2008 Australian Grand Prix
2008 Australian Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 1 of 18 in the 2008 Formula One World Championship
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Race details | |||||
Date | 16 March 2008 | ||||
Official name | 2008 Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix | ||||
Location | |||||
Course | Temporary street circuit | ||||
Course length | 5.303[1] km (3.295 miles) | ||||
Distance | 58 laps, 307.574[1] km (191.118 miles) | ||||
Weather | Clear, dry, air temperature of 39 °C (102 °F). | ||||
Attendance | 108,000[2] | ||||
Pole position | |||||
Driver |
Mercedes | ||||
Time | 1:26.714 | ||||
Fastest lap | |||||
Driver | Heikki Kovalainen |
Mercedes | |||
Time | 1:27.418 on lap 43 | ||||
Podium | |||||
First |
Mercedes | ||||
Second |
BMW Sauber | ||||
Third |
Toyota | ||||
Lap leaders |
The 2008 Australian Grand Prix (officially known as the 2008 Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix)
The 58-lap race featured three
This event also marked the first race in seven years, since the
Background
The Grand Prix was contested on 16 March 2008 at the
The race was the first of the
The final mass
Practice and qualifying
“There are definitely four cars that are quicker than us, so we'll get our heads down this evening and work on the race information before qualifying tomorrow. It's pretty windy out on the track, but it's an issue for everyone."
Mark Webber, after recording the second fastest lap in the second practice session.[10]
Three practice sessions were held before the race. The first was held on Friday morning and the second on Friday afternoon - both of these sessions lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes with weather conditions dry throughout. The third session was held on Saturday morning and lasted an hour.[11] Räikkönen, the defending champion, set the fastest time in first practice, posting a lap time of 1:26.461, four-tenths of a second quicker than Hamilton and Massa, in second and third places respectively. Heikki Kovalainen completed the top four in the McLaren, with Mark Webber in the Red Bull and Alonso in the Renault in fifth and sixth positions, two seconds off the pace. Rookie Nelson Piquet Jr. caused a brief red flag in the session, spinning off at the Ascari corner.[12]
Hamilton lapped faster than Räikkönen in the second practice session with a time of 1:26.559.
"I am pleased to qualify third, but there is still room for improvement. It was a fairly smooth lap, and the balance of the car felt good. At the end I didn’t nail a perfect lap, but throughout the weekend I have just been taking things steady, not making any mistakes and keep pushing harder and harder. Last year I didn’t make the best start to the season, so today’s result is a great beginning to my career as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver."
Heikki Kovalainen, commenting on his qualifying performance.[16]
Qualifying for the race was split into three stages. The first stage of qualifying ran for 20 minutes with cars finishing in the last six positions not progressing to the next stage and retaining their position for the race. The second stage saw the next six slowest drivers not progress similarly and lasted for 15 minutes. The final stage of qualifying determined the positions from first to tenth with the fastest racer gaining pole position.[11]
Hamilton won his seventh career pole position, with a time of 1:26.714 in the third session. Second was Kubica, who was a tenth of a second behind Hamilton.
Qualifying classification
Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Grid |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 22 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes
|
1:26.572 | 1:25.187 | 1:26.714 | 1 |
2 | 4 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber
|
1:26.103 | 1:25.315 | 1:26.869 | 2 |
3 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen | Mercedes
|
1:25.664 | 1:25.452 | 1:27.079 | 3 |
4 | 2 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:25.994 | 1:25.691 | 1:27.178 | 4 |
5 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber
|
1:25.960 | 1:25.518 | 1:27.236 | 5 |
6 | 11 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota
|
1:26.427 | 1:26.101 | 1:28.527 | 6 |
7 | 7 | Nico Rosberg | Toyota
|
1:26.295 | 1:26.059 | 1:28.687 | 7 |
8 | 9 | David Coulthard | Renault
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1:26.381 | 1:26.063 | 1:29.041 | 8 |
9 | 12 | Timo Glock | Toyota
|
1:26.919 | 1:26.164 | 1:29.593 | 181 |
10 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1:26.702 | 1:25.842 | no time2 | 9 |
11 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda
|
1:26.369 | 1:26.173 | 10 | |
12 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Renault
|
1:26.907 | 1:26.188 | 11 | |
13 | 16 | Jenson Button | Honda
|
1:26.712 | 1:26.259 | 12 | |
14 | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima | Toyota
|
1:26.891 | 1:26.413 | 13 | |
15 | 10 | Mark Webber | Renault
|
1:26.914 | no time3 | 14 | |
16 | 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:26.140 | no time4 | 15 | |
17 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Ferrari | 1:27.207 | 16 | ||
18 | 14 | Sébastien Bourdais | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1:27.446 | 17 | ||
19 | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Ferrari | 1:27.859 | PL5 | ||
20 | 18 | Takuma Sato | Honda
|
1:28.208 | 19 | ||
21 | 6 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Renault
|
1:28.330 | 20 | ||
22 | 19 | Anthony Davidson | Honda
|
1:29.059 | 21 | ||
Source:[20]
|
- ^1 – Timo Glock was demoted to 19th place due to two five-place grid penalties, for a gearbox change and for impeding Webber during qualifying.[21][19]
- ^2 – Sebastian Vettel suffered an oil pump problem and did not take part in Q3.[17]
- ^3 – Mark Webber suffered a right front brake failure and was unable to continue with the session after spinning into the gravel.[17]
- ^4 – Kimi Räikkönen suffered a fuel pressure problem in Q1 and was barred from the rest of session for stopping on-track.[18]
- ^5 – Adrian Sutil started the race from the pitlane after he was forced to change chassis after severe damage during qualifying.[22]
Race
The conditions for the race were dry with the
By the end of the first lap, Lewis Hamilton retained his lead followed by Kubica and Rosberg. Kimi Räikkönen elevated himself from fifteenth to eighth on the first lap.[25] After the safety car was left the race on lap three, Räikkönen was stuck behind Rubens Barrichello, finally passing him lap 19 for sixth place. During the first set of pit stops Toyota driver Jarno Trulli was forced to retire due to electrical problems.[25][27] On lap 26, Massa attempted to pass David Coulthard with the two colliding forcing Coulthard to retire, and later Massa retired with an engine failure three laps later.[23] Both Massa and Coulthard suggested the collision was the others fault.[25][28] This led to a second safety car being deployed.[25] With other cars pitting, Räikkönen decided to stay out to move up the order.[27]
The race restarted without a safety car on lap 30 and Räikkönen made an ambitious move on Heikki Kovalainen on turn 3, but went into the gravel trap and lost several places.[23] Two laps later he spun the car again whilst attempting to pass Timo Glock into the same corner.[23] Timo Glock ran wide onto the grass on lap 42 and the bottom of his car hit two substantial bumps, the second of which caused it to briefly fly up in the air and land with force sufficient to break the Suspension. Glock spun twice and came to rest against the wall further down the track. He was forced to retire and the safety car came out for a third time.[23][25] On the same lap, due to a false signal from the chief mechanic, Barrichello left a pit stop before the fuel hose had been removed from his car. Several mechanics suffered minor injuries. He would also serve a ten-second penalty for this pit stop as it was taken while the pit lane was closed. He was later disqualified for the infringement.[28][24]
The race restarted on lap 47 and one lap later Kubica was forced out of the race after a collision with Kazuki Nakajima. Fernando Alonso was able to move up the field as a result of the high number of retirements and overtaking of Kovalainen and Räikkönen in a single move and was fifth with eight laps left.[28] Räikkönen retired with Ferrari's second engine failure of the race on lap 54, after driving slowly into the pit lane.[28] Sébastien Bourdais was competing in his first Formula One race, but it ended on lap 56 after suffering an engine failure from fourth position.[24] At the end of the penultimate lap, Kovalainen passed Alonso coming out of turn 13 to take fourth place, but moments later on the pit straight he accidentally hit the speed limiter designed for use in the pit lane allowing Alonso to regain fourth position.[28]
Seven cars finished the race but Barrichello was later disqualified for passing a red light at the pit lane exit.[23] Lewis Hamilton won the race having led all but 5 laps during pit stops.[23] Nick Heidfeld finished second and Nico Rosberg recorded his first podium in third.[29][25] Kazuki Nakajima was the final car to finish, but was later given a ten-place grid penalty for the 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix, the next race, after making contact with Kubica under safety car conditions.[24] Bourdais, in his debut scored two championship points, despite not finishing the race, and classified seventh.[25]
Race classification
Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Lap | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 22 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes
|
58 | 1:34:50.616 | 1 | 10 |
2 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber
|
58 | +5.478 | 5 | 8 |
3 | 7 | Nico Rosberg | Toyota
|
58 | +8.163 | 7 | 6 |
4 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Renault
|
58 | +17.181 | 11 | 5 |
5 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen | Mercedes
|
58 | +18.014 | 3 | 4 |
6 | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima | Toyota
|
57 | +1 lap | 13 | 3 |
71 | 14 | Sébastien Bourdais | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 55 | Engine | 17 | 2 |
81 | 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 53 | Engine | 15 | 1 |
Ret | 4 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber
|
47 | Collision | 2 | |
Ret | 12 | Timo Glock | Toyota
|
43 | Accident | 18 | |
Ret | 18 | Takuma Sato | Honda
|
32 | Transmission | 19 | |
Ret | 6 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Renault
|
30 | Collision damage | 20 | |
Ret | 2 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 29 | Engine | 4 | |
Ret | 9 | David Coulthard | Renault
|
25 | Collision | 8 | |
Ret | 11 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota
|
19 | Electrical | 6 | |
Ret | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Ferrari | 8 | Hydraulics | PL | |
Ret | 10 | Mark Webber | Renault
|
0 | Collision | 14 | |
Ret | 16 | Jenson Button | Honda
|
0 | Collision | 12 | |
Ret | 19 | Anthony Davidson | Honda
|
0 | Collision | 21 | |
Ret | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 0 | Collision | 9 | |
Ret | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Ferrari | 0 | Collision | 16 | |
DSQ2 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda
|
58 | Ignored red light | 10 | |
Source:[29]
|
- ^1 – Sébastien Bourdais was classified as 7th and Kimi Räikkönen was classified as 8th, because they completed 90% of the race winner's distance.
- ^2 – Rubens Barrichello was disqualified from 6th for ignoring a red light at the pit exit.
Post-race
"Shortly after we called Rubens in for the second of two planned pit stops, Timo Glock had a crash and the safety car was deployed. We had no alternative but to continue to bring him in because he was out of fuel, although we realised that the pit lane was going to be closed due to the safety car and that this would result in a ten-second stop-go penalty. During the pit stop the lollipop was lifted just a fraction early while the fuel hose was just coming off the car. After the pit stop Rubens exited the pit lane when the lights were still red and obviously this is in breach of the regulations. A tough set of circumstances after an otherwise very committed drive by Rubens."
Ross Brawn, team principal of the Honda team.[30]
In a post-race press conference, Hamilton commented on the race: "I felt fantastic. I never thought it would have been as physically a breeze as it was. It is great preparation for Malaysia so bring it on, I am really looking forward to it."[31] He also commended the work of his McLaren team on both his scheduled stops on laps 18 and 43 respectively:[32]
Heidfeld picked up his first podium since the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix and was relieved to have kept Rosberg behind him, believing that his fellow German was fuelled longer than he actually was.[31][25] He commented that Rosberg "came in earlier than expected on the same lap as myself. What we lost at the start we regained on the pit-stop, so our pit-stop crew, just did a fantastic job to just get me out ahead of [Rosberg]. Then I was lucky on the pit-stops in terms of the safety car."[31] Rosberg was delighted at his first podium finish, and was looking towards the rest of the year for similar results saying "I think we have a solid car to start the season with. I am hoping to have a nice development through the season and I think we can have a good year.[31]
Also after the race, Nakajima received a ten-place grid penalty to be applicated in the following race in Malaysia, having collided with Kubica on lap 48 of the race.[33] As this was the first race of the season, Hamilton led the Drivers' Championship with 10 points, followed by Heidfeld on 8 and Rosberg on 6.[34] Meanwhile in the Constructors' Championship, McLaren picked up 14 points thanks to Hamilton's win and Kovalainen's fifth place, thus giving them a five point lead over Williams – their highest championship position since 2004 – who, like McLaren, had both drivers finish in the points, with BMW Sauber in third on 8.[34]
Championship standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
See also
References
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- ^ "Motorsport Results". Austadiums. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ^ "Australia". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ "Atlas F1: The 2001 Spanish GP Review". atlasf1.autosport.com. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Race Classification". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 19 October 2008. Archived from the original on 27 March 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
- ^ a b c "The teams: Who's moved for 2008?". The Guardian. 10 March 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2008.
- ^ a b "Barcelona day one - Hamilton pips Ferrari duo in Spain". Formula One. 26 February 2008. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Barcelona day two - McLaren one-two in testing - updated". Formula One. 27 February 2008. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Barcelona day three - Trulli in charge on final day". Formula One. 28 February 2008. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
- ^ "Friday practice - selected driver quotes". Formula One. 14 March 2008. Archived from the original on 9 March 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
- ^ a b "2008 Formula One Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 19 May 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 March 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
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(help) - ^ Beer, Matt (14 March 2008). "Raikkonen tops practice 1 - Australia". Autosport. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
- ^ a b Beer, Matt (14 March 2008). "Hamilton fastest in practice 2 - Australia". Autosport. Archived from the original on 30 March 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
- ^ "Tyres". The Official Formula 1 Website. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
- ^ Beer, Matt (15 March 2008). "Kubica fastest in practice 3 - Australia". Autosport. Archived from the original on 18 March 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
- ^ "Qualifying - selected driver quotes". The Official Formula 1 Website. 15 March 2008. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Beer, Matt (15 March 2008). "Hamilton grabs pole in Australia". Autosport. Archived from the original on 30 March 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
- ^ a b c Elizalde, Pablo (15 March 2008). "Unhappy Raikkonen targets points finish". Autosport. Archived from the original on 18 March 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
- ^ a b Noble, Jonathan (15 March 2008). "Glock loses another five places". Autosport. Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
- ^ "2008 Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying". The Official Formula 1 Website. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
- ^ "BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Hamilton grabs Australian GP pole". BBC. 15 March 2008. Archived from the original on 21 March 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ Hooper, Andrew (16 March 2008). "Williams F1 – Rosberg a brilliant third in Australian GP". m.f1network.net. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
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- ^ "Race Facts". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010.
- ^ a b Ottley, Stephen (16 March 2008). "Hamilton keeps his cool". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Australia race analysis - an afternoon of surprises". The Official Formula 1 Website. 17 March 2008. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015.
- ^ a b "2008 Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix - Race". The Official Formula 1 Website. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
- ^ "Barrichello disqualified, Raikkonen gains a point". Formula One. 16 March 2008. Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
- ^ a b c d "FIA post-race press conference - Australia". Formula One. 16 March 2008. Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- ^ "2008 Australian Grand Prix Pit Stop Summary". Formula One. 16 March 2008. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- ^ "Maiden podium for Rosberg, Malaysia penalty for Nakajima". Formula One. 16 March 2008. Archived from the original on 9 March 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84732-262-3– via Internet Archive.
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- ^ ISBN 978-1-905334-31-5.