2008 Bahrain Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Felipe Massa answered his difficult start to the season with a composed Bahrain victory. Ferrari finished one-two, but Robert Kubica’s maiden pole and BMW Sauber’s double points finish showed that the championship had more than two teams in contention.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
Pole time	1:33.096
Fastest lap	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:33.193 on lap 49
First	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Second	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Third	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
4 April 2008	Practice 1	10:00
4 April 2008	Practice 2	14:00
5 April 2008	Practice 3	11:00
5 April 2008	Qualifying	14:00
6 April 2008	Race	14:30

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Lewis Hamilton arrived at round 3 leading the 2008 F1 World Championship on 14 points, with Kimi Räikkönen on 11. McLaren headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 24 points.

Race entries

The 11 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Free Practice

Felipe Massa led Kimi Räikkönen in FP1 on a dusty Sakhir surface. Kimi Räikkönen’s early excursion into the sand required a pit visit, but Ferrari still emerged comfortably competitive. With wind capable of blowing more dust onto the circuit, finding grip and establishing a reliable balance remained central to the opening work.

Ferrari repeated its one-two in FP2, but Lewis Hamilton’s heavy sideways impact with the wall dominated the afternoon. He escaped injury, though the McLaren sustained substantial damage and required a replacement chassis. The accident interrupted his preparations while Felipe Massa continued to look particularly comfortable at the front.

Nico Rosberg set the fastest lap in final practice as the dusty conditions persisted. Felipe Massa remained near the top, whereas Lewis Hamilton finished well down the order after McLaren’s overnight repair work. Red Bull Racing and Toyota also showed competitive pace, giving the final pre-qualifying timesheet a different shape from Friday’s Ferrari dominance.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2008 Bahrain Grand Prix FP1, 4 April 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:32.233	20
2	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.117s	15
3	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.182s	23
4	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.472s	21
5	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.635s	20
6	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+0.888s	24
7	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+1.100s	16
8	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.306s	27
9	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.555s	20
10	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.582s	19
11	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.696s	28
12	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.717s	20
13	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+1.748s	24
14	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.873s	17
15	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+2.002s	27
16	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+2.088s	32
17	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+2.659s	20
18	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+2.682s	16
19	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+2.941s	12
20	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+3.196s	22
21	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+3.912s	6
22	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+4.303s	6

Free Practice 2 Classification

2008 Bahrain Grand Prix FP2, 4 April 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:31.420	30
2	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.907s	30
3	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+1.332s	30
4	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+1.427s	26
5	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+1.495s	29
6	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+1.602s	34
7	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.628s	27
8	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+1.678s	33
9	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+1.777s	37
10	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+1.827s	37
11	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+2.290s	33
12	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+2.335s	26
13	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+2.362s	34
14	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.402s	38
15	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+2.436s	30
16	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+2.546s	35
17	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+2.603s	36
18	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+2.968s	35
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.985s	34
20	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+3.367s	30
21	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+3.868s	24
22	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+4.292s	25

Free Practice 3 Classification

2008 Bahrain Grand Prix FP3, 5 April 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:32.521	17
2	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.205s	10
3	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.221s	16
4	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+0.380s	18
5	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+0.397s	14
6	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+0.499s	16
7	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.503s	18
8	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+0.553s	16
9	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.716s	10
10	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.846s	15
11	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+0.851s	17
12	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+0.871s	20
13	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+0.924s	13
14	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.030s	18
15	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.074s	20
16	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.079s	17
17	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+1.130s	14
18	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+1.138s	14
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.336s	18
20	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.553s	16
21	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+2.070s	18
22	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+2.431s	16

Qualifying

Robert Kubica beat Felipe Massa by less than three hundredths of a second to claim his first pole and BMW Sauber’s first in Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton recovered from his Friday accident to qualify third in the spare chassis, with Kimi Räikkönen fourth.

Fernando Alonso narrowly reached Q3 as Mark Webber missed out by just nine thousandths. Rubens Barrichello’s gearbox problem disrupted his Q2 effort, while Takuma Sato crashed in Q1. Ferrari remained confident about its race pace despite losing pole to Robert Kubica’s exceptional lap.

Qualifying Classification

2008 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying, 5 April 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:32.893	1:31.745	1:33.096	12
2	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:31.937	1:31.188	1:33.123	12
3	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:32.750	1:31.922	1:33.292	13
4	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:32.652	1:31.933	1:33.418	12
5	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	1:33.057	1:31.718	1:33.488	12
6	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:33.137	1:31.909	1:33.737	15
7	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:32.493	1:32.159	1:33.994	19
8	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:32.903	1:32.185	1:34.015	22
9	16	Jenson Button	Honda	1:32.793	1:32.362	1:35.057	17
10	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:32.947	1:32.345	1:35.115	17
11	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:33.194	1:32.371	—	12
12	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:32.944	1:32.508	—	12
13	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:32.800	1:32.528	—	15
14	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	1:32.975	1:32.790	—	15
15	14	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	1:33.415	1:32.915	—	15
16	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	1:33.386	1:32.943	—	15
17	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1:33.433	—	—	7
18	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	1:33.501	—	—	5
19	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	1:33.562	—	—	9
20	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:33.845	—	—	6
21	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	1:34.140	—	—	9
22	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	1:35.725	—	—	5

What happened in the 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix?

Felipe Massa passed Robert Kubica at the start and Kimi Räikkönen moved into second on lap three, establishing the Ferrari one-two. Lewis Hamilton’s poor launch dropped him into the midfield, then contact with the back of Fernando Alonso’s Renault damaged his front wing and forced an early stop.

Ferrari controlled the pit-stop sequence while the BMW Sauber pair pursued behind. Felipe Massa managed the gap to Kimi Räikkönen without needing to overextend himself. Further back, Jenson Button retired after contact with David Coulthard, and Nelson Piquet’s race ended with transmission trouble as Lewis Hamilton worked through the slower cars.

Felipe Massa won by 3.3 seconds from Kimi Räikkönen, with Robert Kubica third and Nick Heidfeld fourth. Heikki Kovalainen took fifth and fastest lap, while Lewis Hamilton finished outside the points in 13th. Kimi Räikkönen moved into the drivers’ championship lead, and BMW Sauber’s consistency put it ahead in the constructors’ standings.

After the race, Kimi Räikkönen headed the drivers’ standings with 19 points, followed by Nick Heidfeld on 16. BMW Sauber led the constructors’ table on 30, with Ferrari on 29.

2008 Bahrain Grand Prix race results

The 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix was held on 6 April 2008, with a scheduled start of 14:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	57	1:31:06.970	10
2	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	57	+ 3.339	8
3	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	57	+ 4.998	6
4	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	57	+ 8.409	5
5	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	57	+ 26.789	4
6	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	57	+ 41.314	3
7	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	57	+ 45.473	2
8	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	57	+ 55.889	1
9	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	57	+ 1:09.500	0
10	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	57	+ 1:17.181	0
11	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	57	+ 1:17.862	0
12	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	56	+ 1 lap	0
13	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	56	+ 1 lap	0
14	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	56	+ 1 lap	0
15	14	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	56	+ 1 lap	0
16	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	56	+ 1 lap	0
17	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	56	+ 1 lap	0
18	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	56	+ 1 lap	0
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	55	+ 2 laps	0
Ret	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	40	Gearbox	0
Ret	16	Jenson Button	Honda	19	Collision	0
Ret	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	0	Collision	0

2008 Bahrain Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	49	1:33.193	209.062
2	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	48	1:33.565	208.231
3	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	38	1:33.600	208.153
4	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	35	1:33.709	207.911
5	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	55	1:33.775	207.765
6	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	57	1:34.072	207.109
7	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	45	1:34.204	206.819
8	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	51	1:34.305	206.597
9	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	56	1:34.807	205.503
10	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	40	1:34.855	205.399
11	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	56	1:35.057	204.963
12	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	31	1:35.129	204.808
13	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	35	1:35.194	204.668
14	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	45	1:35.324	204.389
15	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	33	1:35.333	204.369
16	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	43	1:35.351	204.331
17	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	30	1:35.433	204.155
18	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	55	1:35.442	204.136
19	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	25	1:35.520	203.969
20	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	56	1:35.891	203.180
21	16	Jenson Button	Honda	11	1:36.125	202.686

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2008 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix.

2008 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	19
2	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	16
3	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	14
4	Robert Kubica	Polish	BMW Sauber	14
5	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	McLaren	14
6	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	10
7	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	8
8	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	7
9	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Renault	6
10	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	4
11	Kazuki Nakajima	Japanese	Williams	3
12	Sébastien Bourdais	French	Toro Rosso	2
13	David Coulthard	British	Red Bull Racing	0
14	Timo Glock	German	Toyota	0
15	Jenson Button	British	Honda	0
16	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda	0
17	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Renault	0
18	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Force India	0
19	Anthony Davidson	British	Super Aguri	0
20	Takuma Sato	Japanese	Super Aguri	0
21	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	0
–	Sebastian Vettel	German	Toro Rosso	0

2008 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	BMW Sauber	30
2	Ferrari	29
3	McLaren	28
4	Williams	10
5	Toyota	8
6	Renault	6
7	Red Bull Racing	4
8	Toro Rosso	2
9	Honda	0
10	Force India	0
11	Super Aguri	0

2008 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2008 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	16 March
2	2008 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	23 March
3	2008 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	6 April
4	2008 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	27 April
5	2008 Turkish Grand Prix	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	11 May
6	2008 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	25 May
7	2008 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	8 June
8	2008 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	22 June
9	2008 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	6 July
10	2008 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	20 July
11	2008 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	3 August
12	2008 European Grand Prix	Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia	24 August
13	2008 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	7 September
14	2008 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	14 September
15	2008 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	28 September
16	2008 Japanese Grand Prix	Fuji Speedway, Oyama	12 October
17	2008 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	19 October
18	2008 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	2 November