "gambled with a kamikaze attempt to get past Räikkönen". The BBC's
Andrew Benson said that "Hamilton is still in a strong position but the Englishman will have to cut out the mistakes that have characterised his season if he is not to lose the championship for the second year in a row." In Italy, La Gazzetta dello Sport
said that Hamilton's start suffered from "his usual excessive aggression". Hamilton said "I made a mistake and I paid for it."
Massa's touch on Hamilton's car on lap two was labeled by the McLaren driver "as deliberate as it could be". Massa rejected the allegation, saying "I had two wheels on the gravel. I could not stop the car and I was on the gravel because he pushed me into the gravel." Media coverage of the incident suggested that though the contact was Massa's fault, it was unintentional. Simon Arron, writing for The Daily Telegraph
, said Hamilton's accusation of deliberate contact was "unworthy and unwise", adding that the contact was simply a racing incident. The gap between the drivers in the Drivers' Championship after the race stood at five points, in Hamilton's favour, with two races remaining. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren's failure to score points, combined with Ferrari's third and seventh, moved Ferrari to a seven point lead.
Bourdais given a 25-second penalty for colliding with Massa.
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 October 12, 2008, at the Fuji Speedway
Fuji Speedway
is a race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s and hosted the first Formula One race in Japan in 1976. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and national racing...
, Oyama
Oyama, Shizuoka
is a town located in Suntō District, Shizuoka, Japan. As of February 2008, the town has an estimated population of 20,968 and a density of 154 persons per km². The total area is 136.13 km².-Geography:...
, Japan. It was the 16th 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 67 laps, was won by 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....
for 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...
team from fourth position on the starting grid. 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...
finished second for 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...
, and 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...
third for 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....
.
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...
, the eventual Drivers' Champion, led the Championship going into the race, and 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...
alongside Räikkönen. Hamilton's McLaren teammate 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....
began from third, next to Alonso. At the first corner Hamilton braked late, forcing Räikkönen wide. Hamilton was later given a penalty, and was criticised by the British racing press for overly aggressive driving. Ferrari driver 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:...
, Hamilton's principal Championship rival, was penalised after an incident on lap two in which he touched Hamilton's car, causing it to spin. The incident dropped Hamilton to the back of the field, from where he was unable to regain a points scoring position. Massa later collided with 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....
of 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...
. Bourdais was penalised after the race, and demoted from sixth to tenth position. The penalty prompted widespread criticism from the racing media and ex-drivers.
The victory was Alonso's second consecutive win; he started from 15th on the grid to win the Singapore Grand Prix
2008 Singapore Grand Prix
The 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, formally known as the 2008 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was a Formula One race held on 28 September 2008 at the newly built Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore...
two weeks prior. Kubica held off a determined attack from Räikkönen in the closing laps to take second place. Massa's seventh place narrowed his gap to Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship to five points. Ferrari established a seven point lead over the McLaren team in the Constructors' Championship, with two races of the season remaining.
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...
, 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 Racing
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...
, 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...
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...
.
Prior to the race, McLaren driver 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...
led the Drivers' Championship with 84 points, and Ferrari driver 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:...
was second with 77 points. Behind them in the Drivers' Championship, 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...
was third with 64 points in a BMW Sauber, and Massa's Ferrari teammate 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 with 57 points. Kubica's teammate 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...
was fifth with 56 points. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren–Mercedes were leading with 135 points, one point ahead of their rivals Ferrari, whom they had overtaken at the previous race. BMW Sauber were third with 120 points. In the battle for fourth place, Renault had 51 points, five points ahead of Toyota.
A botched 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...
at the Singapore Grand Prix
2008 Singapore Grand Prix
The 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, formally known as the 2008 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was a Formula One race held on 28 September 2008 at the newly built Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore...
had demoted Massa from first position to the back of field. With three races remaining in the Championship and a seven point deficit, Massa remained confident about his title chances: "If you look at what happened to me in Singapore where my gap went from one point to seven so suddenly, then you have to consider it could easily go the other way as well." Hamilton emphasised the value that a conservative racing strategy could hold for his title chances:
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....
's victory at the Singapore Grand Prix was his first Formula One win since rejoining the Renault team, after driving for McLaren in 2007. After qualifying in 15th and making an early pit stop, Alonso had managed to jump to the front of the race when his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed. Left with no opportunity to pit, the frontrunners had to delay their stops until the damage was cleared, allowing the heavily fuelled Alonso to move to the front once they did so. Though Alonso questioned whether his Renault team could match the pace of Ferrari and McLaren at Fuji, he said "We must remain focussed and try to repeat our level of performance from Singapore to fight at the front." Renault's technical director Bob Bell said that the team's improvement from the start of the season was encouraging, but "we recognise that we're not going to overhaul McLaren and Ferrari this season". Bell said that the objective for the last races was to win more Grands Prix and, importantly, secure fourth position in the Constructors' Championship from Toyota.
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
(FIA), the sport's governing body
Sport governing body
A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sport governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport...
, launched the Formula One component of their Make Cars Green
Make Cars Green
Make Cars Green is a campaign by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile aimed at reducing the impact of cars on the environment...
campaign at the Japanese Grand Prix. For the weekend, the grooves in the tyres
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:...
were painted green to promote environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment....
driving. FIA president Max Mosley
Max Mosley
Max Rufus Mosley is the former president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , a non-profit association that represents the interests of motoring organisations and car users worldwide...
said "The FIA is determined to ensure that future investment in motor sport will also help drive the development of technologies that will benefit the public at large." As is normal for a Formula One race, 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.
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. The Friday sessions were held in dry and sunny conditions. Hamilton was quickest in the first session, with a time of 1:18.910 that was less than two-tenths of a second faster than Massa. McLaren driver Heikki KovalainenHeikki 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....
was just off Massa's pace; Räikkönen, Alonso and Piquet rounded out the top six, still within a second of Hamilton's time. In the second practice session, 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...
, of Toyota, was fastest with a time of 1:18.383, ahead of Alonso, Hamilton, Massa, Räikkönen and Red Bull driver 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...
. The top seventeen drivers set times within a second of Glock's fastest lap, indicating a competitive field. The Saturday morning session was held on a damp track, where grip was poor and many drivers were forced to use the run-off area
Run-off area
A run-off area is an area on a racetrack for racer safety. Run-off areas are usually located along a race course where racers are most likely to unintentionally depart from the prescribed course. It is also known as a gravel trap or, informally, kitty litter – see glossary of motorsport terms...
s after sliding off the track. Kubica was quickest with his final lap of the session at 1:25.087; Glock, Piquet, 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...
of BMW, 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....
of Williams, Red Bull driver 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...
, and Massa rounded out the top seven positions. Hamilton managed only eleventh, but was ahead of Kovalainen and Räikkönen, in 16th and 17th positions, respectively. Both 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...
and 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...
of Force India spent most of the session in their garage, suffering numerous mechanical problems.
The qualifying session on Saturday afternoon was split into three parts. The first part ran for 20 minutes, and cars that finished the session 16th or lower were eliminated from qualifying. The second part of qualifying lasted 15 minutes and eliminated cars that finished in positions 11 to 15. The final part of qualifying determined the positions from first to tenth, and decided 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...
. Cars which failed to make the final session could refuel before the race, so ran lighter in those sessions. Cars which competed in the final session of qualifying were not allowed to refuel before the race, and as such carried more fuel than in the previous sessions.
Hamilton clinched his sixth pole position of the season with a lap time of 1:18.404. He was joined on the front row by Räikkönen, who was fastest for most of the final session. Provisionally sitting in third as the session drew to a close, Massa was pushed back to fifth as Kovalainen and Alonso put in last-minute laps to fill the second row of the grid. Kubica took sixth place, ahead of both Toyotas of 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...
and Glock and the Toro Rossos of 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 ....
and 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....
. Coulthard bettered teammate Webber when he qualified 11th; Piquet split the Red Bull drivers in 12th. The only Japanese driver in the field, Nakajima, managed 14th ahead of his Williams teammate 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...
. Heidfeld could only achieve 16th place, ten places behind his BMW teammate Kubica. Heidfeld spent the majority of the first session struggling with the set-up
Racing setup
In auto racing, the racing setup or car setup is the set of adjustments made to the vehicle in order to optimize its behaviour...
of his car. The Hondas of 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...
and 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...
filled the ninth row in front of the constructor's home crowd. The Force Indias qualified last; Sutil comfortably outqualified his teammate Fisichella by 0.8 seconds, to sit in 19th place.
Race
The conditions on the grid were dry before the race. The air temperature was 16 °C (60.8 °F) and the track temperature was 21 °C (69.8 °F); conditions were expected to remain consistent throughout the race. Most of the frontrunners began the race on the harder compound tyre; only Massa was using the softer option. Räikkönen accelerated faster than Hamilton off the line, getting ahead of him down the first straight, but the McLaren driver pulled into the Ferrari's slipstream, before swerving to overtake Räikkönen in the inside of the corner Going into the first corner, Hamilton badly locked-up his front wheels while braking and ran wide; although there was no contact, Räikkönen was also forced wide in avoidance. This was then followed by contact with Kovalainen, which finally forced Räikkönen off the track. All three drivers dropped back down the field as a result of the incident. Kubica took the lead ahead of Alonso and Kovalainen after the corner, avoiding collisions as other cars locked their tyres on the cold track. Fisichella drove into the back of Barrichello, scattering carbon fibre over the track. Coulthard collided with Bourdais and then Piquet, sustaining suspension damage and sliding into the barriers after turn two. Nakajima left the track trying to avoid Coulthard, although he managed to rejoin after losing his front wing. The Japanese driver pittedPit 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...
at the end of the lap for a new wing.
Fastest lap
In motorsport, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. Some series, like A1 Grand Prix and the GP2 series, award bonus points to the driver/team with the fastest lap...
of 1:19.258 on lap 12 to which Räikkönen responded with a 1:19.193 four laps later. Two more drivers joined Coulthard in retirement before the first round of fuel stops: Glock pitted on lap five and again on lap six, before retiring because of handling difficulties resulting from a broken seat fixing; Sutil retired on lap nine with a puncture caused by running over carbon fibre shards.
On lap 17, Massa and Hamilton were given drive-through penalties, Massa for colliding with Hamilton and Hamilton for forcing Räikkönen off the track into turn one. Hamilton took his penalty immediately. Massa pitted for fuel and tyres on the next lap, before coming into the pits again on lap 20 to serve his penalty, which dropped him to 14th place, one place ahead of Hamilton. Meanwhile, Kubica and Räikkönen pitted on lap 17 for tyres and fuel. On the same lap, Kovalainen pulled over to the side of the track with engine problems and retired from the race. Alonso pitted on lap 18, emerging ahead of Kubica to take the provisional lead, with cars in front still to pit. Trulli, Vettel and Bourdais pitted over the following six laps. Fisichella retired from the race with gearbox problems on lap 21. Piquet took his first pit stop on lap 28, emerging ahead of Bourdais as Alonso opened the gap on Kubica to 7.8 seconds. Massa overtook Button to take 12th position one lap later.
Alonso lapped consistently in the low 1:19 range, setting the new fastest lap of the race on lap 41, a 1:19.101, to extend his lead over Kubica to more than 12 seconds. Räikkönen was five seconds behind Kubica in third. Alonso pitted for the second time on lap 43 and changed to the softer compound tyre. Kubica, complaining of understeer
Understeer
Understeer and oversteer are vehicle dynamics terms used to describe the sensitivity of a vehicle to steering. Simply put, oversteer is what occurs when a car turns by more than the amount commanded by the driver...
over the team radio, made his second stop on lap 46, two laps ahead of Räikkönen. Trulli, Bourdais, Vettel and Piquet pitted over the next five laps, their teams giving them sufficient fuel to finish the race. As Bourdais exited the pit-lane in seventh place on lap 51, Massa, who was eighth, but yet to make his final pit stop, attempted to pass him and the two cars collided at the first corner. Massa spun, but rejoined the race behind Bourdais. Three laps later, the stewards announced that they were investigating the incident, and would make their decision after the race. On lap 52, Räikkönen attempted to pass Kubica on the approach to turn one after drafting behind him up the straight, but Kubica drove right as a blocking manoeuvre, braked late, and defended his position. On the following lap Kubica attempted to replicate his block, but Räikkönen out-braked him into turn one, and the two drew alongside. Kubica held the inside line on the turn three left-hander, and drove the racing line as Räikkönen left the track at the run-off area
Run-off area
A run-off area is an area on a racetrack for racer safety. Run-off areas are usually located along a race course where racers are most likely to unintentionally depart from the prescribed course. It is also known as a gravel trap or, informally, kitty litter – see glossary of motorsport terms...
. Räikkönen then rejoined behind the BMW driver. Kubica faced similar challenges from Räikkönen over the next two laps into turn one, but he successfully defended his position.
Massa pitted on lap 53, and rejoined behind Heidfeld in tenth. He subsequently set the fastest lap of the race on lap 55, a 1:18.426. Meanwhile, Piquet was able to close the gap on Räikkönen to under a second, before losing time by running wide at turn five on lap 60. Massa passed Heidfeld for ninth on the same lap, and began closing in on Webber. On lap 65, Massa drafted down the straight and attempted to pass Webber, who defended his position by driving to the right. Crossing the track boundary into the end of the pit-lane, Massa managed to pass Webber, and out-braked him into turn one, to take eighth place. Alonso crossed the finish line on lap 67 to take his second win of the season, five seconds ahead of Kubica. Räikkönen was third, ahead of Piquet, Trulli, Bourdais, Vettel and Massa. Webber took ninth on the line, ahead of Heidfeld, who struggled with a heavy car and failed to improve on a poor qualifying performance. Rosberg finished in front of Hamilton, in 11th. Barrichello and Button took the next two positions; both drivers blamed their Hondas for their uncompetitive performance at the Fuji circuit. Nakajima finished last, in 15th, unable to recover after his forced pit-stop early in the race.
Post-race
The top three finishers appeared in the subsequent press conference where Alonso said that the decision to run a shorter second stint than Kubica (between the first and second pit stops) was his decision: "Sometimes you can do it, sometimes you can't but today the car was perfect and I was able to do it." Alonso added that he had confidence in the car to perform at the remaining Grands Prix: "The feeling I have now is that we can do anything". Kubica said that his second-placed finish was better than his win at the Canadian Grand Prix2008 Canadian Grand Prix
The 2008 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 8, 2008 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada. It was the 7th race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by Robert Kubica for the BMW Sauber team after starting from...
earlier in the season. He added that to finish on the podium after BMW Sauber's failure to improve the car from the beginning of the season was a "great result for the team in, I think, a very difficult moment". Räikkönen said that he was "a bit disappointed because being in first place in the first corner but then being pushed out didn't help and being in the front could have given us a better result but anyhow, that's racing". He added that Kovalainen's impact with him at the first corner had caused handling difficulties in his car, which left him unable to improve on his third-placed finish.
Forty minutes after the race, Bourdais received a 25-second penalty from the stewards for his collision with Massa on lap 50. This demoted him from sixth to tenth, and promoted Massa to seventh, giving him one more Championship point. Bourdais blamed Massa for the incident:
Massa denied responsibility, and agreed with the stewards' decision: "I think there's little to say: I had already entered the turn and he hit me from behind, spinning me round." The penalty was largely criticized in the media. GrandPrix.com called the penalty "bizarre", saying that Bourdais "could not just disappear". James Allen
James Allen (Formula One commentator)
James Allen is a British commentator who worked on ITV's Formula One coverage until it ceased at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix. Formerly a pupil at Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby, and student of English and Modern Languages at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford...
of ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
said that in light of FIA race director Charlie Whiting's
Charlie Whiting
Charlie Whiting is FIA Formula One Race Director, Safety Delegate, Permanent Starter and head of the F1 Technical Department, in which capacities he generally manages the logistics of each F1 Grand Prix, inspects cars in Parc fermé before a race, enforces FIA rules, and controls the lights which...
announcement prior to the race, which indicated that cars exiting the pit-lane would have right of way, the penalty was "ridiculous". French sporting newspaper L'Équipe
L'Équipe
L'Équipe is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sports, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of football , rugby, motorsports and cycling...
criticized the stewards for their intervention, saying that both drivers held their lines and the collision was just a racing incident. Mark Blundell
Mark Blundell
Mark Blundell is a Formula One, sports car, and CART racing driver. He was a Formula One presenter for the British broadcaster ITV until the end of the 2008 season when the TV broadcasting rights switched to the BBC....
, who drove in Formula One for five years, called for former drivers to be part of the stewards meetings which award penalties: "You can examine pieces of paper, graphs, telemetry, but you don't know what's going on in a driver's brain until you've experienced it." Blundell's suggestion eventually became fact - the 2010 season introduced a system whereby a former F1 driver acted as a steward during each Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton was criticized for his aggressive drive into the first corner by much of the British press. Edward Gorman
Edward Gorman
Ed Gorman is an award-winning American author best known for his crime and mystery fiction. He wrote The Poker Club which is currently in post production for a film of the same name directed by Tim McCann....
of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
described Hamilton's move as "impetuosity and untamed aggression", adding that Hamilton "gambled with a kamikaze attempt to get past Räikkönen". The BBC's
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Andrew Benson said that "Hamilton is still in a strong position but the Englishman will have to cut out the mistakes that have characterised his season if he is not to lose the championship for the second year in a row." In Italy, La Gazzetta dello Sport
La Gazzetta dello Sport
La Gazzetta dello Sport is an Italian newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. It was first published on April 3, 1896, allowing it to cover the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens...
said that Hamilton's start suffered from "his usual excessive aggression". Hamilton said "I made a mistake and I paid for it."
Massa's touch on Hamilton's car on lap two was labeled by the McLaren driver "as deliberate as it could be". Massa rejected the allegation, saying "I had two wheels on the gravel. I could not stop the car and I was on the gravel because he pushed me into the gravel." Media coverage of the incident suggested that though the contact was Massa's fault, it was unintentional. Simon Arron, writing for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, said Hamilton's accusation of deliberate contact was "unworthy and unwise", adding that the contact was simply a racing incident. The gap between the drivers in the Drivers' Championship after the race stood at five points, in Hamilton's favour, with two races remaining. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren's failure to score points, combined with Ferrari's third and seventh, moved Ferrari to a seven point lead.
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Name | Constructor | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 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-Mercedes | 1:18.071 | 1:17.462 | 1:18.404 | 1 |
| 2 | 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.... |
1:18.160 | 1:17.733 | 1:18.644 | 2 |
| 3 | 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 | 1:18.220 | 1:17.360 | 1:18.821 | 3 |
| 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... |
1:18.290 | 1:17.871 | 1:18.852 | 4 |
| 5 | 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.... |
1:18.110 | 1:17.287 | 1:18.874 | 5 |
| 6 | 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... |
1:18.684 | 1:17.931 | 1:18.979 | 6 |
| 7 | 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... |
1:18.501 | 1:17.541 | 1:19.026 | 7 |
| 8 | 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... |
1:17.945 | 1:17.670 | 1:19.118 | 8 |
| 9 | 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.... |
1:18.559 | 1:17.714 | 1:19.638 | 9 |
| 10 | 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.... |
1:18.593 | 1:18.102 | 1:20.167 | 10 |
| 11 | 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... |
1:18.303 | 1:18.187 | 11 | |
| 12 | 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... |
1:18.300 | 1:18.274 | 12 | |
| 13 | 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... |
1:18.372 | 1:18.354 | 13 | |
| 14 | 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... |
1:18.640 | 1:18.594 | 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... |
1:18.740 | 1:18.672 | 15 | |
| 16 | 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... |
1:18.835 | 16 | ||
| 17 | 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 | 1:18.882 | 17 | ||
| 18 | 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 | 1:19.100 | 18 | ||
| 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.... |
1:19.163 | 19 | ||
| 20 | 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.... |
1:19.910 | 20 | ||
Race
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 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... |
67 | 1:30:21.892 | 4 | 10 |
| 2 | 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... |
67 | +5.283 | 6 | 8 |
| 3 | 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.... |
67 | +6.400 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | 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... |
67 | +20.570 | 12 | 5 |
| 5 | 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... |
67 | +23.767 | 7 | 4 |
| 6 | 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.... |
67 | +39.207 | 9 | 3 |
| 7 | 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.... |
67 | +46.158 | 5 | 2 |
| 8 | 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... |
67 | +50.811 | 13 | 1 |
| 9 | 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... |
67 | +54.120 | 16 | |
| 10 | 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.... |
67 | +59.085 | 10 | |
| 11 | 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... |
67 | +1:02.096 | 15 | |
| 12 | 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 | 67 | +1:18.900 | 1 | |
| 13 | 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 | 66 | +1 Lap | 17 | |
| 14 | 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 | 66 | +1 Lap | 18 | |
| 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... |
66 | +1 Lap | 14 | |
| Ret | 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.... |
21 | Gearbox | 20 | |
| Ret | 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 | 16 | Engine | 3 | |
| Ret | 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.... |
8 | Puncture | 19 | |
| Ret | 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... |
6 | Collision damage | 8 | |
| Ret | 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... |
0 | Accident | 11 | |
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 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... |
84 |
| 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:... |
79 |
| 3 | 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... |
72 |
| 4 | 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... |
63 |
| 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... |
56 |
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.... |
142 |
| 2 | McLaren-Mercedes | 135 |
| 3 | 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... |
128 |
| 4 | 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... |
66 |
| 5 | 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... |
50 |
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.