2008 British Grand Prix

The 2008 British Grand Prix, otherwise known as the LXI Santander British Grand Prix, was the ninth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, UK, on 6 July 2008.'9. Britain 2008', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)'Britain 2008: Lewis walks on water for home glory.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 06/07/2008), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/62794/1/britain-2008-lewis-walks-on-water-for-home-glory, (Accessed 26/02/2020) The race would see Lewis Hamilton claim what has been widely regarded as his greatest F1 victory, dominating the Grand Prix in changeable conditions.
Qualifying would see Hamilton's teammate Heikki Kovalainen claim his maiden pole position, beating a low-fuelled Mark Webber of . Kimi Räikkönen then claimed third ahead of Hamilton, while Championship leader Felipe Massa would start from ninth.
Heavy rain on race morning left the Silverstone Circuit soaked, although as the race start approached the rain cleared and the circuit began to dry. That meant that the entire field started on intermediate tyres, while Nico Rosberg decided to start in the pitlane after making several setup changes to compensate for the conditions.
The top three on the grid all struggled to get off the line, allowing Hamilton to charge past Räikkönen and Webber to challenge Kovalainen for the lead. The two McLarens touched wheels in Copse before Kovalainen emerged with the lead ahead of Hamitlon, while Räikkönen muscled his way past Webber for third.
Indeed, qualifying would be as good as it got for Webber, for the Australian racer would spin at the start of the Hangar Straight, tumbling to the back of the field. Massa also got caught out by the conditions and spun at Bridge, while David Coulthard and Sebastian Vettel collided and hence ended up in the gravel.
The top three pulled clear during the early stages, as Massa spun for a second time while Fernando Alonso moved past Nelson Piquet, Jr. and Nick Heidfeld. Kovalainen would lead through until lap five, when Hamilton dived inside his teammate into Stowe, with the Finn managing to prevent Räikkönen following the Brit through.
With that Hamilton was away, lapping over a second a lap quicker than his teammate to build a six second lead by lap ten. Kovalainen, meanwhile, had only just established himself in second when he spun, allowing Räikkönen through to entertain hopes of challenging Hamilton.
The Ferrari emerged as the stronger car as a dry line began to form, resulting in the #1 car closing in on the #22 McLaren as the first stint came to its conclusion. Räikkönen was the first to stop and stayed on the same set of inters, Ferrari gambling on the track continuing to dry at the same rate, while McLaren swapped Hamilton onto a fresh set of intermediates a lap later.
Moments after Hamilton exited the pits the rain returned, allowing the Brit to instantly establish an eight second lead over the Ferrari. Räikkönen was instead caught by Kovalainen and Heidfeld, with the passing both Finns as they focused on each other fighting for second.
Räikkönen abandoned the fight with Kovalainen on lap 30 as he stopped for fresh tyres, with the rain continuing to fall. Kovalainen followed him in a few laps later having been passed by Robert Kubica, while the two s became the first drivers to stop for extreme wets, with Jenson Button queuing behind Rubens Barrichello.
Despite the worsening conditions Hamilton would opt to take a fresh set of inters at his second stop, having established a thirty second lead over Heidfeld. That appeared to have been a mistake at the Brit had suffered a spin shortly before his stop, while Barrichello was running nine seconds a lap quicker as he climbed through the midfield.
Indeed, Barrichello would get as high as second with moves on Heidfeld and Jarno Trulli, Kubica having retired after a spin into the gravel, before being forced to make a quick "splash and dash" for fuel late on. That dropped him to third, while a late stop for Trulli left Kovalainen in fourth, only for the #23 McLaren to spin and let Alonso and Räikkönen through.
Out front, meanwhile, Hamilton eased clear in the final stint to claim victory by over a minute, the largest winning margin since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix. Heidfeld was second ahead of Barrichello, claiming his first podium since leaving Ferrari, with Räikkönen and Kovalainen ahead of Alonso. Trulli and Kazuki Nakajima secured the remaining points.
==Background==
Victory for Felipe Massa carried the Brazilian racer to the top of the Championship hunt again, leaving Magny-Cours with a two point advantage. Robert Kubica had made way for the Brazilian but remained a title contender with 46 points, while Kimi Räikkönen had moved up to third with 43. Lewis Hamilton was next up in fourth, ten points behind Massa, while Nick Heidfeld was a further ten behind in fifth.
In the Constructors Championship had picked up their third one-two to enhance their Championship lead, moving onto 91 points for the campaign. had slipped seventeen points behind in second, while they held a sixteen point margin over in third. A 34 point gap then split McLaren from in fourth, with just a point off the Austrian entry in fifth.
===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:'Britain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)
==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 	23 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	 	1 	1:19.957 	 	2 	1:19.597 	 	1 	1:21.049 	1
2 	10 	Mark Webber 	 	 	10 	1:20.982 	 	3 	1:19.710 	 	2 	1:21.554 	2
3 	1 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	4 	1:20.370 	 	6 	1:19.971 	 	3 	1:21.706 	3
4 	22 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	2 	1:20.288 	 	1 	1:19.537 	 	4 	1:21.835 	4
5 	3 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	 	12 	1:21.022 	 	5 	1:19.802 	 	5 	1:21.873 	5
6 	5 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	11 	1:20.998 	 	7 	1:19.992 	 	6 	1:22.029 	6
7 	6 	Nelson Piquet, Jr. 	 	 	8 	1:20.818 	 	10 	1:20.115 	 	7 	1:22.491 	7
8 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	3 	1:20.318 	 	9 	1:20.109 	 	8 	1:23.251 	8
9 	2 	Felipe Massa 	 	 	7 	1:20.676 	 	8 	1:20.086 	 	9 	1:23.305 	9
10 	4 	Robert Kubica 	 	 	5 	1:20.444 	 	4 	1:19.788 	 	NC 	— 	10
11 	9 	David Coulthard 	 	 	14 	1:21.224 	 	11 	1:20.174 	 	 	 	11
12 	12 	Timo Glock 	 	 	9 	1:20.893 	 	12 	1:20.274 	 	 	 	12
13 	14 	Sébastien Bourdais 	 	 	6 	1:20.584 	 	13 	1:20.531 	 	 	 	13
14 	11 	Jarno Trulli 	 	 	13 	1:21.145 	 	14 	1:20.601 	 	 	 	14
15 	8 	Kazuki Nakajima 	 	 	15 	1:21.407 	 	15 	1:21.112 	 	 	 	15
16 	17 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	 	16 	1:21.512 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16
17 	16 	Jenson Button 	 	 	17 	1:21.631 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	7 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	18 	1:21.668 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
19 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	 	19 	1:21.786 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
20 	21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	 	20 	1:21.885 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/833/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 26/02/2020)
*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===
** Rosberg started from the pit lane after a number of set-up changes.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	22 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	60 	1:39:09.440 	4 	10
2 	3 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	60 	+1:08.577 	5 	8
3 	17 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	60 	+1:22.273 	16 	6
4 	1 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	3 	5
5 	23 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	1 	4
6 	5 	Fernando Alonso 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	6 	3
7 	11 	Jarno Trulli 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	14 	2
8 	8 	Kazuki Nakajima 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	15 	1
9 	7 	Nico Rosberg 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	20 	
10 	10 	Mark Webber 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	2 	
11 	14 	Sébastien Bourdais 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	13 	
12 	12 	Timo Glock 	 	59 	+1 Lap 	12 	
13 	2 	Felipe Massa 	 	58 	+2 Laps 	9 	
Ret 	4 	Robert Kubica 	 	39 	Spin 	10 	
Ret 	16 	Jenson Button 	 	38 	Accident 	17 	
Ret 	6 	Nelson Piquet, Jr. 	 	35 	Spin 	7 	
Ret 	21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	26 	Spin 	19 	
Ret 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	10 	Spin 	18 	
Ret 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	0 	Collision 	8 	
Ret 	9 	David Coulthard 	 	0 	Collision 	11 	
Source:'Britain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)	Source:'Britain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 26/02/2020)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
==Milestones==
* Heikki Kovalainen secured his first and only pole position.
* Seventh career victory for Lewis Hamilton.
* claimed their 159th win as a constructor.
** 64th win for as an engine supplier.
** 100th victory for Mobil as a lubricant supplier.[Archived] '2008 British GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190409235003/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2008&gp=British%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 26/02/2020) - Original
* Nick Heidfeld secured his tenth podium finish.
** This was also the 80th podium finish for as an engine supplier.
* Rubens Barrichello claimed his first podium finish since the 2005 United States Grand Prix.
** secured their ninth and final podium finish as a constructor.
==Standings==
Lewis Hamilton picked up his third win of the campaign on home soil to claim 48 points at the halfway point in the season, as well as the Championship lead. However, both Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen had scored 48 points in the opening three rounds of the Championship, with Hamilton only deemed ahead on countback. Furthermore, Robert Kubica was just two behind in fourth to make it a four-horse race heading into the second half of the season, while Nick Heidfeld was twelve off the lead in fifth.
In the Constructors Championship it was who led the charge heading into the second half of the season, leaving the British Grand Prix with 96 points. would sit in second at the start of the second phase of the campaign, fourteen off the lead, with a ten point gap between themselves and in third. were next having overtaken in the UK, with only and the withdrawn squads having failed to score in the first half of the season.
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Lewis Hamilton 	48 	3
2 	Felipe Massa 	48 	1
3 	Kimi Räikkönen 	48 	
4 	Robert Kubica 	46 	2
5 	Nick Heidfeld 	36 	
6 	Heikki Kovalainen 	24 	
7 	Jarno Trulli 	20 	
8 	Mark Webber 	18 	
9 	Fernando Alonso 	13 	
10 	Rubens Barrichello 	11 	5
11 	Nico Rosberg 	8 	1
12 	Kazuki Nakajima 	8 	1
13 	David Coulthard 	6 	1
14 	Timo Glock 	5 	1
15 	Sebastian Vettel 	5 	1
16 	Jenson Button 	3 	
17 	Nelson Piquet, Jr. 	2 	
18 	Sébastien Bourdais 	2 	
World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	96 	
2 	 	82 	
3 	 	72 	
4 	 	25 	1
5 	 	24 	1
6 	 	16 	
7 	 	15 	
8 	 	14 	
9 	 	7 	
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2008 Grands Prix
Category:Formula One races in the United Kingdom
Category:British Grand Prix