2008 Spanish Grand Prix

The 2008 Spanish Grand Prix, officially the L Gran Premio de España Telefónica was the fourth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, on 27 April 2008.'4. Spain 2008', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)'Spain 2008: Finnish pleasure and Finnish pain.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 27/04/2008), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/61930/1/spain-2008-finnish-pleasure-and-finnish-pain, (Accessed 24/02/2020) The race would see Kimi Räikkönen secure victory ahead of teammate Felipe Massa, in what proved to be the final race for fan favourites .
The race weekend with an air of controversy surrounding it, with the FIA having placed the race under probation due to racist taunts having been heard during pre-season testing at the circuit. This led to an increased presence of stewards among the crowd, although there would ultimately be no reports of racism during the weekend.
Qualifying had seen Fernando Alonso give home fans hope of a home victory, although the Spanish ace was ultimately beaten to pole position by Championship leader Räikkönen. Alonso therefore had to settle for second ahead of Massa and Robert Kubica, while Lewis Hamilton would share the third row with his teammate Heikki Kovalainen.
The start saw Räikkönen ease clear of Alonso to secure the lead, while Massa sliced past the to secure second through the first corner. Behind, Hamilton dived past Kubica to claim fourth behind the Spaniard, as behind Adrian Sutil got caught out on the brakes trying to pass David Coulthard, and duly spun into Sebastian Vettel.
Sutil and Vettel were out on the spot, with the amount of debris requiring the Safety Car to be called out. After three laps the race was resumed with Räikkönen getting the jump on Massa to secure an early lead, while the Brazilian escaped the attentions of Alonso before the end of the restart lap.
Indeed, the two Ferraris were on their own after than, with Räikkönen setting a searing pace out front, while Massa was able to ease clear of Alonso without too much drama. Alonso hence came under pressure from Hamilton, although he would resist the attentions of his former teammate through to the first round of stops.
Alonso was the first of the lead group to pit on lap sixteen, with Massa, Hamilton, Kubica and Räikkönen following him in on successive laps. On track, meanwhile, Kovalainen suffered a worrying accident at turn three, spearing into the barriers as his front left tyre failed midway through the flat-out curve.
The Safety Car was thrown immediately after the Finn's accident, meaning the pitlane was closed for two laps midway through the pit window. Nick Heidfeld was the big loser as he had to stop while the pits were closed, while the rest of those yet to stop dived in on lap 26. This resulted in some chaos in the pitlane, culminating in Rubens Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella colliding.
The race resumed again on lap 29, with Räikkönen escaping from Massa, while Alonso retired shortly after with an engine failure. Hamilton then held third from Kubica but was unable to challenge the two scarlet Ferraris, which duly disappeared into the distance as the second round of stops came and went.
With that the race was run as Räikkönen eased through the final stint of the race to claim victory 3.2 seconds clear of Massa in second, securing Ferrari's second one-two in as many races. Hamilton completed the podium in third ahead of Kubica, with Mark Webber, Jenson Button, Kazuki Nakajima and Jarno Trulli scoring the remaining points.
==Background==
Kimi Räikkönen had moved to the top of the Championship after his second placed finish in Bahrain, holding nineteen points to his name after three rounds. He hence had a three point lead over second placed Nick Heidfeld, while former leader Lewis Hamilton had slipped five off the lead in third. The Brit was then level on points with both Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen, while Bahrain race winner Felipe Massa saw in sixth.
In the Constructors Championship had left Bahrain at the head of the hunt, and moved on to 30 points for the season signalling a potential title bid. were, however, just a point behind in second, while had only slipped two behind, having led the Championship before the race. and their engine suppliers then completed the top five, with both powered teams and yet to score.
===Entry list===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F2008 	 	056 2008 2.4 V8 	
2 	Felipe Massa 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F2008 	 	056 2008 2.4 V8 	
3 	Nick Heidfeld 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.08 	 	P86/8 2.4 V8 	
4 	Robert Kubica 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.08 	 	P86/8 2.4 V8 	
5 	Fernando Alonso 	ING Renault F1 Team 	 	R28 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
6 	Nelson Piquet, Jr. 	ING Renault F1 Team 	 	R28 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
7 	Nico Rosberg 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW30 	 	RVX-08 2.4 V8 	
8 	Kazuki Nakajima 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW30 	 	RVX-08 2.4 V8 	
9 	David Coulthard 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB4 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
10 	Mark Webber 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB4 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
11 	Jarno Trulli 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF108 	 	RVX-08 2.4 V8 	
12 	Timo Glock 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF108 	 	RVX-08 2.4 V8 	
14 	Sébastien Bourdais 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR2B 	 	056 2006 2.4 V8 	
15 	Sebastian Vettel 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR2B 	 	056 2006 2.4 V8 	
16 	Jenson Button 	Honda Racing F1 Team 	 	RA108 	 	RA808E 2.4 V8 	
17 	Rubens Barrichello 	Honda Racing F1 Team 	 	RA108 	 	RA808E 2.4 V8 	
18 	Takuma Sato 	Super Aguri F1 Team 	 	SA08A 	 	RA808E 2.4 V8 	
19 	Anthony Davidson 	Super Aguri F1 Team 	 	SA08A 	 	RA808E 2.4 V8 	
20 	Adrian Sutil 	Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM01 	 	056 2007 2.4 V8 	
21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM01 	 	056 2007 2.4 V8 	
22 	Lewis Hamilton 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-23 	 	FO 108V 2.4 V8 	
23 	Heikki Kovalainen 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-23 	 	FO 108V 2.4 V8 	
Source:'Spain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
===Q2===
===Q3===
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	Grid
1 	1 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	1 	1:20.701 	 	3 	1:20.784 	 	1 	1:21.813 	1
2 	5 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	3 	1:21.347 	 	4 	1:20.804 	 	2 	1:21.904 	2
3 	2 	Felipe Massa 	 	 	12 	1:21.528 	 	1 	1:20.584 	 	3 	1:22.058 	3
4 	4 	Robert Kubica 	 	 	6 	1:21.423 	 	2 	1:20.597 	 	4 	1:22.065 	4
5 	22 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	4 	1:21.366 	 	7 	1:20.825 	 	5 	1:22.096 	5
6 	23 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	 	8 	1:21.430 	 	6 	1:20.817 	 	6 	1:22.231 	6
7 	10 	Mark Webber 	 	 	11 	1:21.494 	 	10 	1:20.984 	 	7 	1:22.429 	7
8 	11 	Jarno Trulli 	 	 	2 	1:21.158 	 	9 	1:20.907 	 	8 	1:22.529 	8
9 	3 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	 	9 	1:21.466 	 	5 	1:20.815 	 	9 	1:22.542 	9
10 	6 	Nelson Piquet, Jr. 	 	 	5 	1:21.409 	 	8 	1:20.894 	 	10 	1:22.699 	10
11 	17 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	 	14 	1:21.548 	 	11 	1:21.049 	 	 	 	11
12 	8 	Kazuki Nakajima 	 	 	15 	1:21.690 	 	12 	1:21.117 	 	 	 	12
13 	16 	Jenson Button 	 	 	16 	1:21.757 	 	13 	1:21.211 	 	 	 	13
14 	12 	Timo Glock 	 	 	7 	1:21.427 	 	14 	1:21.230 	 	 	 	14
15 	7 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	10 	1:21.472 	 	15 	1:21.349 	 	 	 	15
16 	14 	Sébastien Bourdais 	 	 	13 	1:21.540 	 	16 	1:21.724 	 	 	 	16
17 	9 	David Coulthard 	 	 	17 	1:21.810 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	18 	1:22.108 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
19 	21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	 	19 	1:22.516 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
20 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	 	20 	1:23.224 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
21 	19 	Anthony Davidson 	 	 	21 	1:23.318 	 	 	 	 	 	 	21
22 	18 	Takuma Sato 	 	 	22 	1:23.496 	 	 	 	 	 	 	22
Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA TELEFÓNICA 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/828/spain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 24/02/2020)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
*Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
===Grid===
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	1 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	66 	1:38:19.051 	1 	10
2 	2 	Felipe Massa 	 	66 	+3.228s 	3 	8
3 	22 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	66 	+4.187s 	5 	6
4 	4 	Robert Kubica 	 	66 	+5.694s 	4 	5
5 	10 	Mark Webber 	 	66 	+35.938s 	7 	4
6 	16 	Jenson Button 	 	66 	+53.010s 	13 	3
7 	8 	Kazuki Nakajima 	 	66 	+58.244s 	12 	2
8 	11 	Jarno Trulli 	 	66 	+59.435s 	8 	1
9 	3 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	66 	+1:03.073 	9 	
10 	21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	65 	+1 Lap 	19 	
11 	12 	Timo Glock 	 	65 	+1 Lap 	14 	
12 	9 	David Coulthard 	 	65 	+1 Lap 	17 	
13 	18 	Takuma Sato 	 	65 	+1 Lap 	22 	
Ret 	7 	Nico Rosberg 	 	41 	Engine 	15 	
Ret 	5 	Fernando Alonso 	 	34 	Engine 	2 	
Ret 	17 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	34 	Damage 	11 	
Ret 	23 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	21 	Accident 	6 	
Ret 	19 	Anthony Davidson 	 	8 	Radiator 	21 	
Ret 	14 	Sébastien Bourdais 	 	7 	Damage 	16 	
Ret 	6 	Nelson Piquet, Jr. 	 	6 	Collision 	10 	
Ret 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	0 	Collision 	20 	
Ret 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	0 	Collision 	18 	
Source:'Spain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)	Source:'Spain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/espagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 24/02/2020)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
==Milestones==
* 2500th individual entry for a car using Bridgestone tyres.[Archived] '2008 Spanish GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190409185432/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2008&gp=Spanish%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 24/02/2020) - Original
* Giancarlo Fisichella entered his 200th Grand Prix.
* 39th and final Grand Prix start for as a constructor.
* Seventeenth career victory for Kimi Räikkönen.
* scored their 204th win as a constructor and engine supplier.
==Standings==
Kimi Räikkönen used his second victory of the campaign to establish a nine point lead atop the Championship hunt in Spain, leaving Barcelona with 29 points to his name. Lewis Hamilton had moved back up into second to sit as the Finn's closest challenger, while Robert Kubica was just a point further back in third. Another point separated the Polish racer from Felipe Massa, while Nick Heidfeld completed the early season top five on sixteen.
In the Constructors Championship had moved to the head of the pack with a second one-two in a row in Spain, and left the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with 47 points. That translated to a twelve point lead over former leaders , who left Spain just a point ahead of in third. were next ahead of , while had their first points of the campaign, leaving and the outgoing squads as the only pointless teams.
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Kimi Räikkönen 	29 	
2 	Lewis Hamilton 	20 	1
3 	Robert Kubica 	19 	1
4 	Felipe Massa 	18 	2
5 	Nick Heidfeld 	16 	3
6 	Heikki Kovalainen 	14 	1
7 	Jarno Trulli 	9 	
8 	Mark Webber 	8 	2
9 	Nico Rosberg 	7 	1
10 	Fernando Alonso 	6 	1
11 	Kazuki Nakajima 	5 	
12 	Jenson Button 	3 	3
13 	Sébastien Bourdais 	2 	1
World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	47 	1
2 	 	35 	1
3 	 	34 	
4 	 	12 	
5 	 	9 	
6 	 	8 	1
7 	 	6 	1
8 	 	3 	1
9 	 	2 	1
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==See Also==
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
Category:2008 Grands Prix
Category:Spanish Grand Prix
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Formula One races in Spain