2008 Singapore Grand Prix

The 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, formally known as the I SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was the fifteenth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore on 28 September 2008.'15. Singapore 2008', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)'Singapore 2008: Alonso wins 'lost' race.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 28/09/2008), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/63742/1/singapore-2008-alonso-wins-lost-race, (Accessed 18/03/2020) The race, which was the 800th Grand Prix to be staged as well as the first to be held at night, would be won by Fernando Alonso, although it would be overshadowed by the Crashgate scandal.'Renault blames Briatore & Symonds', news.bbc.co.uk, (British Broadcasting Company, 17/09/2009), http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8261004.stm, (Accessed 18/03/2020)
Indeed, Alonso had qualified a lowly fifteenth for the Singapore Grand Prix, as title pretender Felipe Massa claimed pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Räikkönen would start from third ahead of Robert Kubica, while race winner in Italy Sebastian Vettel claimed an impressive seventh.
The start of the race saw Massa ease ahead of Hamilton and teammate Räikkönen to secure an early lead, as behind Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen clashed. That dumped Kovalainen back to sixth with minor front wing damage, as behind Nick Heidfeld and Alonso were forced to cut the first corner due to the incident ahead of them.
The early stages saw the race develop into a procession, with Massa escaping from Hamilton and Räikkönen, while Jarno Trulli formed a road-block in seventh. Indeed, the "Trulli Train" would be the main source of entertainment in the early stages, with Nico Rosberg eventually forcing his way through, with Kazuki Nakajima and Alonso ultimately managing to follow him through.
A few laps later and Alonso was in the pits for his first stop, taking a heavy fuel load and the harder Bridgestone tyres. However, as the Spaniard exited the pits his teammate Nelson Piquet, Jr. would suffer what appeared to be a rather innocuous crash at turn seventeen, triggering a Safety Car.
The 2008 F1 rulebook prevented drivers from instantly pitting when a SC was called, meaning that Alonso was able to tag onto the back of the field, and duly emerged in the lead pack when everyone else was able to stop. In the confusion released Massa right into the path of Adrian Sutil and with his fuel hose still attached, forcing the Brazilian to stop at the end of the pits and wait for their assistance.
The resulting shuffle had left Rosberg at the head of the field ahead of Trulli, while Alonso was up to fifth behind Kubica when the race resumed. Rosberg, on a light fuel load, duly broke clear as Trulli again held up those behind, before Rosberg and Kubica were removed from contention after their pitstops were found to have been conducted while the pitlane was closed.
Trulli moved into the lead once Rosberg served his penalty, and once he pitted for his only stop it was Alonso who hit the head of the field. The Spaniard duly eased clear before making his second stop of the night on lap 42, rejoining without losing the lead to a then second placed David Coulthard.
A late Safety Car was called upon when Sutil clouted the wall at turn eighteen, having seen Massa do it a few moments earlier albeit with less dramatic consequences. Regardless, Alonso controlled the restart beautifully to claim victory, with Rosberg and Hamilton completing the podium.
Almost a year after the race investigations into the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix were announced by the FIA, after comments from Piquet's management team indicated that he had been instructed to crash by senior Renault team members. The FIA World Motorsport Council duly delivered their ruling on 21 September 2009 after Renault complied, resulting in a five year ban from competition for Pat Symonds, and a life-time ban for Flavio Briatore. Piquet was granted immunity for his co-operation, while Alonso and Renault were allowed to keep the victory and World Championship points.
==Background==
The battle atop the Championship had intensified once again as a result of the Italian Grand Prix, with just a point separating the top two in the Championship with four rounds to go. Lewis Hamilton had just held onto the lead after his recovery drive to seventh in the race, although Felipe Massa would leave Monza just a point off the Brit in second. Behind, Robert Kubica had moved fourteen points off the lead as the dark horse for the title ahead of Kimi Räikkönen, while Nick Heidfeld had retained fifth.
In the Constructors Championship left their home race with their lead having been cut in two, holding a five point advantage after they moved their tally to 134 points. Their closest challengers were , who moved onto 129 points after Heikki Kovalainen scored a podium finish, while had also gained ground in third. Next up were , remaining ahead of on countback, while were up to sixth after their maiden triumph on home soil.
===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 	 	STR3 	 	056 2007 2.4 V8 	
15 	Sebastian Vettel 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR3 	 	056 2007 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 	
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:'Singapore 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/engages.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/engages.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/engages.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/engages.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/engages.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/engages.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/engages.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/engages.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)
==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 	2 	Felipe Massa 	 	 	4 	1:44.519 	 	1 	1:44.014 	 	1 	1:44.801 	1
2 	22 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	3 	1:44.501 	 	10 	1:44.932 	 	2 	1:45.465 	2
3 	1 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	1 	1:44.282 	 	3 	1:44.232 	 	3 	1:45.617 	3
4 	4 	Robert Kubica 	 	 	5 	1:44.740 	 	7 	1:44.519 	 	4 	1:45.779 	4
5 	23 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	 	2 	1:44.311 	 	2 	1:44.207 	 	5 	1:45.873 	5
6* 	3 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	 	12 	1:45.548 	 	8 	1:44.520 	 	6 	1:45.964 	9
7 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	7 	1:45.042 	 	4 	1:44.261 	 	7 	1:46.244 	6
8 	12 	Timo Glock 	 	 	10 	1:45.184 	 	6 	1:44.441 	 	8 	1:46.328 	7
9 	7 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	8 	1:45.103 	 	5 	1:44.429 	 	9 	1:46.611 	8
10 	8 	Kazuki Nakajima 	 	 	9 	1:45.127 	 	9 	1:44.826 	 	10 	1:47.547 	10
11 	11 	Jarno Trulli 	 	 	13 	1:45.642 	 	11 	1:45.038 	 	 	 	11
12 	16 	Jenson Button 	 	 	14 	1:45.660 	 	12 	1:45.133 	 	 	 	12
13 	10 	Mark Webber 	 	 	11 	1:45.493 	 	13 	1:45.212 	 	 	 	13
14 	9 	David Coulthard 	 	 	15 	1:46.028 	 	14 	1:45.298 	 	 	 	14
15 	5 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	6 	1:44.971 	 	NC 	— 	 	 	 	15
16 	6 	Nelson Piquet, Jr. 	 	 	16 	1:46.037 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16
17 	14 	Sébastien Bourdais 	 	 	17 	1:46.389 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	17 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	 	18 	1:46.583 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
19 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	 	19 	1:47.940 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
20 	21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	 	NC 	— 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2008), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/839/singapore/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)
*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.
** Heidfeld was handed a three place grid penalty for impeding Barrichello during Q1.
===Grid===
** Fisichella started the race from the pitlane.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	5 	Fernando Alonso 	 	61 	1:57:16.304 	15 	10
2 	7 	Nico Rosberg 	 	61 	+ 2.957s 	8 	8
3 	22 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	61 	+ 5.917s 	2 	6
4 	12 	Timo Glock 	 	61 	+ 8.155s 	7 	5
5 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	61 	+ 10.268s 	6 	4
6 	3 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	61 	+ 11.101s 	9 	3
7 	9 	David Coulthard 	 	61 	+ 16.387s 	14 	2
8 	8 	Kazuki Nakajima 	 	61 	+ 18.489s 	10 	1
9 	16 	Jenson Button 	 	61 	+ 19.885s 	12 	
10 	23 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	61 	+ 26.902s 	5 	
11 	4 	Robert Kubica 	 	61 	+ 27.975s 	4 	
12 	14 	Sébastien Bourdais 	 	61 	+ 29.432s 	17 	
13 	2 	Felipe Massa 	 	61 	+ 35.170s 	1 	
14 	21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	61 	+ 43.571s 	PL 	
15* 	1 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	57 	Accident 	3 	
Ret 	11 	Jarno Trulli 	 	50 	Hydraulics 	11 	
Ret 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	49 	Accident 	19 	
Ret 	10 	Mark Webber 	 	29 	Transmission 	13 	
Ret 	17 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	14 	Engine 	18 	
Ret 	6 	Nelson Piquet, Jr. 	 	13 	Accident 	16 	
Source:'Singapore 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/classement.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/classement.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/classement.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/classement.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/classement.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/classement.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/classement.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)	Source:'Singapore 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/singapour/classement.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
** Räikkönen was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
==Milestones==
* 800th Formula One World Championship race to be staged.
* First Singapore Grand Prix to be staged.
** Also the first World Championship Grand Prix to be held during the night.
* 250th Grand Prix appearance for as an engine supplier.
* 50th race for as a constructor.
* made their 50th Grand Prix appearance.
* Jenson Button made his 150th Grand Prix start.
* Nico Rosberg secured his 50th Grand Prix start.
* Twentieth career victory for Fernando Alonso.
** Also Alonso's 50th career podium finish.
* secured their 34th win as a constructor.
** 114th win for Renault as an engine supplier.
==Standings==
Lewis Hamilton managed to increase his Championship lead as a result of the mid-race chaos in the Singapore Grand Prix, leaving the city-state seven points clear of his closest challenger. Indeed, Felipe Massa had lost ground in the title hunt after his team's pit-lane mistakes, although he was still a safety thirteen point clear of third placed Robert Kubica. Behind, Kimi Räikkönen was running out of time to make a title bid in fourth, while Nick Heidfeld had retained his top five status.
There was a change in the Constructors Championship as hit the top of the title hunt, leaving Singapore with 135 points. With failing to score the British squad had established a one point lead over the Scuderia, with those two still the main protagonists for the title. were still in contention in third but were fifteen points off the lead, while had moved into fourth ahead of as a result of Fernando Alonso's controversial triumph.
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Lewis Hamilton 	84 	
2 	Felipe Massa 	77 	
3 	Robert Kubica 	64 	
4 	Kimi Räikkönen 	57 	
5 	Nick Heidfeld 	56 	
6 	Heikki Kovalainen 	51 	
7 	Fernando Alonso 	38 	
8 	Sebastian Vettel 	27 	1
9 	Jarno Trulli 	26 	1
10 	Timo Glock 	20 	1
11 	Mark Webber 	20 	1
12 	Nico Rosberg 	17 	2
13 	Nelson Piquet, Jr. 	13 	1
14 	Rubens Barrichello 	11 	1
15 	Kazuki Nakajima 	9 	
16 	David Coulthard 	8 	
17 	Sébastien Bourdais 	4 	
18 	Jenson Button 	3 	
World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	135 	1
2 	 	134 	1
3 	 	120 	
4 	 	51 	1
5 	 	46 	1
6 	 	31 	
7 	 	28 	
8 	 	26 	
9 	 	14 	
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
Category:2008 Grands Prix
Category:Singapore Grand Prix
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Formula One races in Singapore