Hamilton, the eventual Drivers' Champion, led the Championship going into the race, and started from pole position alongside Räikkönen. Second in the Drivers' Championship, Massa began from third, next to Fernando Alonso of Renault. The first three drivers retained their positions into the first corner, but Alonso was passed by Hamilton's McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen. Alonso, however, was able to regain the place midway through the first lap. Over the course of the race, Hamilton extended a considerable lead over the two Ferraris. Massa passed Räikkönen with seven laps remaining, to improve his chances of surpassing Hamilton's points tally at the final race in Brazil.
The result extended Ferrari's lead over McLaren in the Constructors' Championship from seven to 11points. Third-placed in the Drivers' Championship, Robert Kubica's sixth place at the Grand Prix eliminated his hopes of winning the Championship, and reduced his lead over fourth-placed Räikkönen to six points. Nelson Piquet Jr. scored his last world championship points at this race.
Prior to the race, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton led the Drivers' Championship with 84points, and Ferrari driver Felipe Massa was second with 79points. Behind them in the Drivers' Championship, Robert Kubica was third with 72points in a BMW Sauber, and Massa's Ferrari teammate Kimi Räikkönen was fourth with 63points. Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld was fifth with 56points.[5] In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari were leading with 142points, seven points ahead of their rivals McLaren–Mercedes, whom they had overtaken at the previous race. BMW Sauber were third with 128points. In the battle for fourth place, Renault had 66points, now 16points ahead of Toyota.[5]
At the previous race in Japan, the gap between Hamilton and Massa had closed by two points. Hamilton had started from pole position ahead of Räikkönen, but had a poor start.[6] At the first corner he braked late, and forced Räikkönen wide.[7] He was later given a penalty, which dropped him down the field from where he was unable to recover to a points scoring position.[7] Massa also received a penalty for a collision with Hamilton on the second lap, but was able to finish in seventh position.[7] The British press described Hamilton's move as "impetuosity and untamed aggression", saying that the McLaren driver would have to adopt a more conservative race strategy in China.[8] For his part, Hamilton said that he would be taking no risks:
We will approach it the same as always. We won't be taking risks, but we will be attacking as much as we can to win the race. If I'm in a position where we are looking to gain good points, and it's an unnecessary risk to make a manoeuvre, then I won't be doing that. It's always important to be fast, but it's not necessarily the fastest car that wins. Being fast is great for positioning, and maybe getting out in front, and then afterwards trying to stay calm.[9]
With ten points on offer for the winner of the Grand Prix, it was possible that Hamilton would clinch the Championship in Shanghai.[9] Massa remained confident, saying that the race was just like any other: "You have a pressure but it is a different pressure, but you have always the pressure on your side."[10]
Renault driver and two-time Championship winner Fernando Alonso created controversy when he said "if I can help, I will help Massa."[11] Alonso's departure from McLaren after driving for the British team in 2007 had been acrimonious, and Alonso's dislike for the rookie Hamilton was well documented.[12] Talking about Hamilton's penalty in Japan, Alonso said "I don't know what he did, but it's good he's punished anyway."[13] Hamilton refused to be drawn into the controversy: "I don't particularly have an opinion on it," he said, adding that he was interested only in his own race.[14]
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—two on Friday, and a third on Saturday. The Friday morning and afternoon sessions each lasted 90minutes. The third session was held on Saturday morning and lasted an hour.[15] All three sessions were held on a dry track. Hamilton was fastest in the first session with a time of 1:35.630, 0.39 of a second ahead of Massa, who was next quickest.[16] Räikkönen, Heikki Kovalainen of McLaren, Kubica, Alonso and Heidfeld rounded out the top seven. Sébastien Bourdais of Toro Rosso was eighth, having been quickest early in the session.[16] Renault driver Nelson Piquet drove into the gravel beside the pit-lane entry, though managed to rejoin.[16] Hamilton was again quickest in the second session; his early time of 1:35.750 was the fastest of the afternoon.[17] The Renaults were next quickest, ahead of Jarno Trulli of Toyota, Red Bull driver Mark Webber, Massa, Bourdais and Räikkönen. Bourdais spun off at turn two late in the session and beached his car in the gravel.[18] Heidfeld was fastest in the final session with a time of 1:36.061, ahead of Hamilton, Kubica and Kovalainen.[19] Massa, Räikkönen and Alonso lacked pace, and failed to make the top ten. Webber stopped late in the session when his engine failed on the back straight, requiring an engine change before qualifying.[19] This would give him a ten-place penalty on the grid.[20]
Qualifying
The qualifying session on Saturday afternoon was split into threeparts. The first part ran for 20minutes, and cars that finished the session 16th or lower were eliminated from qualifying. The second part of qualifying lasted 15minutes and eliminated cars that finished in positions11 to 15. The final part of qualifying determined the positions from first to tenth, and decided pole position. Cars which failed to make the final session could refuel before the race, so ran lighter in those sessions. Cars which competed in the final session of qualifying were not allowed to refuel before the race, and as such carried more fuel than in the previous sessions.[15]
Finally, things seemed to go right for me in qualifying. It's too late for the title, but we definitely learnt a lesson which will be useful for next year. All weekend we've struggled to find the right settings on the car, but then all the work we put in finally came good in [the third session], when the car was pretty good. Certainly, even putting aside what the choices have been in terms of fuel loads, today it would have been difficult to beat the McLaren, but I am happy with the overall result for the team.
Hamilton clinched his seventh pole position of the season with a time of 1:36.303.[22] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Räikkönen, who qualified 0.342seconds behind Hamilton's time.[23] Massa took third place, needing a good result to retain the possibility of a Championship victory. Alonso qualified in fourth ahead of Kovalainen, who took fifth after struggling for tyre grip during the final session.[21][24] Webber was sixth fastest in the final session, but was demoted to 16th on the grid as a result of his penalty.[20] Heidfeld originally qualified sixth, but was penalised three positions for impeding Red Bull driver David Coulthard in the first session.[20] As a result, Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel inherited sixth position, ahead of Trulli and Bourdais.[22] Piquet took tenth position. Kubica's eleventh placing was his worst qualifying result to that point in the season, struggling with his car's set-up throughout his two sessions.[20]Rubens Barrichello of Honda took 13th behind Timo Glock of Toyota, to reach the top 15 for the first time in ten races.[23] Williams driver Nico Rosberg took 14th on the grid.[22] Coulthard failed to move beyond the first session; the Red Bull driver qualified in 15th and blamed Heidfeld for his poor performance.[20]Kazuki Nakajima of Williams, Jenson Button of Honda and the Force Indias of Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella would line up on the back two rows of the grid.[22]
The conditions on the grid were dry before the race. The air temperature was 27°C (81°F) and the track temperature was 30°C (86°F);[25] weather forecasts suggested a small possibility of rain.[26] Hamilton and Alonso began the race on harder compound tyre; both Ferraris opted for the softer compound.[25] Hamilton accelerated faster than the Ferraris off the line, and retained his lead into the first corner.[27] Kovalainen overtook Alonso to take fourth in the opening corners.[28] However, Alonso pushed Kovalainen hard through the middle sector of the lap, and passed him at the turn14 hairpin after drafting the McLaren along the back straight.[25] At the end of the first lap, Hamilton led from Räikkönen, Massa, Alonso and Kovalainen.[27] Heidfeld was able to move from ninth on the grid to take sixth, after Bourdais drove into the back of Trulli at the first corner.[29] Bourdais dropped back to 18th; Trulli pitted at the next opportunity as a result of the damage and retired after the second lap.[27]
Webber was able to climb from 16th on the grid to take 12th behind Glock, and passed the Toyota on the second lap.[27] Kubica, further up the field, improved on his grid position, moving from 11th to take eighth behind Vettel.[28] However, Hamilton was the quickest on track, as he set new fastest laps on laps three, six and eight, to extend his lead over Räikkönen to more than four seconds.[27] This trend continued until lap10 when Räikkönen fought back and closed the gap.[27] However, Hamilton extended his lead when he set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:36.325 on lap13.[3] In the other McLaren, Kovalainen was struggling, running two seconds a lap slower than Hamilton, and dropping back from Alonso to Heidfeld.[25]
The Red Bull of Mark Webber was the first to pit, on lap12.[30] Webber had passed Barrichello and Piquet in separate manoeuvres to take ninth, but his pit stop dropped him back down to 18th position.[25] Massa and Alonso came in to pit on lap14, from third and fourth.[30] Kovalainen took the lead of the Grand Prix when Hamilton and Räikkönen paused their battle to take harder tyres and fuel on lap15.[25] By the time Kovalainen and Heidfeld had pitted on laps17 and 18,[30] Hamilton had established a commanding lead: 6.9seconds over Räikkönen and 14.1seconds over Massa.[28] Räikkönen began to pull back Hamilton's lead over the next ten laps, before losing 1.4seconds on lap30.[27]
At the back of the race, Bourdais began a slow climb back up the field. The Toro Rosso driver passed Sutil (who later spun out and retired with a gearbox problem),[29] Nakajima and Coulthard, to sit in 15th by lap30.[31] Rosberg fought Glock for 12th, until he passed the Toyota at the turn14 hairpin on lap12.[25] Rosberg's pit stop relegated him to 18th, dropping six places.[31] Kubica pitted late, on lap25, dropping from third to ninth, one position outside of the points.[31]
Kovalainen suffered a puncture on lap35.[27] The McLaren limped around the track back to the pit lane on the disintegrating tyre, rejoining in 17th on a replacement.[28][31] Alonso, Massa, Hamilton and Räikkönen all pitted for the final time over laps36 to 38.[30] Coming out of the second round of pit stops, Hamilton led Räikkönen by 13seconds, Räikkönen more than 2.5seconds ahead of Massa.[27] The gap between the Ferraris began to close, and Massa eased past Räikkönen on the back straight on lap49, to take second place on the track.[28] Meanwhile, Kovalainen parked his car in the McLaren garage and retired from the race, his team not taking any chances with a problem which had developed with the engine's hydraulics.[32]
Hamilton took his fifth win of the season when he crossed the line at the end of the 56th lap, almost 15seconds ahead of the second-placed Massa.[3] Räikkönen took third ahead of Alonso. Heidfeld managed to jump from ninth on the grid to finish in fifth place, just ahead of his teammate Kubica, who climbed from eleventh on the grid.[3] A one-stop pit strategy worked well for Glock as he finished seventh; Piquet took eighth.[32] Vettel, Coulthard, Barrichello and Nakajima took the next four places; Bourdais recovered from his early contact with Trulli to take 13th.[3] Webber's initial success with a two-stop strategy faded as he finished 14th. Rosberg took 15th, ahead of Button and Fisichella.[3] Trulli, Sutil and Kovalainen were the three retirements from the 56lap race.[3]
Post-race
Well, it was quite straightforward actually. I managed to get everything right on the formation lap. I was perfectly in my position and it was a great start, it was really probably one of the best we've had. I felt it was one of the best we've had this year which was needed. I got into turn one quite clear, I took it easy the first few corners then I started to bridge the gap. Fortunately we were just very, very consistent and I think every lap was faster and very, very few errors throughout the whole run, therefore I was able to create a gap and from there it was pretty smooth sailing.
The top three finishers appeared on the podium and in the subsequent press conference, where Hamilton praised his team: "they have done a phenomenal job and the car is really a dream to drive."[33] Looking ahead to the next race in Brazil, where Hamilton would enter with a seven-point advantage, the Championship leader seemed confident: "It will be tough and [Ferrari] will be pushing us hard but hopefully as a team we can pull through."[33] Massa admitted that McLaren had the stronger car on the day:
For us we were completely driving on the limit trying to reduce the gap but it was not possible. I was trying to push as Kimi was trying to push to get closer to Lewis but it was not possible. So today unfortunately Lewis had the better car for the whole weekend.[33]
Asked about his pass on Räikkönen in the closing laps, Massa said that "it was the best time for me in the race, I was quite strong and then I caught him and I passed him."[33] Since the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, where Barrichello ceded the lead to Michael Schumacher, team orders have been banned in Formula One. Räikkönen appeared unbothered when asked about Massa's pass: "I mean we know what we want as a team and that's what we did it. It is normal in these situations."[33] No investigation was undertaken by the stewards at the race.[32] GrandPrix.com played down the incident, saying "Anyone who understands racing understood what was going on and only the silly people objected."[32]
Kovalainen's car had apparently been fitted with mismatched tyres at the front of the car during the first stint, meaning that the tyres spun in the opposite direction to which they were designed, causing his understeer.[34] At his first pit stop his team, not realising the cause of the problem, had adjusted his front wing to compensate for the understeer and replaced the tyres correctly.[35] This caused further handling problems, and eventually led to his retirement.[35]
Kovalainen's failure to score, combined with the two Ferraris making the top three, meant that Ferrari extended their lead over McLaren in the Constructors' Championship from seven to 11points.[5] Massa said Ferrari had succeeded in the race: "I think for the Drivers' Championship it was not fantastic but for the Constructors' it was very good."[33] Kubica's sixth place at the Grand Prix ruled out any chance of claiming the Drivers' Championship. The BMW driver said his focus would now be on getting as good a result as possible in Brazil, saying "There is now one race left, and I shall try hard to defend my third place."[36]
The 2007 Chinese Grand Prix was the sixteenth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was held on 7 October 2007 at Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China. The race was won by Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen with Fernando Alonso finishing second and Felipe Massa finishing third. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton retired from the race after going off at a wet pit entrance on worn tyres left him stuck in the gravel. Räikkönen's win marked the 200th Grand Prix victory for Scuderia Ferrari.
The 2008 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 20 July 2008 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany. It was the 10th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship and was contested over 67 laps. It was won by Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team after starting from pole position. Nelson Piquet Jr. finished second for Renault, with Felipe Massa third for Ferrari.
The 2008 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 16 March 2008 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2008 Formula One season. In qualifying for the event, Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team started from pole position ahead of Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber by 0.15 seconds.
The 2008 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 6 July 2008 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, England. It was the ninth race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. The race was held over 60 laps with a practice and qualifying round preceding the race.
The 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 23 March 2008 at the Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Malaysia. It was the 2nd race of the 2008 Formula One season. The 56-lap race was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after starting from second position. Robert Kubica finished second in a BMW Sauber car, with Heikki Kovalainen third in a McLaren.
The 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, formally known as the 2008 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was a Formula One race held on 28 September 2008 at 20:00 SST at the newly built Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore. It was the 15th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, the 800th Formula One World Championship race overall, and the first ever Formula One race held at night. This was also the first time Singapore hosted a Formula One race, as the last Singapore Grand Prix was a Formula Libre event in 1973.
The 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 6 April 2008 at the Bahrain International Circuit, in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the third race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team won the 57-lap race. Kimi Räikkönen was second in the other Ferrari, and BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica was third.
The 2008 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 27 April 2008 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló, Spain. It was the fourth race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team won the 66-lap race starting from pole position. Felipe Massa finished second in the other Ferrari, and Lewis Hamilton was third in a McLaren.
The 2008 Turkish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 11 May 2008 at the Istanbul Racing Circuit, Tuzla, Turkey. The 58-lap race, the fifth of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, was won by Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren, with Kimi Räikkönen third in the second Ferrari.
The 2008 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 25 May 2008 at the Circuit de Monaco; contested over 76 laps, it was the sixth race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. The race was won by the season's eventual Drivers' Champion, Lewis Hamilton, for the McLaren team. BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica finished second, and Felipe Massa, who started from pole position, was third in a Ferrari.
The 2008 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 8 June 2008 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the 7th race of the 2008 Formula One season. The 70-lap race was won by Robert Kubica for the BMW Sauber team after starting from second position. Kubica’s teammate Nick Heidfeld finished second with David Coulthard third in a Red Bull; taking the final podium of his F1 career. Lewis Hamilton, who started from pole position, failed to finish the race, retiring on lap 19 after crashing into the back of Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari car in the pit lane.
The 2008 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 22 June 2008 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France. This race would be the last French Grand Prix for a decade, before returning in 2018 at Circuit Paul Ricard. The 70-lap race event, the eighth of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, was won by Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team starting from second position. Kimi Räikkönen, who started from pole position, finished second in the other Ferrari car; Jarno Trulli was third in a Toyota.
The 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 August 2008, at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, near Budapest. It was the 11th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Contested over 70 laps, the race was won by Heikki Kovalainen for the McLaren team, from a second position start. Timo Glock finished second in a Toyota car, with Kimi Räikkönen third in a Ferrari. It was Kovalainen's first Formula One victory, which made him the sport's 100th driver to win a World Championship race, and it was Glock's first podium finish. It also turned out to be the only F1 race Kovalainen ever won.
The 2008 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 24 August 2008 at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain. It was the 12th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team won the 57-lap race from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren car, with Robert Kubica third in a BMW Sauber.
The 2008 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 7 September 2008 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps near the village of Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium. It was the 13th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team won the 44-lap race, after the initial winner, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, was penalised for cutting a chicane and gaining an advantage over Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen.
The 2008 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 September 2008 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy. It was the 14th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Future four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel for the Toro Rosso team took a maiden victory, winning the 53-lap race from a maiden pole position. Heikki Kovalainen finished second in a McLaren, and Robert Kubica third in a BMW Sauber.
The 2008 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 12 October 2008, at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Japan. It was the 16th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Fernando Alonso for the Renault team won the 67-lap race from fourth position on the starting grid. Robert Kubica finished second for BMW Sauber, and Kimi Räikkönen third for Ferrari.
The 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 2 November 2008 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Interlagos, in São Paulo, Brazil. It was the eighteenth and final race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa won the 71-lap race from pole position; this was the last of Massa's 11 Grand Prix wins. Fernando Alonso finished second in a Renault, and Massa's teammate Kimi Räikkönen finished third.
The 2009 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 19 April 2009 at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It was the third race of the 2009 Formula One season, a change from previous years, when it took place towards the end of the season.
The 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 26 April 2009 at the Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the sixth Bahrain Grand Prix and fourth race of the 2009 Formula One season.
1 2 3 "Grand Prix of China". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 19 October 2008. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
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Lewis Hamilton 
