2008 Formula One season
From WOI Encyclopedia Italia
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The 2008 Formula One season is the 59th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It began on 16 March and will end on 2 November after eighteen Grands Prix. It is the first season under the new Concorde Agreement. As it stands, there are a total of seven teams signed up to compete in the championship through an agreement with Formula One Management, with the other four major manufacturers in the Grand Prix Manufacturers’ Association (GPMA) having signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix. All teams in both groups have spots on the 2008 grid. The season sees the banning of traction control after it was re-introduced in 2001. 2008 also introduces two new street circuits. The Valencia Street Circuit and Singapore Street Circuit will host the European GP and the new Singapore GP respectively. The Singapore GP will also be the first Formula One event held at night.
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Pre-season testing
The first multi-team test session started in Jerez on January 14 2008. Ferrari, McLaren and Toyota all tested their 2008 cars. Williams tested a modified version of the FW29 whilst Renault and Red Bull tested their 2007 entries. Honda, Toro Rosso, Super Aguri and Force India also attended. BMW was not in attendance as they were launching the F1.08. Testing then moved to Valencia on January 22. Renault and Williams were the only teams on the track for the first day of testing. They were both testing their 2008 challengers. They were joined by every other team except Super Aguri for the next three days. February 1 saw testing move to Barcelona. Again, all teams but Super Aguri were in action. The first day of testing saw Kazuki Nakajima crash his FW30. It also saw racist abuse directed at Lewis Hamilton. Williams withdrew from testing on day three to try to fix the problem that caused Nakajima's crash. Meanwhile on February 4, Ferrari and Toyota moved to Bahrain to continue testing the F2008 and TF108.
On February 12 testing returned to Jerez. Red Bull and Williams were the only teams in action on the first day. The second day of testing saw all teams but Ferrari and Toyota (who were still in Bahrain) attending. After postponing their SA08 launch and cancelling testing at Valencia, Super Aguri turned up to test their SA07B interim car for the first time.
Testing Moved to Barcelona on February 19. The first day of tests got underway in rain with Williams, Red Bull, Renault and Toyota present. Nico Rosberg topped the time sheets for Williams. BMW Sauber were instead testing on their own in Jerez. Super Aguri did not turn up despite promising a Q&A with the media. They blamed circumstances beyond their control. On the second day Ferrari turned up and topped the time sheets with Felipe Massa on another wet track. McLaren joined on the final day and Williams finished on top with Nakajima. The final multi-team test began on February 25 with every team but Super Aguri attending. Lewis Hamilton topped the time sheets faster than both Kimi Räikkönen and Michael Schumacher. McLaren continued to outpace Ferrari on day two with both drivers on top and Toyota were fastest with Jarno Trulli on the final day.
Teams
On February 14 2006 the FIA President Max Mosley announced that all teams interested in competing in the 2008 World Championship would have a seven-day window during which they would have to submit an application to compete. All eleven current teams applied, as well as several others. On April 28, 2006 the FIA announced that all of the current teams' applications for the 2008 season were granted, along with a new team Prodrive, fronted by the ex-BAR and Benetton principal David Richards. There were 21 applications (including the current teams and Prodrive), of which the following were notable: European Minardi F1 Team Ltd, Jordan Grand Prix, Direxiv and Carlin Motorsport. However despite the Prodrive application being accepted Richards has since announced that the team will not race in 2008 due to a dispute over the legality of customer cars.
Teams Signed with FOM
GPMA manufacturers (MoU with FOM)
Bernie Ecclestone has signed an agreement with the GPMA to end their threat of a breakaway series in 2008.
- BMW Sauber
- Honda
- McLaren-Mercedes
- Renault (Renault have since left the GPMA)
New car launches
| Constructor | Chassis | Launch Date | Launch Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferrari | F2008 | January 6 |  Fiorano, Italy
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| McLaren-Mercedes | MP4-23 | January 7 |  Stuttgart, Germany
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| Toyota | TF108 | January 10 | Cologne, Germany
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| BMW Sauber | F1.08 | January 14 | Munich, Germany
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| Red Bull-Renault | RB4 | January 16 |  Jerez, Spain
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| Honda | RA108 | January 29 |  Brackley, United Kingdom
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| Renault | R28 | January 31 |  Paris, France
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| Force India-Ferrari* | VJM-01 | February 7 |  Mumbai, India
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| Williams-Toyota | FW30 | No Official Launch | |
| Toro Rosso-Ferrari* | STR3 | No Official Launch | |
| Super Aguri-Honda | SA08 | No Official Launch | |
* Team started the season with updated versions of their 2007 car.
Notes
- Super Aguri originally planned to unveil their 2008 challenger, the SA08, in Barcelona on February 19 but due to financial problems they had to postpone the launch and replace it with a Q&A session with the media which was later cancelled itself. On March 10, just before the Australian Grand Prix, team boss Aguri Suzuki revealed that their 2008 challenger will be unveiled on March 14th during Friday practice.
- Renault and Honda both started testing their 2008 cars a week before their official launch.
- Although they did not have an official launch, Williams-Toyota gave the FW30 its track debut on January 21 at Valencia during winter testing with a livery of former Formula One drivers on the nose cone who have driven for Williams in the past 30 years. Their season livery was revealed at their photography studio in Oxfordshire on March 3.
- Toro Rosso-Ferrari started the 2008 season with an updated B spec version of their 2007 STR2 car stating that their 2008 challenger, the Toro Rosso STR3, will be due to make its debut at the fourth or fifth round. The new car made its test debut in the hands of Red Bull Junior driver, Brendon Hartley in Italy on April 2. The car made its public debut in Barcelona on April 16.
Teams and drivers
The following constructors and drivers are participating in the 2008 Formula One season.
† Toro Rosso started 2008 with a modified version of their 2007 car, labelled the STR2B. The Italian team plan to introduce the new STR3 around the fourth or fifth round of the 2008 championship.
2008 race schedule
The FIA World Council approved the 2008 schedule on October 24, 2007.
† New Circuits
Changes
Rule changes
ECU
- A standard Electronic Control Unit (ECU) supplied by McLaren Electronic Systems (badged as Microsoft).
- Traction control and launch control banned along with several other electronic aids including engine braking.
Engine and gearbox
- Max Mosley proposed an engine freeze for ten years. Later, all teams agreed to shorten the engine freeze to five years.
- Rev-limited engines, limited to 19,000 rpm in accordance with sporting code 5.1.3.
- The first unscheduled engine change of the season for each car will not lead to the usual 10 place grid penalty.
- An engine must last two consecutive race meetings, if an engine is changed before the start of qualifying, a ten place grid penalty is applied. If an engine is changed after the start of qualifying, the driver must start the race from the back of the grid. On Friday practice, teams are free to use another engine unit; should the engine coming from the previous race be used, it must be used since Saturday free practice, qualifying and then Sunday race.
- Fuel of the cars must be made up of at least 5.75% biological materials, for cars to comply with the European law on fuel composition.
- Gearboxes to last four races, 5 place grid penalty for a gear box change. If a driver does not finish a race, he is allowed to change the gearbox for the next race without receiving a penalty.
Cars
- Improved cockpit protection.
- The use of a spare car has been restricted. Each competing team will not be allowed to have more than two cars available for use at any time. In this context, a car is considered as such if it is a partially assembled survival cell, fitted with an engine, any front suspension, bodywork, radiators, oil tanks or heat exchangers.
- The weight of the car can not be less than 605kg (approximately 1,334 lbs.) at any time during the Grand Prix.
Tyres
- No driver may use more than two sets of each type of dry-weather tyre during Friday practice.
- During a Grand Prix, no driver may use more than 14 sets of dry-weather tyres, four sets of wet-weather tyres and three sets of extreme-weather tyres.
- Bridgestone will be the official tyre supplier for the 2008-2010 seasons.
Qualifying
- The first part of qualifying lengthened to 20 minutes, and final part of qualifying shortened to 10 minutes. Teams taking part in Q3 will no longer be allowed to add fuel back to the car after qualifying to eliminate 'fuel-burn' phase.
- A minimum lap time for each qualifying session has been implemented from Round 3 in Bahrain to stop cars coasting back to the pits at dangerously low speeds as seen in Round 2 in Malaysia. Both Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen were put back five grid places after the stewards decided that they had impeded Nick Heidfeld and Fernando Alonso. The minimum lap time will be different for each race. For example, it was 1:39 in Bahrain.
Testing
- No competing team is allowed to carry out more than 30,000km (~18,640mi) of testing during the 2008 calendar year.
Driver changes
- Sebastian Vettel replaced Scott Speed from the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix onwards at Scuderia Toro Rosso and was confirmed as driver for 2008. Team-mate Vitantonio Liuzzi is to be replaced by Champ Car World Series four time world champion Sébastien Bourdais for 2008.
- On October 1, Ralf Schumacher announced that he would leave Toyota at the end of the 2007 season.
- On October 7, it was reported that Alexander Wurz had decided to retire from racing. He is staying on as test driver for Honda.
- On November 2, Fernando Alonso and McLaren announced that both parties agreed to a ‘mutual parting of ways’.
- On November 7 2007, Williams announced that Kazuki Nakajima would partner Nico Rosberg for the 2008 season.
- On November 19 2007, Timo Glock was confirmed as the replacement driver for Ralf Schumacher by Toyota.
- On December 7 2007, After testing for Force India, Ralf Schumacher says it is unlikely he will return to Formula One.
- On December 10 2007, Renault confirmed that Fernando Alonso will drive for them next season. He is partnered by rookie Nelson Piquet Jr.
- On December 14 2007, McLaren confirmed Heikki Kovalainen will partner Lewis Hamilton.
- On January 10 2008, Force India confirmed Giancarlo Fisichella as first driver and Vitantonio Liuzzi as a test driver. Adrian Sutil had already been confirmed as the team's second driver.
- On January 10 2008, Alexander Wurz was announced as the reserve driver for Honda after leaving Williams just before the Brazil GP.
- On February 2 2008, BMW announced that Christian Klien has been contracted as their test and reserve driver for the 2008 season. He will work alongside Marko Asmer who will become the team’s junior tester.
- On February 4 2008, Renault signed Japanese driver Sakon Yamamoto as a test development driver for the 2008 season.
Team changes
- Rumours about the possible sale of the Jordan/Spyker team had been abundant in the paddock throughout the last few months of the 2007 season. Only a year after Spyker bought the team from Midland, Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya bought the team for €88 million, several million more than Spyker paid. On October 24 2007, Mallya was granted permission to change the team's name to Force India. He also said he would like to keep German driver Adrian Sutil for 2008. Force India had a driver announcement ceremony in January 2008 where it was revealed that Sutil would be second driver partnered by first driver Giancarlo Fisichella and test driver Vitantonio Liuzzi.
- On 28 April 2006, rallying and motorsports technology firm Prodrive were officially granted entry to Formula One when the FIA announced the list of entrants to the 2008 Formula One World Championship. While a total of 21 teams applied for entry, the FIA had always maintained that, only 12 teams would be granted entry, meaning only one new team would line up on the grid in 2008. FIA president Max Mosley revealed that Prodrive had found the finances to support their bid. Also, Prodrive's chief executive, David Richards, has experience as a Formula One team principal". Richards has previously acted as team principal of the Benetton and British American Racing teams. However on 23 November 2007, after lengthy negotiations between FIA president Max Mosley regarding customer cars, Richards announced that Prodrive F1 would not compete in the 2008 Formula One World Championship, as the legal situation left no time for the team to be set up.
- On December 31 2007, Toyota announced that they would end their sponsorship deal with Kingfisher Airlines due to the fact that Kingfisher Airliners' owner Dr. Vijay Mallya wants to focus on the new F1 team Force India which was formed after Dr. Mallya's 2007 acquisition of Spyker F1 team. Although the team had a two year deal with the Indian airline company, both parties agreed to terminate the deal by 'mutual consent'.
- On March 10 2008, Super Aguri announced that a major deal had been made with Magma Group to solve the team's financial problems, the details of which have not been released.
Race changes
- It has been confirmed that Singapore will host a Grand Prix from 2008 for the next five years. It will be a street circuit, with the route designed by Hermann Tilke. It has been confirmed that the Grand Prix will be a night race, with a start time of 20:00 local time and run in an anti-clockwise direction to enhance safety. It has also been revealed that practice sessions and qualifying will take place at night.
- The European Grand Prix will take place at the Valencia Street Circuit in 2008, changing from the Nürburgring which hosted the event up until 2007. Because both German circuits share the right to host an F1 race, the German Grand Prix will take place at Hockenheim in 2008. It will continue to alternate between these two circuits yearly.
- It has been confirmed that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will not hold a Grand Prix in 2008; however, a possible return to Indianapolis in the future has not been completely ruled out.
- The 2007 French GP was said to be the last to be held at Magny-Cours. Alternatives for the French Grand Prix included Paul Ricard or a new circuit near Disneyland Paris or Charles de Gaulle airport likely to host the event from 2009. However on 24 July 2007 it was reported that Bernie Ecclestone had "agreed in principle to maintain the race at Magny-Cours in 2008, and even 2009, if there were no other alternative."
- The 2008 season also sees changes to the race start times for China, moved to 15:00 and Australia, moved from its traditional 14:00 slot to 15:30.
Other Changes
- On March 7 it was announced that Mercedes-AMG would provide new Safety Cars and Medical Cars for the 2008 season. Mercedes-AMG, the high performance arm of the Mercedes-Benz brand will supply Safety Cars based on the SL63 AMG and Medical Cars based on the C63 AMG Estate. Bernd Mayländer will continue as the Safety Car driver.
- On March 7, the official Formula One tyre supplier Bridgestone announced that they will mark their extreme wet weather tyres with a white line in the central groove to differentiate it with the softer wet weather tyre compound. They will continue to the same with their dry compounds.
Results and Standings
Grands Prix
| Rd. | Grand Prix | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning Driver | Winning Constructor | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Australian Grand Prix
| Lewis Hamilton
|  Heikki Kovalainen
| Lewis Hamilton
| McLaren-Mercedes
| Report |
| 2 |  Malaysian Grand Prix
|  Felipe Massa
| Nick Heidfeld
| Kimi Räikkönen
| Ferrari
| Report |
| 3 |  Bahrain Grand Prix
|  Robert Kubica
| Heikki Kovalainen
| Felipe Massa
| Ferrari
| Report |
| 4 |  Spanish Grand Prix
| Kimi Räikkönen
| Kimi Räikkönen
| Kimi Räikkönen
| Ferrari
| Report |
| 5 |  Turkish Grand Prix
| Felipe Massa
| Kimi Räikkönen
| Felipe Massa
| Ferrari
| Report |
| 6 |  Monaco Grand Prix
| Report | ||||
| 7 |  Canadian Grand Prix
| Report | ||||
| 8 | French Grand Prix
| Report | ||||
| 9 | British Grand Prix
| Report | ||||
| 10 | German Grand Prix
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| 11 |  Hungarian Grand Prix
| Report | ||||
| 12 |  European Grand Prix
| Report | ||||
| 13 |  Belgian Grand Prix
| Report | ||||
| 14 | Italian Grand Prix
| Report | ||||
| 15 |  Singapore Grand Prix
| Report | ||||
| 16 |  Japanese Grand Prix
| Report | ||||
| 17 |  Chinese Grand Prix
| Report | ||||
| 18 | Brazilian Grand Prix
| Report |
Drivers
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