2008 Monaco Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton turned an early brush with the barriers into a memorable Monaco victory. A revised strategy carried him through a wet-to-dry race ahead of Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa, while Adrian Sutil’s remarkable challenge ended in heartbreak just short of the finish.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Pole time	1:15.787
Fastest lap	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:16.689 on lap 74
First	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
Second	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
Third	Felipe Massa	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
22 May 2008	Practice 1	10:00
22 May 2008	Practice 2	14:00
24 May 2008	Practice 3	11:00
24 May 2008	Qualifying	14:00
25 May 2008	Race	14:00

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

Championship background

Kimi Räikkönen arrived at round 6 leading the 2008 F1 World Championship on 35 points, with Felipe Massa on 28. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 63 points.

Race entries

Toro Rosso introduced its new STR3 for Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais. The ten teams otherwise retained their race line-ups following Super Aguri’s withdrawal, with Monaco’s opening practice sessions taking place on Thursday as usual.

Free Practice

Kimi Räikkönen led opening practice, which was interrupted when officials discovered a loose drain cover on Beau Rivage. Nick Heidfeld stopped in Casino Square with an engine failure, while Jarno Trulli damaged his suspension against the barriers. Toro Rosso began learning its new car on the most unforgiving circuit of the season.

Lewis Hamilton set the pace in FP2, but both Renault drivers crashed separately at Sainte Dévote and required track clean-up. Jarno Trulli and Adrian Sutil also touched the barriers. Nico Rosberg’s strong performance offered Williams encouragement, while the succession of incidents illustrated how little room Monaco allowed for setup errors or misjudged braking.

Heikki Kovalainen recorded the fastest lap before crashing at the Swimming Pool in final practice. Rain intensified while the debris was cleared, ensuring the earlier times stood. His accident left McLaren with repairs before qualifying and gave drivers only limited opportunity to assess the increasingly slippery conditions.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2008 Monaco Grand Prix FP1, 22 May 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:15.948	26
2	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.268s	27
3	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.300s	28
4	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.344s	26
5	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.705s	27
6	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.886s	23
7	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.550s	25
8	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.563s	26
9	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.850s	23
10	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+1.887s	26
11	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.994s	26
12	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+2.205s	26
13	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+2.297s	30
14	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+2.315s	13
15	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+2.326s	28
16	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.412s	16
17	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.412s	25
18	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+3.007s	32
19	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+3.228s	35
20	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	No time	3

Free Practice 2 Classification

2008 Monaco Grand Prix FP2, 22 May 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:15.140	40
2	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.393s	39
3	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.432s	42
4	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.729s	37
5	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.741s	39
6	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+1.156s	34
7	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.170s	27
8	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.211s	45
9	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+1.232s	40
10	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.278s	32
11	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.286s	44
12	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.548s	46
13	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.954s	39
14	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.991s	39
15	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+2.106s	35
16	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+2.111s	33
17	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.239s	28
18	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+2.441s	38
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+3.036s	31
20	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+3.085s	38

Free Practice 3 Classification

2008 Monaco Grand Prix FP3, 24 May 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	1:16.567	11
2	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.517s	15
3	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.610s	21
4	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.936s	26
5	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+1.120s	22
6	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.124s	26
7	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.289s	22
8	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.316s	23
9	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+1.580s	26
10	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.658s	27
11	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+1.800s	16
12	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.857s	26
13	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.888s	19
14	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+2.048s	25
15	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+2.084s	29
16	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+2.228s	24
17	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.291s	25
18	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+2.457s	23
19	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+2.564s	10
20	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+4.238s	17

Qualifying

Felipe Massa claimed pole ahead of Kimi Räikkönen, giving Ferrari the front row. Lewis Hamilton was only 0.052 seconds behind Felipe Massa in third, with Heikki Kovalainen fourth and Robert Kubica fifth after difficulty bringing his tyres into the right temperature range.

David Coulthard crashed under braking after the tunnel in Q2, disrupting several rivals’ final attempts and later requiring a gearbox change. Jenson Button and Nick Heidfeld were among those left outside the top ten, while gearbox penalties further complicated the lower half of the grid.

Qualifying Classification

2008 Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying, 24 May 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:15.190	1:15.110	1:15.787	20
2	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:15.717	1:15.404	1:15.815	19
3	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:15.582	1:15.322	1:15.839	20
4	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	1:15.295	1:15.389	1:16.165	25
5	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:15.977	1:15.483	1:16.171	18
6	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:15.935	1:15.287	1:16.548	24
7	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:16.646	1:15.827	1:16.852	20
8	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:16.306	1:15.598	1:17.203	21
9	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:16.074	1:15.745	1:17.343	19
10	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1:16.086	1:15.839	No time	18
11	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:16.285	1:15.907	—	16
12	16	Jenson Button	Honda	1:16.259	1:16.101	—	13
13	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:16.650	1:16.455	—	14
14	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	1:16.756	1:16.479	—	16
15	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:16.208	1:16.537	—	12
16	14	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	1:16.806	—	—	9
17	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	1:16.933	—	—	8
18	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	1:16.955	—	—	11
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:17.225	—	—	12
20	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	1:17.823	—	—	8

David Coulthard failed to set a time in Q3 following an accident at the end of Q2.

David Coulthard, Sebastian Vettel and Giancarlo Fisichella were each given five place grid penalties for changing their gearboxes.

What happened in the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton passed Kimi Räikkönen at the wet start but punctured a tyre after clipping the barrier at Tabac. McLaren used the enforced stop to add fuel for a long stint. Felipe Massa later ran wide at Sainte Dévote, briefly handing Robert Kubica the lead, while Kimi Räikkönen served a penalty for a pre-start tyre infringement.

As the track dried, Lewis Hamilton’s revised strategy brought him to the front. He built enough of a margin to switch to dry tyres and retain the lead, while Robert Kubica moved ahead of Felipe Massa through the later stops. Nico Rosberg’s heavy crash at the Swimming Pool brought out another safety car and set up a tense finish.

After the restart, Kimi Räikkönen lost control under braking out of the tunnel and hit Adrian Sutil, ending the Force India driver’s run in fourth. Lewis Hamilton held on through the two-hour limit to win ahead of Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa. Sebastian Vettel scored strongly in the new Toro Rosso, and Lewis Hamilton left Monaco leading the championship after one of his most eventful victories.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton headed the drivers’ standings with 38 points, followed by Kimi Räikkönen on 35. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 69, with McLaren on 53.

2008 Monaco Grand Prix race results

The 2008 Monaco Grand Prix was held on 25 May 2008, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	76	2:00:42.742	10
2	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	76	+3.064	8
3	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	76	+4.811	6
4	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	76	+19.295	5
5	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	76	+24.657	4
6	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	76	+28.408	3
7	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	76	+30.180	2
8	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	76	+33.191	1
9	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	76	+33.792	0
10	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	75	+1 Lap	0
11	16	Jenson Button	Honda	75	+1 Lap	0
12	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	75	+1 Lap	0
13	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	75	+1 Lap	0
14	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	72	+4 Laps	0
Ret	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	67	Collision damage	0
Ret	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	59	Accident	0
Ret	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	47	Accident	0
Ret	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	36	Gearbox	0
Ret	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	7	Accident	0
Ret	14	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	7	Collision	0

Heikki Kovalainen started the race from the pitlane.

2008 Monaco Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	74	1:16.689	156.789
2	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	74	1:17.282	155.586
3	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	73	1:17.869	154.413
4	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	76	1:17.886	154.379
5	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	75	1:17.933	154.286
6	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	71	1:18.510	153.152
7	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	74	1:18.787	152.614
8	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	74	1:19.036	152.133
9	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	75	1:19.574	151.104
10	16	Jenson Button	Honda	74	1:19.582	151.089
11	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	75	1:19.618	151.021
12	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	75	1:19.830	150.620
13	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	75	1:19.910	150.469
14	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	72	1:20.251	149.829
15	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	58	1:21.270	147.951
16	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	60	1:22.039	146.564
17	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	40	1:31.187	131.860
18	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	33	1:32.849	129.500
19	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	7	1:41.150	118.872
20	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	7	1:42.112	117.753

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 Monaco Grand Prix.

2008 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	38
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	35
3	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	34
4	Robert Kubica	Polish	BMW Sauber	32
5	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	20
6	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	McLaren	15
7	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	15
8	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Renault	9
9	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	9
10	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	8
11	Kazuki Nakajima	Japanese	Williams	7
12	Sebastian Vettel	German	Toro Rosso	4
13	Jenson Button	British	Honda	3
14	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda	3
15	Sébastien Bourdais	French	Toro Rosso	2
16	David Coulthard	British	Red Bull Racing	0
17	Timo Glock	German	Toyota	0
18	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Force India	0
19	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Renault	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	69
2	McLaren	53
3	BMW Sauber	52
4	Williams	15
5	Red Bull Racing	15
6	Toyota	9
7	Renault	9
8	Toro Rosso	6
9	Honda	6
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