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The 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix, otherwise formally known as the Formula 1 ING Magyar Nagydíj 2008, was the eleventh round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship staged at the Hungaroring near Budapest, Hungary, on 3 August 2008.[1][2] The race, which was heralded by the creation of the Formula One Teams Association, would see Heikki Kovalainen sweep to his first and only Grand Prix victory, becoming F1's 100th different race winner.[2]

The creation of FOTA was the result of increasing tensions between the Teams and F1's two main authorities, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, and Formula One Management.[3] To add more weight to their arguments the teams, led by rivals McLaren and Ferrari, particularly when the Championship were discussing changes to technical regulations.[3]

Qualifying for the race itself would see Championship leader Lewis Hamilton secure pole position, with McLaren-Mercedes teammate Kovalainen completing the front row.[2] Title pretender Felipe Massa would line up in third ahead of Robert Kubica, while Kimi Räikkönen could only muster sixth behind Timo Glock.[2]

The star of the start of the race, however, would be Massa, who shot between the two McLarens off the grid, before lunging around the outside of Hamilton to secure the lead into turn one.[2] Kovalainen hence slipped to third ahead of Glock, who had leapt past Kubica, while Fernando Alonso managed to squeeze ahead of Räikkönen.[2]

The early stages of the race saw Massa and Hamilton ease clear, leaving Kovalainen in a lonely third as Glock had to fend off the attentions of Kubica.[2] Elsewhere, Nick Heidfeld was causing a queue in the midfield with a high fuel load, resulting in the two Hondas fighting amongst themselves in the #3 BMW Sauber's wake.[2]

As the race wore on and track temperatures increased Massa would slowly escape from Hamilton, aided by the fact that the Ferrari was better at preserving its tyres.[2] Yet, the Brazilian would ultimately pit earlier than the Brit having establishing a three second lead, with Kubica and Mark Webber joining him in the pits.[2]

Hamilton stopped a lap later and rejoined behind the Brazilian, while Kovalainen remained out for an additional two and gained ground on both.[2] Nelson Piquet, Jr. then briefly led until he stopped on lap 25, the last of those on a two-stop, and duly shot ahead of Kubica in the overall order.[2]

Massa would continue to ease clear from Hamilton during the second stint, prompting Hamilton to push harder than his tyres could cope with in the high heat.[2] As a result the Brit's front-left Bridgestone failed on lap 41 to send the Brit limping back to the pitlane, and hence left Massa with a comfortable 23 second margin over Kovalainen in second.[2]

Massa eased his pace before making his second and final stop, with Kovalainen leading for four laps before making his stop.[2] However, there was to be one late twist just three laps from the chequered flag, as Massa's engine blew apart to leave the Brazilian on the sidelines.[2]

Kovalainen duly swept past to claim victory, while Glock had a strong second stint to secure second, his maiden podium finish.[2] Räikkönen claimed fastest lap en-route to third, while Hamilton rallied back to fifth behind Alonso, who had fended off the Brit's attentions in the closing stages.[2]

Background[]

Lewis Hamilton moved clear atop the Championship with victory in Germany, having eked out a four point lead at the head of the hunt. Felipe Massa had retained his second place status on 54 points, while Kimi Räikkönen had slipped a further three behind, having been tied with Massa and Hamilton at the start of the weekend. Robert Kubica, meanwhile, had slipped ten behind, while Nick Heidfeld was seven off of his Polish teammate.

In the Constructors Championship it was still Ferrari who led the charge, leaving Germany with 105 points and the first team to break into triple figures for the campaign. Behind, BMW Sauber had left their home race still in second place, although the Anglo-German alliance of McLaren-Mercedes had closed to within three points of the Swiss-German team. Toyota were head of the next batch of teams, 61 points behind McLaren, with Red Bull-Renault and Renault just one and two points behind the Japanese manufacturer.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2008 Ferrari 056 2008 2.4 V8 B
2 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2008 Ferrari 056 2008 2.4 V8 B
3 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.08 BMW P86/8 2.4 V8 B
4 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.08 BMW P86/8 2.4 V8 B
5 Spain Fernando Alonso France ING Renault F1 Team Renault R28 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
6 Brazil Nelson Piquet, Jr. France ING Renault F1 Team Renault R28 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
7 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams FW30 Toyota RVX-08 2.4 V8 B
8 Japan Kazuki Nakajima United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams FW30 Toyota RVX-08 2.4 V8 B
9 United Kingdom David Coulthard Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB4 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
10 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB4 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
11 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF108 Toyota RVX-08 2.4 V8 B
12 Germany Timo Glock Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF108 Toyota RVX-08 2.4 V8 B
14 France Sébastien Bourdais Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR3 Ferrari 056 2007 2.4 V8 B
15 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR3 Ferrari 056 2007 2.4 V8 B
16 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda Racing F1 Team Honda RA108 Honda RA808E 2.4 V8 B
17 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda Racing F1 Team Honda RA108 Honda RA808E 2.4 V8 B
20 Germany Adrian Sutil India Force India F1 Team Force India VJM01 Ferrari 056 2007 2.4 V8 B
21 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella India Force India F1 Team Force India VJM01 Ferrari 056 2007 2.4 V8 B
22 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-23 Mercedes FO 108V 2.4 V8 B
23 Finland Heikki Kovalainen United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-23 Mercedes FO 108V 2.4 V8 B
Source:[4]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Q1[]

Q2[]

Q3[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
Pos. Time Pos. Time Pos. Time
1 22 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1 1:19.376 3 1:19.473 1 1:20.899 1
2 23 Finland Heikki Kovalainen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 4 1:19.945 4 1:19.480 2 1:21.140 2
3 2 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 2 1:19.578 1 1:19.068 3 1:21.191 3
4 4 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber 7 1:20.053 7 1:19.776 4 1:21.281 4
5 12 Germany Timo Glock Japan Toyota 5 1:19.980 2 1:19.246 5 1:21.326 5
6 1 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 6 1:20.006 6 1:19.546 6 1:21.516 6
7 5 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 10 1:20.229 8 1:19.816 7 1:21.698 7
8 10 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull-Renault 8 1:20.073 9 1:20.046 8 1:21.732 8
9 11 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 3 1:19.942 5 1:19.486 9 1:21.767 9
10 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet, Jr. France Renault 12 1:20.583 10 1:20.131 10 1:22.371 10
11 15 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 9 1:20.157 11 1:20.144 11
12 16 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 15 1:20.888 12 1:20.332 12
13 9 United Kingdom David Coulthard Austria Red Bull-Renault 11 1:20.505 13 1:20.502 13
14* 14 France Sébastien Bourdais Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 13 1:20.640 14 1:20.963 19
15 7 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 14 1:20.748 NC 14
16 3 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 16 1:21.045 15
17 17 Japan Kazuki Nakajima United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 17 1:21.085 16
18 8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 18 1:21.332 17
19 21 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella India Force India-Ferrari 19 1:21.670 18
20 20 Germany Adrian Sutil India Force India-Ferrari 20 1:22.113 20
Source:[5]
  • 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.
  • * Bourdais was handed a five place grid penalty for impeding Heidfeld during Q1.[5]

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Lewis Hamilton 2
______________ Heikki Kovalainen
Row 2 3 ______________
Felipe Massa 4
______________ Robert Kubica
Row 3 5 ______________
Timo Glock 6
______________ Kimi Räikkönen
Row 4 7 ______________
Fernando Alonso 8
______________ Mark Webber
Row 5 9 ______________
Jarno Trulli 10
______________ Nelson Piquet, Jr.
Row 6 11 ______________
Sebastian Vettel 12
______________ Jenson Button
Row 7 13 ______________
David Coulthard 14
______________ Nico Rosberg
Row 8 15 ______________
Nick Heidfeld 16
______________ Kazuki Nakajima
Row 9 17 ______________
Rubens Barrichello 18
______________ Giancarlo Fisichella
Row 10 19 ______________
Sébastien Bourdais 20
______________ Adrian Sutil

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 23 Finland Heikki Kovalainen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 70 1:37:27.067 2 10
2 12 Germany Timo Glock Japan Toyota 70 +11.061s 5 8
3 1 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 70 +16.856s 6 6
4 5 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 70 +21.614s 7 5
5 22 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 70 +23.048s 1 4
6 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet, Jr. France Renault 70 +32.298s 10 3
7 11 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 70 +36.449s 9 2
8 4 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber 70 +48.321s 4 1
9 10 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull-Renault 70 +58.834s 8
10 3 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 70 +1:07.709 15
11 9 United Kingdom David Coulthard Austria Red Bull-Renault 70 +1:10.407 13
12 16 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 69 +1 Lap 12
13 8 Japan Kazuki Nakajima United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 69 +1 Lap 16
14 7 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 69 +1 Lap 14
15 21 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella India Force India-Ferrari 69 +1 Lap 18
16 17 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 69 +1 Lap 17
17* 2 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 67 Engine 3
18 14 France Sébastien Bourdais Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 67 +3 Laps 19
Ret 20 Germany Adrian Sutil India Force India-Ferrari 62 Brakes 20
Ret 15 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 22 Overheating 11
Source:[6]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Massa was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[6]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

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.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 62
2 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 57 ▲1
3 Brazil Felipe Massa 54 ▼1
4 Poland Robert Kubica 49
5 Germany Nick Heidfeld 41
6 Finland Heikki Kovalainen 38
7 Italy Jarno Trulli 22
8 Spain Fernando Alonso 18 ▲1
9 Australia Mark Webber 18 ▼1
10 Germany Timo Glock 13 ▲6
11 Brazil Nelson Piquet, Jr. 13
12 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 11 ▼2
13 Germany Nico Rosberg 8 ▼1
14 Japan Kazuki Nakajima 8 ▼1
15 United Kingdom David Coulthard 6 ▼1
16 Germany Sebastian Vettel 6 ▼1
17 United Kingdom Jenson Button 3
18 France Sébastien Bourdais 2
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 Italy Ferrari 111
2 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 100 ▲1
3 Germany BMW Sauber 90 ▼1
4 Japan Toyota 35
5 France Renault 31 ▲1
6 Austria Red Bull-Renault 24 ▼1
7 United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 16
8 Japan Honda 14
9 Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 8

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 '11. Hungary 2008', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/hongrie.aspx, (Accessed 17/03/2020)
  2. 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 'Hungary 2008: Kovalainen joins 100 club.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 03/08/2008), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/63123/1/hungary-2008-kovalainen-joins-100-club, (Accessed 17/03/2020)
  3. 3.0 3.1 'F1 teams in new association bid', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns20610.html, (Accessed 17/03/2020)
  4. 'Hungary 2008: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/hongrie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 17/03/2020)
  5. 5.0 5.1 'FORMULA 1 ING MAGYAR NAGYDÍJ 2008 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2008/races/835/hungary/qualifying.html, (Accessed 17/03/2020)
  6. 6.0 6.1 'Hungary 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2008/hongrie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 17/03/2020)
  7. [Archived] '2008 Hungarian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190409190544/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2008&gp=Hungarian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 17/03/2020) - Original
V T E Hungary Hungarian Grand Prix
Circuits Népliget Park (1936); Hungaroring (1986 - Present)
Races 198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Non-Championship Race 1936
V T E 2008 Formula One Season
Teams Ferrari • BMW Sauber • Renault • Williams • Red Bull • Toyota • Toro Rosso • Honda • Super Aguri • Force India • McLaren
Engines BMW • Ferrari • Honda • Mercedes • Renault • Toyota
Drivers Räikkönen • 2 Massa • 3 Heidfeld • 4 Kubica • 5 Alonso • 6 Piquet • 7 Rosberg • 8 Nakajima • 9 Coulthard • 10 Webber • 11 Trulli • 12 Glock • 14 Bourdais • 15 Vettel • 16 Button • 17 Barrichello • 18 Sato • 19 Davidson • 20 Sutil • 21 Fisichella • 22 Hamilton • 23 Kovalainen
Other Drivers Badoer • Buemi • Clos • Gené • Grosjean • Hartley • Hülkenberg • Klien • Kobayashi • Liuzzi • Loeb • Paffett • Rossi • Rossiter • M. Schumacher • R. Schumacher • Senna • Van der Garde • Wurz • Yamamoto
Cars Ferrari F2008 • McLaren MP4-23 • BMW Sauber F1.08 • Renault R28 • Toyota TF108 • Toro Rosso STR2B • Toro Rosso STR3 • Red Bull RB4 • Williams FW30 • Honda RA108 • Force India VJM01 • Super Aguri SA08
Tyres Bridgestone
Races Australia • Malaysia • Bahrain • Spain • Turkey • Monaco • Canada • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Europe • Belgium • Italy • Singapore • Japan • China • Brazil
See also 2007 Formula One Season • 2009 Formula One Season • Category
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