2008 French Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Felipe Massa inherited the lead when an exhaust problem slowed Kimi Räikkönen, then completed another Ferrari one-two at Magny-Cours. Jarno Trulli held off Heikki Kovalainen for a hard-earned podium, while Lewis Hamilton’s recovery from a grid penalty ended without points.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Pole time	1:16.449
Fastest lap	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:16.630 on lap 16
First	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Second	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Third	Jarno Trulli	Toyota

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
20 June 2008	Practice 1	10:00
20 June 2008	Practice 2	14:00
21 June 2008	Practice 3	11:00
21 June 2008	Qualifying	14:00
22 June 2008	Race	14:00

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

Championship background

Robert Kubica arrived at round 8 leading the 2008 F1 World Championship on 42 points, with Lewis Hamilton on 38. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 73 points.

Race entries

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

Free Practice

Felipe Massa set the opening pace in dry FP1 conditions, with both McLarens close enough to suggest Ferrari would face opposition. Toyota worked through its tyre and setup programme at a circuit where it expected to be competitive. The sensitivity of the dark track surface to temperature made maintaining the right balance an important part of that work.

Fernando Alonso put Renault fastest in the hot second session, while numerous excursions reflected the slippery conditions. Ferrari remained close, but different programmes made the leading time difficult to assess. At the session’s conclusion, drivers also tested a system intended to control speeds more effectively during hazardous situations.

Nelson Piquet continued Renault’s encouraging practice showing by heading the final session. Ferrari and McLaren concentrated on heavier-fuel running ahead of race-fuel qualifying, leaving several midfield cars near the top. Renault’s speed offered home-race encouragement, although the afternoon would provide the clearer measure of its competitiveness.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2008 French Grand Prix FP1, 20 June 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:15.306	22
2	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.696s	22
3	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.749s	20
4	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.767s	21
5	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+1.071s	19
6	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.094s	23
7	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.452s	32
8	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+1.532s	27
9	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.564s	21
10	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.580s	31
11	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+1.757s	31
12	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.928s	21
13	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.963s	22
14	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+2.088s	30
15	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+2.185s	25
16	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+2.377s	27
17	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+2.390s	25
18	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+2.622s	21
19	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+2.766s	27
20	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+3.367s	13

Free Practice 2 Classification

2008 French Grand Prix FP2, 20 June 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:15.778	37
2	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.076s	24
3	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.221s	42
4	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.454s	29
5	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+0.520s	42
6	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.539s	35
7	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.562s	36
8	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+0.680s	43
9	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+0.765s	39
10	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+0.794s	36
11	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.904s	42
12	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+0.965s	43
13	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+0.980s	42
14	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+1.224s	32
15	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.314s	39
16	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.328s	38
17	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.466s	37
18	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+1.616s	42
19	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.813s	27
20	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.090s	33

Free Practice 3 Classification

2008 French Grand Prix FP3, 21 June 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	1:15.750	19
2	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.009s	14
3	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+0.077s	21
4	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.224s	17
5	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.253s	18
6	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+0.397s	20
7	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.432s	16
8	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+0.485s	18
9	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.506s	17
10	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+0.532s	18
11	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+0.594s	20
12	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+0.687s	20
13	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.795s	16
14	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.867s	20
15	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+0.894s	16
16	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+0.901s	20
17	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+0.908s	17
18	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+0.937s	19
19	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+1.615s	23
20	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.862s	21

Qualifying

Kimi Räikkönen secured Ferrari’s 200th pole, with Felipe Massa alongside. Lewis Hamilton was third fastest but carried a ten-place penalty from the Canadian pit-lane collision, promoting Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli on the starting grid.

Heikki Kovalainen received a further five-place penalty for impeding Mark Webber. Nico Rosberg also served a penalty from Canada, and Rubens Barrichello faced a gearbox penalty. The revised grid therefore left both McLarens with substantial recovery work despite their qualifying pace.

Qualifying Classification

2008 French Grand Prix Qualifying, 21 June 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:15.133	1:15.161	1:16.449	16
2	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:15.024	1:15.041	1:16.490	17
3	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:15.634	1:15.293	1:16.693	15
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:15.754	1:15.483	1:16.840	18
5	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:15.521	1:15.362	1:16.920	19
6	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	1:15.965	1:15.639	1:16.944	18
7	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:15.687	1:15.723	1:17.037	19
8	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:16.020	1:15.488	1:17.233	18
9	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1:15.802	1:15.654	1:17.426	19
10	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:15.727	1:15.558	1:17.596	24
11	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	1:15.848	1:15.770	—	12
12	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:16.006	1:15.786	—	14
13	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	1:15.918	1:15.816	—	17
14	14	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	1:16.072	1:16.045	—	17
15	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:16.085	1:16.235	—	12
16	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	1:16.243	—	—	9
17	16	Jenson Button	Honda	1:16.306	—	—	9
18	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:16.330	—	—	6
19	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	1:16.971	—	—	10
20	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:17.053	—	—	9

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton each received a ten-place grid penalty after causing a collision with Kimi Räikkönen in the previous round, the Canadian Grand Prix.

Heikki Kovalainen received a five-place grid penalty for blocking Mark Webber in qualifying.

Rubens Barrichello received a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.

What happened in the 2008 French Grand Prix?

Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa retained the leading positions while Jarno Trulli passed Fernando Alonso for third. Lewis Hamilton made early progress from 13th, but a drive-through penalty for gaining an advantage by cutting a corner undid much of that work. Ferrari steadily opened a large gap over the chasing field.

Near half-distance, Kimi Räikkönen’s exhaust broke and his pace dropped. Felipe Massa closed in and passed, then pulled clear while his teammate managed the damaged car. Heikki Kovalainen advanced through the stops and began pressing Jarno Trulli, with light late rain adding another complication to their contest.

Felipe Massa won ahead of Kimi Räikkönen, taking the drivers’ championship lead. Jarno Trulli resisted Heikki Kovalainen to claim Toyota’s first podium in more than two years. Nelson Piquet scored his first Formula 1 points in seventh, ahead of Fernando Alonso, while Lewis Hamilton finished tenth after another costly weekend.

After the race, Felipe Massa headed the drivers’ standings with 48 points, followed by Robert Kubica on 46. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 91, with BMW Sauber on 74.

2008 French Grand Prix race results

The 2008 French Grand Prix was held on 22 June 2008, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	70	1:31:50.245	10
2	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	70	+17.984	8
3	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	70	+28.250	6
4	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	70	+28.929	5
5	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	70	+30.512	4
6	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	70	+40.304	3
7	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	70	+41.033	2
8	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	70	+43.372	1
9	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	70	+51.021	0
10	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	70	+54.538	0
11	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	70	+57.700	0
12	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	70	+58.065	0
13	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	70	+1:02.079	0
14	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	69	+1 lap	0
15	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	69	+1 lap	0
16	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	69	+1 lap	0
17	14	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	69	+1 lap	0
18	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	69	+1 lap	0
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	69	+1 lap	0
Ret	16	Jenson Button	Honda	16	Collision damage	0

2008 French Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	16	1:16.630	207.224
2	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	20	1:16.729	206.956
3	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	46	1:17.134	205.870
4	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	16	1:17.172	205.768
5	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	40	1:17.453	205.022
6	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	22	1:17.507	204.879
7	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	12	1:17.567	204.721
8	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	39	1:17.641	204.525
9	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	46	1:17.716	204.328
10	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	24	1:17.758	204.218
11	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	36	1:17.760	204.212
12	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	23	1:17.818	204.060
13	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	45	1:17.836	204.013
14	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	54	1:17.969	203.665
15	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	60	1:18.054	203.443
16	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	28	1:18.216	203.022
17	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	38	1:18.311	202.776
18	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	41	1:18.462	202.385
19	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	53	1:18.557	202.141
20	16	Jenson Button	Honda	15	1:20.876	196.345

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 French Grand Prix.

2008 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	48
2	Robert Kubica	Polish	BMW Sauber	46
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	43
4	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	38
5	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	28
6	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	McLaren	20
7	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	18
8	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	18
9	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Renault	10
10	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	8
11	Kazuki Nakajima	Japanese	Williams	7
12	David Coulthard	British	Red Bull Racing	6
13	Timo Glock	German	Toyota	5
14	Sebastian Vettel	German	Toro Rosso	5
15	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda	5
16	Jenson Button	British	Honda	3
17	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Renault	2
18	Sébastien Bourdais	French	Toro Rosso	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	91
2	BMW Sauber	74
3	McLaren	58
4	Red Bull Racing	24
5	Toyota	23
6	Williams	15
7	Renault	12
8	Honda	8
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