2008 F1 Season
18 races · McLaren MP4-23
The 2008 season produced the most dramatic finish in memory. The championship between Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari) was decided on the last lap of the last race, at a soaking Interlagos.
Massa did everything he could: he won his home race and, for a few seconds, was world champion in front of his fans. But Hamilton needed to finish fifth and was running sixth on the final lap; at the penultimate corner, with the rain intensifying, he passed a Glock on the wrong tyres and grabbed the decisive point.
Hamilton was thus crowned champion by a single point and became the youngest in history at the time, as well as the sport's first Black champion. The image of the Ferrari garage celebrating and collapsing within seconds was etched forever.
Drivers' Champion
Lewis Hamilton
McLaren MP4-23
Constructors' Champion
Ferrari
18 races
Ver en españolKey moment
"Last lap of Brazil: Hamilton passes Glock at the last corner. 1 point final difference."
The 2008 grid, car by car
The 10 teams that raced in 2008, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.
| # | Team | Our rating | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari | 97 | Kimi Räikkönen · Felipe Massa |
| 2 | McLaren | 96 | Lewis Hamilton · Heikki Kovalainen |
| 3 | BMW Sauber | 88 | Robert Kubica · Nick Heidfeld |
| 4 | Renault | 84 | Fernando Alonso · Nelson Piquet Jr |
| 5 | Toyota | 81 | Jarno Trulli · Timo Glock |
| 6 | Williams | 80 | Nico Rosberg · Kazuki Nakajima |
| 7 | Red Bull | 79 | Mark Webber · David Coulthard |
| 8 | Toro Rosso | 78 | Sebastian Vettel · Sebastien Bourdais |
| 9 | Honda | 74 | Jenson Button · Rubens Barrichello |
| 10 | Force India | 70 | Giancarlo Fisichella · Adrian Sutil |
How 2008 actually ended
The official final standings, from Australian Grand Prix to Brazilian Grand Prix. This is the real result, not the simulation above.
| Driver | Points | Wins | Podiums | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lewis HamiltonMcLaren | 98 | 5 | 10 | 7 |
| 2Felipe MassaFerrari | 97 | 6 | 10 | 6 |
| 3Kimi RäikkönenFerrari | 75 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| 4Robert KubicaBMW Sauber | 75 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 5Fernando AlonsoRenault | 61 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 6Nick HeidfeldBMW Sauber | 60 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 7Heikki KovalainenMcLaren | 53 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 8Sebastian VettelToro Rosso | 35 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
It came down to 1 point: Hamilton and Massa finished closer than a fourth place is worth. 7 different drivers won that year, and the final Grand Prix went to Felipe Massa.
Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).
What if 2008 had been raced 100 times?
We took the real 2008 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 17-race championship 100 times.
| Driver | Avg. finish | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamiltonreal championMcLaren | P1.1 | 88% |
| Kimi RäikkönenFerrari | P1.9 | 12% |
| Felipe MassaFerrari | P3 | 0% |
| Heikki KovalainenMcLaren | P4.1 | 0% |
| Fernando AlonsoRenault | P4.9 | 0% |
| Robert KubicaBMW Sauber | P6.3 | 0% |
Lewis Hamilton wins 88% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Kimi Räikkönen manages 12%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.
Tags
What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2008 championship-winning car?
Hypotheses from 2008
Drivers of 2008
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What we have measured about 2008 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.
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