2008 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton produced a superb wet-weather victory at Silverstone, finishing more than a minute clear of the field. While rivals repeatedly struggled for grip, Lewis Hamilton and McLaren made the right calls to transform the championship picture in front of his home crowd.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren
Pole time	1:21.049
Fastest lap	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:32.150 on lap 18
First	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
Second	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber
Third	Rubens Barrichello	Honda

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
4 July 2008	Practice 1	10:00
4 July 2008	Practice 2	14:00
5 July 2008	Practice 3	10:00
5 July 2008	Qualifying	13:00
6 July 2008	Race	13:00

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

Championship background

Felipe Massa arrived at round 9 leading the 2008 F1 World Championship on 48 points, with Robert Kubica on 46. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 91 points.

Race entries

The 10 teams kept the same race line-ups for the British Grand Prix.

Free Practice

Felipe Massa set the fastest FP1 lap before hitting oil from Fernando Alonso’s failed engine and crashing heavily at Stowe. He escaped injury, but the damaged Ferrari and oil clean-up caused a lengthy stoppage. The compromised surface prevented anyone beating his earlier time, while the McLarens had already shown closely matched pace.

Heikki Kovalainen led FP2 as Felipe Massa missed its opening half while Ferrari completed repairs. Toyota endured a particularly difficult session: Timo Glock stopped with clutch trouble, and Jarno Trulli crashed at Stowe after a rear-wing problem. The incidents disrupted preparations despite an otherwise useful opportunity for dry running.

Saturday practice began on a damp track and evolved through several tyre choices as the surface dried. Drivers progressed from extreme wets to intermediates and finally dry tyres. Fernando Alonso set the fastest time, but the changing conditions meant timing a run was as important as outright speed.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2008 British Grand Prix FP1, 4 July 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:19.575	8
2	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.012s	15
3	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.048s	13
4	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.373s	16
5	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.792s	11
6	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+0.861s	7
7	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+1.013s	18
8	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+1.078s	16
9	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.123s	16
10	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+1.169s	27
11	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.317s	10
12	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.527s	22
13	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.532s	18
14	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+1.591s	17
15	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.690s	22
16	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+1.707s	21
17	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+2.326s	7
18	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.594s	16
19	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+2.644s	19
20	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+4.548s	4

Free Practice 2 Classification

2008 British Grand Prix FP2, 4 July 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	1:19.989	35
2	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.531s	32
3	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.554s	31
4	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+0.600s	36
5	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.759s	43
6	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+0.816s	43
7	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+0.940s	39
8	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.954s	18
9	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+0.996s	18
10	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.013s	34
11	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+1.034s	33
12	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.286s	31
13	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.464s	36
14	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.483s	18
15	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.522s	27
16	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+1.531s	42
17	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+1.645s	39
18	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+1.653s	45
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.767s	30
20	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.207s	23

Free Practice 3 Classification

2008 British Grand Prix FP3, 5 July 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:20.740	16
2	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.248s	18
3	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.526s	14
4	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+0.537s	19
5	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.928s	14
6	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+1.046s	14
7	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+1.319s	21
8	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.443s	21
9	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.615s	20
10	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.647s	17
11	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.700s	19
12	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.721s	20
13	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+1.804s	18
14	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.816s	20
15	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+2.176s	22
16	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+2.288s	17
17	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.309s	22
18	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+2.372s	21
19	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+2.542s	20
20	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+11.379s	6

Qualifying

Heikki Kovalainen claimed his first Formula 1 pole with a commanding lap, while Mark Webber delivered Red Bull Racing’s best qualifying result to that point in second. Kimi Räikkönen qualified third and Lewis Hamilton fourth after an excursion on his opening Q3 attempt.

Felipe Massa lost his chance of a second final-session run through a slow tyre change and qualified ninth. Robert Kubica could not set a Q3 time because of a technical problem. The title contenders were therefore scattered through the top ten ahead of a race threatened by further rain.

Qualifying Classification

2008 British Grand Prix Qualifying, 5 July 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	1:19.957	1:19.597	1:21.049	15
2	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:20.982	1:19.710	1:21.554	16
3	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:20.370	1:19.971	1:21.706	18
4	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:20.288	1:19.537	1:21.835	13
5	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:21.022	1:19.802	1:21.873	16
6	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:20.998	1:19.992	1:22.029	15
7	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	1:20.818	1:20.115	1:22.491	19
8	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	1:20.318	1:20.109	1:23.251	16
9	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:20.676	1:20.086	1:23.305	16
10	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:20.444	1:19.788	No time	12
11	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1:21.224	1:20.174	—	14
12	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:20.893	1:20.274	—	14
13	14	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	1:20.584	1:20.531	—	16
14	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:21.145	1:20.601	—	13
15	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	1:21.407	1:21.112	—	14
16	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:21.512	—	—	9
17	16	Jenson Button	Honda	1:21.631	—	—	11
18	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:21.668	—	—	6
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:21.786	—	—	9
20	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	1:21.885	—	—	8

Robert Kubica was left without a time in Q3 due to technical problems.

What happened in the 2008 British Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton surged from fourth to challenge Heikki Kovalainen at the wet start, then took the lead at Stowe on lap five. Kimi Räikkönen later closed in as the track began drying. At their first stops, McLaren gave Lewis Hamilton fresh intermediates while Ferrari left Kimi Räikkönen on his existing tyres, a decision that proved costly when the rain returned.

Lewis Hamilton pulled rapidly clear as Kimi Räikkönen struggled for grip. Nick Heidfeld moved into second, while Rubens Barrichello’s switch to extreme wet tyres gave Honda spectacular pace in the heaviest rain. Numerous drivers spun, including championship contenders Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa; Robert Kubica retired and Felipe Massa endured repeated excursions.

Lewis Hamilton won by 68 seconds from Nick Heidfeld. A refuelling problem forced Rubens Barrichello into an additional stop, but he still secured third for Honda. Kimi Räikkönen recovered to fourth, and the result left Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen tied on points at the head of the championship.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton headed the drivers’ standings with 48 points, followed by Felipe Massa on 48. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 96, with BMW Sauber on 82.

2008 British Grand Prix race results

The 2008 British Grand Prix was held on 6 July 2008, with a scheduled start of 13:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	60	1:39:09.440	10
2	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	60	+1:08.577	8
3	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	60	+1:22.273	6
4	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	59	+1 Lap	5
5	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	59	+1 Lap	4
6	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	59	+1 Lap	3
7	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	59	+1 Lap	2
8	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	59	+1 Lap	1
9	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	59	+1 Lap	0
10	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	59	+1 Lap	0
11	14	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	59	+1 Lap	0
12	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	59	+1 Lap	0
13	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	58	+2 Laps	0
Ret	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	39	Spun off	0
Ret	16	Jenson Button	Honda	38	Spun off	0
Ret	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	35	Spun off	0
Ret	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	26	Spun off	0
Ret	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	10	Spun off	0
Ret	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	0	Collision	0
Ret	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	0	Collision	0

Nico Rosberg started the race from the pit lane.

2008 British Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	18	1:32.150	200.842
2	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	21	1:32.719	199.609
3	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	16	1:32.817	199.398
4	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	17	1:32.952	199.109
5	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	17	1:33.130	198.728
6	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	17	1:33.133	198.722
7	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	21	1:33.203	198.573
8	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	19	1:33.257	198.458
9	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	21	1:33.367	198.224
10	16	Jenson Button	Honda	21	1:33.376	198.205
11	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	21	1:33.386	198.183
12	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	22	1:33.539	197.859
13	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	22	1:33.808	197.292
14	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	21	1:34.277	196.310
15	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	19	1:34.610	195.619
16	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	21	1:34.797	195.234
17	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	21	1:34.930	194.960
18	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	5	1:38.160	188.545

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 British Grand Prix.

2008 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	48
2	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	48
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	48
4	Robert Kubica	Polish	BMW Sauber	46
5	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	36
6	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	McLaren	24
7	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	20
8	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	18
9	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Renault	13
10	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda	11
11	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	8
12	Kazuki Nakajima	Japanese	Williams	8
13	David Coulthard	British	Red Bull Racing	6
14	Timo Glock	German	Toyota	5
15	Sebastian Vettel	German	Toro Rosso	5
16	Jenson Button	British	Honda	3
17	Sébastien Bourdais	French	Toro Rosso	2
18	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Renault	2
19	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Force India	0
20	Takuma Sato	Japanese	Super Aguri	0
21	Anthony Davidson	British	Super Aguri	0
22	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	0

2008 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	96
2	BMW Sauber	82
3	McLaren	72
4	Toyota	25
5	Red Bull Racing	24
6	Williams	16
7	Renault	15
8	Honda	14
9	Toro Rosso	7
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