2008 Spanish Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Kimi Räikkönen led another Ferrari one-two in Spain, extending his championship advantage with a controlled performance. Fernando Alonso’s front-row start thrilled the home crowd, but his race ended early, while concern centred on Heikki Kovalainen after a frightening high-speed accident.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Pole time	1:21.813
Fastest lap	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:21.670 on lap 46
First	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Second	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Third	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
25 April 2008	Practice 1	10:00
25 April 2008	Practice 2	14:00
26 April 2008	Practice 3	11:00
26 April 2008	Qualifying	14:00
27 April 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 4 leading the 2008 F1 World Championship on 19 points, with Nick Heidfeld on 16. BMW Sauber headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 30 points.

Race entries

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

Free Practice

Kimi Räikkönen headed a Ferrari one-two in FP1, while Felipe Massa recovered from early spins and excursions to complete useful running. The leading cars immediately looked competitive at the familiar Circuit de Catalunya. Fernando Alonso’s updated Renault offered the home crowd encouragement, although Ferrari remained the opening reference.

Kimi Räikkönen stayed fastest in FP2 as heavier fuel loads complicated comparisons. Renault placed both cars close to the front, but McLaren had a more difficult afternoon: Heikki Kovalainen encountered gearbox trouble and Lewis Hamilton struggled with excessive oversteer. Those problems left the team with setup and reliability work before qualifying.

Nick Heidfeld used the softer tyre to top final practice, while Ferrari and McLaren again ran heavier programmes. Mark Webber failed to record a time after his car stopped at the pit exit following installation laps. His lost running contrasted with David Coulthard’s competitive session in the other Red Bull Racing car.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2008 Spanish Grand Prix FP1, 25 April 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:20.649	17
2	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.050s	9
3	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.543s	20
4	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.919s	20
5	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+1.109s	10
6	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.284s	18
7	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+1.287s	21
8	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.469s	20
9	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.629s	24
10	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.983s	16
11	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+2.353s	21
12	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+2.354s	25
13	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+2.366s	14
14	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.492s	15
15	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+2.504s	24
16	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.507s	22
17	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+2.547s	20
18	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+2.704s	14
19	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+3.303s	15
20	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+3.433s	15
21	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+3.629s	14
22	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+4.419s	10

Free Practice 2 Classification

2008 Spanish Grand Prix FP2, 25 April 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:21.935	38
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+0.084s	38
3	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+0.097s	26
4	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+0.237s	35
5	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.294s	32
6	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.303s	36
7	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.331s	33
8	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+0.354s	30
9	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+0.448s	38
10	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+0.613s	38
11	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.750s	33
12	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.853s	38
13	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.195s	40
14	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.289s	34
15	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.328s	34
16	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+1.329s	8
17	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.480s	31
18	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+1.726s	35
19	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+1.749s	37
20	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.948s	40
21	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+3.175s	30
22	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+3.228s	31

Free Practice 3 Classification

2008 Spanish Grand Prix FP3, 26 April 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:21.269	19
2	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+0.196s	16
3	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+0.330s	16
4	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.448s	23
5	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+0.502s	21
6	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+0.673s	19
7	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+0.723s	18
8	16	Jenson Button	Honda	+0.791s	17
9	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.806s	16
10	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	+0.812s	23
11	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.825s	15
12	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.905s	19
13	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.907s	18
14	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+0.920s	16
15	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.951s	16
16	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+1.023s	20
17	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.081s	17
18	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+1.197s	22
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.420s	21
20	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+2.457s	16
21	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+2.652s	15
22	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	No time	2

Qualifying

Kimi Räikkönen claimed his first pole of the season, narrowly beating Fernando Alonso’s lightly fuelled Renault. Felipe Massa qualified third ahead of Robert Kubica and Lewis Hamilton, with the first five cars covered by little more than two tenths.

Nelson Piquet reached Q3 for the first time, giving Renault further reason for optimism. Nick Heidfeld struggled with his tyres on the final run, while David Coulthard was eliminated in Q1 after failing to generate sufficient tyre temperature. Both Super Aguri cars occupied the back row in what proved to be the team’s final race.

Qualifying Classification

2008 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying, 26 April 2008

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:20.701	1:20.784	1:21.813	17
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:21.347	1:20.804	1:21.904	18
3	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:21.528	1:20.584	1:22.058	16
4	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:21.423	1:20.597	1:22.065	13
5	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:21.366	1:20.825	1:22.096	14
6	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	1:21.430	1:20.817	1:22.231	15
7	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:21.494	1:20.984	1:22.429	19
8	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:21.158	1:20.907	1:22.529	19
9	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:21.466	1:20.815	1:22.542	20
10	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	1:21.409	1:20.894	1:22.699	18
11	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:21.548	1:21.049	—	12
12	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	1:21.690	1:21.117	—	15
13	16	Jenson Button	Honda	1:21.757	1:21.211	—	12
14	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:21.427	1:21.230	—	16
15	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:21.472	1:21.349	—	15
16	14	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	1:21.540	1:21.724	—	15
17	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1:21.810	—	—	6
18	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	1:22.108	—	—	10
19	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	1:22.516	—	—	11
20	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:23.224	—	—	8
21	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	1:23.318	—	—	9
22	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	1:23.496	—	—	9

What happened in the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix?

Felipe Massa passed Fernando Alonso at the start to follow Kimi Räikkönen, while Lewis Hamilton moved ahead of Robert Kubica. An opening-lap collision brought out the safety car, but Ferrari resumed control after the restart. Fernando Alonso’s early stop confirmed his lighter fuel load and promoted Lewis Hamilton to third.

Heikki Kovalainen suffered a rapid tyre deflation and crashed heavily into the barriers, causing another safety-car period. He escaped with concussion and was taken for medical checks. Nick Heidfeld had to refuel while the pit lane was closed and received a stop-go penalty, while Fernando Alonso’s engine failure ended the home challenge after the restart.

Kimi Räikkönen won from Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton, also setting fastest lap. Mark Webber finished fifth behind Robert Kubica, and Jenson Button scored Honda’s first points of the season in sixth. Ferrari moved into the constructors’ championship lead, but relief over Heikki Kovalainen’s condition was a significant part of the afternoon’s conclusion.

After the race, Kimi Räikkönen headed the drivers’ standings with 29 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton on 20. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 47, with BMW Sauber on 35.

2008 Spanish Grand Prix race results

The 2008 Spanish Grand Prix was held on 27 April 2008, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	66	1:38:19.051	10
2	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	66	+ 3.228	8
3	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	66	+ 4.187	6
4	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	66	+ 5.694	5
5	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	66	+ 35.938	4
6	16	Jenson Button	Honda	66	+ 53.010	3
7	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	66	+ 58.244	2
8	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	66	+ 59.435	1
9	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	66	+ 1:03.073	0
10	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	65	+ 1 lap	0
11	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	65	+ 1 lap	0
12	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	65	+ 1 lap	0
13	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	65	+ 1 lap	0
Ret	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	41	Engine	0
Ret	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	34	Engine	0
Ret	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	34	Collision damage	0
Ret	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	21	Wheel rim/Crash	0
Ret	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	8	Holed radiator	0
Ret	14	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	7	Collision damage	0
Ret	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	6	Collision	0
Ret	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	0	Collision	0
Ret	15	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	0	Collision	0

2008 Spanish Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	46	1:21.670	205.191
2	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	45	1:21.801	204.863
3	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	20	1:22.017	204.323
4	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	20	1:22.106	204.102
5	16	Jenson Button	Honda	66	1:22.353	203.489
6	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	19	1:22.453	203.243
7	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	21	1:22.519	203.080
8	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	19	1:22.564	202.969
9	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	15	1:22.683	202.677
10	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	45	1:22.758	202.494
11	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	57	1:22.842	202.288
12	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	57	1:23.007	201.886
13	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams	20	1:23.319	201.130
14	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	40	1:23.439	200.841
15	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	48	1:23.549	200.576
16	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	21	1:23.858	199.837
17	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	34	1:24.617	198.045
18	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	6	1:25.444	196.128
19	14	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	6	1:25.999	194.862
20	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	6	1:26.864	192.922

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 Spanish Grand Prix.

2008 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	29
2	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	20
3	Robert Kubica	Polish	BMW Sauber	19
4	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	18
5	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	16
6	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	McLaren	14
7	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	9
8	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	8
9	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	7
10	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Renault	6
11	Kazuki Nakajima	Japanese	Williams	5
12	Jenson Button	British	Honda	3
13	Sébastien Bourdais	French	Toro Rosso	2
14	Timo Glock	German	Toyota	0
15	David Coulthard	British	Red Bull Racing	0
16	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Force India	0
17	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda	0
18	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Renault	0
19	Takuma Sato	Japanese	Super Aguri	0
20	Anthony Davidson	British	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	Ferrari	47
2	BMW Sauber	35
3	McLaren	34
4	Williams	12
5	Toyota	9
6	Red Bull Racing	8
7	Renault	6
8	Honda	3
9	Toro Rosso	2
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