2008 Formula One World Championship
Lewis Hamilton won the 2008 World Drivers' Championship for McLaren with 98 points, 1 ahead of Felipe Massa (Ferrari).
Hamilton won 5 of the 18 races. Ferrari won the most races (8 of 18). Seven different drivers won a race.
Final standings
| Pos | Driver | Wins | Podiums | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis HamiltonMcLaren | 5 | 10 | 98 |
| 2 | Felipe MassaFerrari | 6 | 10 | 97 |
| 3 | Kimi RäikkönenFerrari | 2 | 9 | 75 |
| 4 | Robert KubicaBMW Sauber | 1 | 7 | 75 |
| 5 | Fernando AlonsoRenault | 2 | 3 | 61 |
| 6 | Nick HeidfeldBMW Sauber | 0 | 4 | 60 |
| 7 | Heikki KovalainenMcLaren | 1 | 3 | 53 |
| 8 | Sebastian VettelToro Rosso | 1 | 1 | 35 |
| 9 | Jarno TrulliToyota | 0 | 1 | 31 |
| 10 | Timo GlockToyota | 0 | 1 | 25 |
| 11 | Mark WebberRed Bull | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| 12 | Nelson Piquet Jr.Renault | 0 | 1 | 19 |
| 13 | Nico RosbergWilliams | 0 | 2 | 17 |
| 14 | Rubens BarrichelloHonda | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| 15 | Kazuki NakajimaWilliams | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 16 | David CoulthardRed Bull | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 17 | Sébastien BourdaisToro Rosso | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 18 | Jenson ButtonHonda | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 19 | Giancarlo FisichellaForce India | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Adrian SutilForce India | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Takuma SatoSuper Aguri | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Anthony DavidsonSuper Aguri | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Races
| Rd | Grand Prix | Date | Winner | Pole | Fastest lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australian Grand Prix | 16 Mar 2008 | Lewis HamiltonMcLaren | Lewis Hamilton | Heikki Kovalainen |
| 2 | Malaysian Grand Prix | 23 Mar 2008 | Kimi RäikkönenFerrari | Felipe Massa | Nick Heidfeld |
| 3 | Bahrain Grand Prix | 6 Apr 2008 | Felipe MassaFerrari | Robert Kubica | Heikki Kovalainen |
| 4 | Spanish Grand Prix | 27 Apr 2008 | Kimi RäikkönenFerrari | Kimi Räikkönen | Kimi Räikkönen |
| 5 | Turkish Grand Prix | 11 May 2008 | Felipe MassaFerrari | Felipe Massa | Kimi Räikkönen |
| 6 | Monaco Grand Prix | 25 May 2008 | Lewis HamiltonMcLaren | Felipe Massa | Kimi Räikkönen |
| 7 | Canadian Grand Prix | 8 Jun 2008 | Robert KubicaBMW Sauber | Lewis Hamilton | Kimi Räikkönen |
| 8 | French Grand Prix | 22 Jun 2008 | Felipe MassaFerrari | Kimi Räikkönen | Kimi Räikkönen |
| 9 | British Grand Prix | 6 Jul 2008 | Lewis HamiltonMcLaren | Heikki Kovalainen | Kimi Räikkönen |
| 10 | German Grand Prix | 20 Jul 2008 | Lewis HamiltonMcLaren | Lewis Hamilton | Nick Heidfeld |
| 11 | Hungarian Grand Prix | 3 Aug 2008 | Heikki KovalainenMcLaren | Lewis Hamilton | Kimi Räikkönen |
| 12 | European Grand Prix | 24 Aug 2008 | Felipe MassaFerrari | Felipe Massa | Felipe Massa |
| 13 | Belgian Grand Prix | 7 Sep 2008 | Felipe MassaFerrari | Lewis Hamilton | Kimi Räikkönen |
| 14 | Italian Grand Prix | 14 Sep 2008 | Sebastian VettelToro Rosso | Sebastian Vettel | Kimi Räikkönen |
| 15 | Singapore Grand Prix | 28 Sep 2008 | Fernando AlonsoRenault | Felipe Massa | Kimi Räikkönen |
| 16 | Japanese Grand Prix | 12 Oct 2008 | Fernando AlonsoRenault | Lewis Hamilton | Felipe Massa |
| 17 | Chinese Grand Prix | 19 Oct 2008 | Lewis HamiltonMcLaren | Lewis Hamilton | Lewis Hamilton |
| 18 | Brazilian Grand Prix | 2 Nov 2008 | Felipe MassaFerrari | Felipe Massa | Felipe Massa |
Race by race
Australian Grand Prix
- Lewis Hamilton won for McLaren from pole, 5.478s ahead of Nick Heidfeld.
- Attrition: only 8 of 22 starters were classified.
- First career podium for Nico Rosberg.
- Lewis Hamilton leads the championship by 2 points from Nick Heidfeld with 17 rounds to go.
Malaysian Grand Prix
- Kimi Räikkönen won for Ferrari from P2, 19.570s ahead of Robert Kubica.
- Polesitter Felipe Massa retired (spun off).
- Lewis Hamilton leads the championship by 3 points from Kimi Räikkönen with 16 rounds to go.
Bahrain Grand Prix
- Felipe Massa won for Ferrari from P2, 3.339s ahead of Kimi Räikkönen.
- Kimi Räikkönen took the championship lead from Lewis Hamilton.
- A one-two finish for Ferrari.
Spanish Grand Prix
- Kimi Räikkönen won for Ferrari from pole, 3.228s ahead of Felipe Massa.
- A hat-trick for Kimi Räikkönen: pole, victory and fastest lap.
- A one-two finish for Ferrari.
- Kimi Räikkönen's 2nd win of 2008.
- Kimi Räikkönen leads the championship by 9 points from Lewis Hamilton with 14 rounds to go.
Turkish Grand Prix
- Felipe Massa won for Ferrari from pole, 3.779s ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
- Felipe Massa's 2nd win of 2008.
- Kimi Räikkönen leads the championship by 7 points from Felipe Massa with 13 rounds to go.
Monaco Grand Prix
- Lewis Hamilton won for McLaren from P3, 3.064s ahead of Robert Kubica.
- Lewis Hamilton took the championship lead from Kimi Räikkönen.
- Lewis Hamilton's 2nd win of 2008.
Canadian Grand Prix
- Robert Kubica won for BMW Sauber from P2, 16.495s ahead of Nick Heidfeld.
- The only Grand Prix win of Robert Kubica's career.
- First Grand Prix win for BMW Sauber.
- Robert Kubica took the championship lead from Lewis Hamilton.
- Championship leader Lewis Hamilton retired (collision).
- A one-two finish for BMW Sauber.
- Polesitter Lewis Hamilton retired (collision).
French Grand Prix
- Felipe Massa won for Ferrari from P2, 17.984s ahead of Kimi Räikkönen.
- Felipe Massa took the championship lead from Robert Kubica.
- A one-two finish for Ferrari.
- Felipe Massa's 3rd win of 2008.
British Grand Prix
- Lewis Hamilton won for McLaren from P4, 1:08.577 ahead of Nick Heidfeld.
- Lewis Hamilton took the championship lead from Felipe Massa.
- A home win for Lewis Hamilton.
- Lewis Hamilton's 3rd win of 2008.
German Grand Prix
- Lewis Hamilton won for McLaren from pole, 5.586s ahead of Nelson Piquet Jr..
- First career podium for Nelson Piquet Jr..
- Lewis Hamilton's 4th win of 2008.
- Lewis Hamilton leads the championship by 4 points from Felipe Massa with 8 rounds to go.
Hungarian Grand Prix
- Heikki Kovalainen won for McLaren from P2, 11.061s ahead of Timo Glock.
- The only Grand Prix win of Heikki Kovalainen's career.
- First career podium for Timo Glock.
- Lewis Hamilton leads the championship by 5 points from Kimi Räikkönen with 7 rounds to go.
European Grand Prix
- Felipe Massa won for Ferrari from pole, 5.611s ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
- A hat-trick for Felipe Massa: pole, victory and fastest lap.
- Felipe Massa's 4th win of 2008.
- Lewis Hamilton leads the championship by 6 points from Felipe Massa with 6 rounds to go.
Belgian Grand Prix
- Felipe Massa won for Ferrari from P2, 9.383s ahead of Nick Heidfeld.
- Felipe Massa's 10th career win.
- Felipe Massa's 5th win of 2008.
- Lewis Hamilton leads the championship by 2 points from Felipe Massa with 5 rounds to go.
Italian Grand Prix
- Sebastian Vettel won for Toro Rosso from pole, 12.512s ahead of Heikki Kovalainen.
- At 21 years and 73 days, Sebastian Vettel became the youngest winner in championship history.
- First career win for Sebastian Vettel.
- First Grand Prix win for Toro Rosso.
- Sebastian Vettel became the 6th different winner of 2008.
- Lewis Hamilton leads the championship by 1 point from Felipe Massa with 4 rounds to go.
Singapore Grand Prix
- Fernando Alonso won for Renault from P15, 2.957s ahead of Nico Rosberg.
- Fernando Alonso became the 7th different winner of 2008.
- Lewis Hamilton leads the championship by 7 points from Felipe Massa with 3 rounds to go.
Japanese Grand Prix
- Fernando Alonso won for Renault from P4, 5.283s ahead of Robert Kubica.
- Fernando Alonso's 2nd win of 2008.
- Lewis Hamilton leads the championship by 5 points from Felipe Massa with 2 rounds to go.
Chinese Grand Prix
- Lewis Hamilton won for McLaren from pole, 14.925s ahead of Felipe Massa.
- A hat-trick for Lewis Hamilton: pole, victory and fastest lap.
- Lewis Hamilton's 5th win of 2008.
- Lewis Hamilton leads the championship by 7 points from Felipe Massa with 1 round to go.
Brazilian Grand Prix
- Felipe Massa won for Ferrari from pole, 13.298s ahead of Fernando Alonso.
- Lewis Hamilton clinched the 2008 title at the final round.
- At 23 years and 300 days, Lewis Hamilton became the youngest world champion in history.
- The last of Felipe Massa's 11 Grand Prix wins.
- A home win for Felipe Massa.
- A hat-trick for Felipe Massa: pole, victory and fastest lap.
- Felipe Massa's 6th win of 2008.