The 2008 European Grand Prix, otherwise known as the 2008 Formula 1 Telefónica Grand Prix of Europe, was the twelfth round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valenica, Spain, on 24 August 2008.[1][2] The race would see Felipe Massa sweep to victory for Ferrari, in-spite of a controversial pit-lane incident.[2]
The European Grand Prix moved to Spain for the 2008 season amid the growing popularity of Fernando Alonso and F1 in general, with the Nürburgring in Germany having lost the right to host the race.[3] In its place, the city of Valenica was chosen to host the race, constructing a street circuit around the city's harbour and centred upon the America's Cup dock.[3]
Into the race weekend itself and Massa was the first driver to master the new circuit, dancing to pole position in qualifying ahead of Championship leader Lewis Hamilton.[2] Robert Kubica was next ahead of Kimi Räikkönen in the second Ferrari, while Heikki Kovalainen edged out Sebastian Vettel to secure fifth.[2]
Massa duly aced his getaway at the start of the race to secure an early lead, while Hamilton had to fend off the attentions of Kubica to secure second.[2] Behind, Kovalainen streaked ahead of compatriot Räikkönen for fourth, while David Coulthard was spun to the back of the field.[2]
There was more drama further around the opening tour, as Spain's hero Alonso received a whack from behind from Kazuki Nakajima, destroying the back of the Renault.[2] Both cars trailed back to the pits to retire, with Alonso in a foul mood having already been fined €10,000 for crossing the pit-exit line during practice.[2]
Out front, meanwhile, Massa would escape from Hamilton in the early laps, aided by the fact that Kubica was looming large in the Brit's mirrors.[2] Kovalainen and Räikkönen were next ahead of Vettel, Jarno Trulli and Nico Rosberg, with the race quickly turning into a procession.[2]
Kubica's pace would collapse as the first stops approached, resulting in Kovalainen, Räikkönen, Vettel and Trulli to form a queue behind him.[2] Yet, it was race leader Massa who was the first to stop, diving in on lap fifteen, and despite a quick stop would end up rejoining in between the two Finns.[2]
Hamilton and Kubica stopped a lap later, with Hamilton opting for a very short stop to try and jump Massa, but the ploy failed.[2] The rest of the stops for the lead group were conducted over the following few laps, leaving Massa still leading from Hamilton, Kubica in third with a new front wing, and Kovalainen still ahead of Räikkönen.[2]
The second stint saw Massa extend his advantage over Hamilton to a comfortable margin, although a mistake by his pitcrew put his entire race into jeopardy.[2] Indeed, the Ferrari crew managed to release Massa right into the path of Adrian Sutil, resulting in the pair running side-by-side through the pit-exit.[2] The officials immediately announced that the incident was under investigation, although the Brazilian racer still had a healthy lead over Hamilton.[2]
Indeed, Massa would spend the rest of the afternoon wondering what his punishment would be, as he cruised through the final stint to secure victory ahead of Hamilton.[2] Kubica duly completed the podium after fending off a late charge from Kovalainen, while Trulli, Vettel, Timo Glock and Rosberg secured the remaining points.[2]
After the race it was announced that Ferrari would be reprimanded for Massa's unsafe release, while a second incident at Räikkönen's second stop, which saw the Finn released with the pit-hose still attached, saw them fined €10,000.[4] The incident left a Ferrari mechanic Pietro Timpini with a minor fractures.
Background[]
Lewis Hamilton saw his Championship lead grow by a single point as a result of the Hungarian Grand Prix, leaving the Hungaroring with a five point advantage. Kimi Räikkönen had moved into second to be the Brit's closest challenger, with Felipe Massa's engine failure potentially crucial to the outcome of the Championship as he slipped eight behind. Elsewhere, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld retained their top five status, although they had been reeled in by race winner Heikki Kovalainen.
In the Constructors Championship it was Ferrari who continued to lead the way, although their advantage at the head of the field had been reduced. Indeed, McLaren-Mercedes had moved to within striking distance after Kovalainen's fortunate Hungaroring triumph, leaving Hungary just eleven off the lead. Behind, BMW Sauber had made way for the Anglo-German alliance and slipped to third, while Renault had moved ahead of their customers Red Bull-Renault to secure fifth.
Entry list[]
The full entry list for the 2008 European Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview[]
Qualifying[]
Q1[]
Q2[]
Q3[]
Qualifying Results[]
The full qualifying results for the 2008 European Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Grid | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Time | Pos. | Time | Pos. | Time | ||||||||
| 1 | 2 |  Felipe Massa
|
 Ferrari
|
3 | 1:38.176 | 2 | 1:37.859 | 1 | 1:38.989 | 1 | |||
| 2 | 22 |  Lewis Hamilton
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
6 | 1:38.464 | 5 | 1:37.954 | 2 | 1:39.199 | 2 | |||
| 3 | 4 |  Robert Kubica
|
 BMW Sauber
|
5 | 1:38.347 | 6 | 1:38.050 | 3 | 1:39.392 | 3 | |||
| 4 | 1 |  Kimi Räikkönen
|
Ferrari
|
13 | 1:38.703 | 8 | 1:38.229 | 4 | 1:39.488 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
11 | 1:38.656 | 7 | 1:38.120 | 5 | 1:39.937 | 5 | |||
| 6 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel
|
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
|
2 | 1:38.141 | 1 | 1:37.842 | 6 | 1:40.142 | 6 | |||
| 7 | 11 | Jarno Trulli
|
 Toyota
|
1 | 1:37.948 | 4 | 1:37.928 | 7 | 1:40.309 | 7 | |||
| 8 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld
|
BMW Sauber
|
14 | 1:38.738 | 3 | 1:37.859 | 8 | 1:40.631 | 8 | |||
| 9 | 7 | Nico Rosberg
|
Williams-Toyota
|
9 | 1:38.595 | 9 | 1:38.336 | 9 | 1:40.721 | 9 | |||
| 10 | 14 |  Sébastien Bourdais
|
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
|
10 | 1:38.622 | 10 | 1:38.417 | 10 | 1:40.750 | 10 | |||
| 11 | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima
|
Williams-Toyota
|
12 | 1:38.667 | 11 | 1:38.428 | 11 | |||||
| 12 | 5 |  Fernando Alonso
|
Renault
|
4 | 1:38.268 | 12 | 1:38.435 | 12 | |||||
| 13 | 12 | Timo Glock
|
Toyota
|
7 | 1:38.532 | 13 | 1:38.499 | 13 | |||||
| 14 | 10 |  Mark Webber
|
 Red Bull-Renault
|
8 | 1:38.559 | 14 | 1:38.515 | 14 | |||||
| 15 | 6 | Nelson Piquet, Jr.
|
Renault
|
15 | 1:38.787 | 15 | 1:38.744 | 15 | |||||
| 16 | 16 | Jenson Button
|
Honda
|
16 | 1:38.880 | 16 | |||||||
| 17 | 9 | David Coulthard
|
Red Bull-Renault
|
17 | 1:39.235 | 17 | |||||||
| 18 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
 Force India-Ferrari
|
18 | 1:39.268 | 18 | |||||||
| 19 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Honda
|
19 | 1:39.811 | 19 | |||||||
| 20 | 20 | Adrian Sutil
|
Force India-Ferrari
|
20 | 1:39.943 | 20 | |||||||
| Source:[6] | |||||||||||||
- 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[]
| Pos. | Pos. | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 1 | ______________ | 1 |
| 2 | Felipe Massa | |
| Lewis Hamilton | ______________ | |
| Row 2 | ______________ | 3 |
| 4 | Robert Kubica | |
| Kimi Räikkönen | ______________ | |
| Row 3 | ______________ | 5 |
| 6 | Heikki Kovalainen | |
| Sebastian Vettel | ______________ | |
| Row 4 | ______________ | 7 |
| 8 | Jarno Trulli | |
| Nick Heidfeld | ______________ | |
| Row 5 | ______________ | 9 |
| 10 | Nico Rosberg | |
| Sébastien Bourdais | ______________ | |
| Row 6 | ______________ | 11 |
| 12 | Kazuki Nakajima | |
| Fernando Alonso | ______________ | |
| Row 7 | ______________ | 13 |
| 14 | Timo Glock | |
| Mark Webber | ______________ | |
| Row 8 | ______________ | 15 |
| 16 | Nelson Piquet, Jr. | |
| Jenson Button | ______________ | |
| Row 9 | ______________ | 17 |
| 18 | David Coulthard | |
| Giancarlo Fisichella | ______________ | |
| Row 10 | ______________ | 19 |
| 20 | ||
| ______________ |
- Barrichello and Sutil both started the race from the pitlane for changing their gearboxes.[6]
Race[]
Report[]
To add to Ferrari's pit stop blunders, Kimi Räikkönen left his pit box with his car's fuel hose still attached. The incident left a Ferrari mechanic Pietro Timpini with a minor fractures.
Results[]
The full results for the 2008 European Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Felipe Massa
|
Ferrari
|
57 | 1:35:32.339 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 22 | Lewis Hamilton
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
57 | +5.611s | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | 4 | Robert Kubica
|
BMW Sauber
|
57 | +37.353s | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
57 | +39.703s | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | 11 | Jarno Trulli
|
Toyota
|
57 | +50.684s | 7 | 4 |
| 6 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel
|
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
|
57 | +52.625s | 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 12 | Timo Glock
|
Toyota
|
57 | +1:07.990 | 13 | 2 |
| 8 | 7 | Nico Rosberg
|
Williams-Toyota
|
57 | +1:11.457 | 9 | 1 |
| 9 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld
|
BMW Sauber
|
57 | +1:22.177 | 8 | |
| 10 | 14 | Sébastien Bourdais
|
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
|
57 | +1:29.794 | 10 | |
| 11 | 6 | Nelson Piquet, Jr.
|
Renault
|
57 | +1:32.717 | 15 | |
| 12 | 10 | Mark Webber
|
Red Bull-Renault
|
56 | +1 Lap | 14 | |
| 13 | 16 | Jenson Button
|
Honda
|
56 | +1 Lap | 16 | |
| 14 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
Force India-Ferrari
|
56 | +1 Lap | 18 | |
| 15 | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima
|
Williams-Toyota
|
56 | +1 Lap | 11 | |
| 16 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Honda
|
56 | +1 Lap | PL | |
| 17 | 9 | David Coulthard
|
Red Bull-Renault
|
56 | +1 Lap | 17 | |
| Ret | 1 | Kimi Räikkönen
|
Ferrari
|
45 | Engine | 4 | |
| Ret | 20 | Adrian Sutil
|
Force India-Ferrari
|
41 | Accident | PL | |
| Ret | 5 | Fernando Alonso
|
Renault
|
0 | Collision | 12 | |
| Source:[7] | |||||||
- T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
Milestones[]
- 200th Grand Prix appearance for Bridgestone as a tyre supplier.[2]
- Ninth career victory for Felipe Massa.[1]
- This was also the 75th win for a driver listed with #2 as their race number.[8]
- Ferrari secured their 207th win as a constructor and engine supplier.[1]
- Lewis Hamilton recorded the 190th podium finish for a Mercedes engine.[1]
Standings[]
Victory for Felipe Massa ensured that the Brazilian racer moved back up to second in the Championship hunt, and reduced the gap to title leader Lewis Hamilton to six points. Yet, Hamilton's real-time lead had effectively grown by a point as Massa had to overhaul Kimi Räikkönen to secure second, with the Finn himself having slipped thirteen points off the lead in third. Furthermore, Räikkönen was just two points ahead of Robert Kubica in fourth, while Heikki Kovalainen had moved back into the top five in fifth.
In the Constructors Championship Ferrari had retained their grip on the head of the title charge, although their advantage had been cut to just eight points. Indeed, McLaren-Mercedes were continuing to chip away at the Scuderia's lead, and had established a fair margin of seventeen points over BMW Sauber. Behind Toyota had moved ten clear of Renault to enhance their hold on fourth, while Force India-Ferrari were still the Championship's only non-scorers.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
See Also[]
|
|
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 '12. Europe 2008', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/europe.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 'Europe 2008: Massa stakes title claim in Valencia.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 24/08/2008), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/63280/1/europe-2008-massa-stakes-title-claim-in-valencia, (Accessed 18/03/2020)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 [Archived] 'Valencia street race for 2008', formula1.com, (FOA, 10/05/2007), https://web.archive.org/web/20070513232445/http://www.formula1.com/news/6058.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020) - Original
- ↑ [Archived] 'Europe: Ferrari fined, Massa keeps win', manipef1.com, (Manipe F1, 24/08/2008), https://web.archive.org/web/20090823082049/http://www.manipef1.com/news/articles/7675/, (Accessed 18/03/2020) - Original
- ↑ 'Europe 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/europe/engages.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 '2008 FORMULA 1 TELEFÓNICA GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/836/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 18/03/2020)
- ↑ 'Europe 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/europe/classement.aspx, (Accessed 18/03/2020)
- ↑ [Archived] '2008 European GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190410004757/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2008&gp=European%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 18/03/2020) - Original
| V T E |  European Grand Prix
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Circuits | Brands Hatch (1983, 1985), Nürburgring (1984, 1995–1996, 1999–2007), Donington (1993), Jerez (1994, 1997), Valencia (2008–2012), Baku (2016) | 
|
| Races | 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969–1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978–1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986–1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013–2015 • 2016 | |
| Non-Championship Races | 1923 • 1924 • 1925 • 1926 • 1927 • 1928 • 1929 • 1930 • 1931–1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949 |
| v·d·e | Nominate this page for Featured Article |