Formula 1 flashback: 2008 British Grand Prix
The 2008 Formula 1 season was a highly contested championship race between veteran drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa, and young Briton Lewis Hamilton, world runner-up in 2007. When racing moved to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix , the ninth race on the calendar that year, Ferrari’s Massa had secured three victories for his teammate, and the reigning Formula 1 world champion, both from Räikkönen, while Hamilton for McLaren had also celebrated two. victories.
It was an eventful Grand Prix weekend, with more off-track drama than on-track action before race day. As the Silverstone circuit celebrated its 60th anniversary, the FIA announced that the British Grand Prix would move to Donnington in 2010, while Red Bull’s David Coulthard, a member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, announced that he would withdraw at the end of the season.
Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions were hectic and action-packed; taking place in constantly changing climatic conditions. The morning brought heavy rain, soaking the circuit and leaving a wet track for the last practice session. The eventful qualifying gave Heikki Kovalainen a first Formula 1 pole position, while his McLaren teammate Hamilton had to settle for a fourth-place start on the grid.
Ominous black clouds covered the dark gray sky on race day, threatening another heavy downpour. During the formation lap it was evident how wet the track was and the cars threw up a substantial spray. Hamilton, hoping for victory in front of a home crowd, got off to a lucky start; Räikkönen was boxed in behind Kovalainen and Webber, allowing the Briton to advance from fourth position and briefly take the lead from teammate Kovalainen. When their cars hit the wheels going into the first corner, Hamilton’s Mercedes-powered McLaren took second place.
The drivers were struggling to hold on from the start and fighting backwater on the runway. Casualties came early: Webber turned into Hangar Straight and ended up at the rear of the field, as did Massa, who turned out of Abbey Chicane. Coulthard, on their last outing at Silverstone, and Sebastian Vettel veered onto the gravel at the Brooklands turn, forcing them to retire without completing a full lap.
Hamilton kept up the pace and put pressure on his teammate before prevailing and taking the lead on lap five. When the track started to dry out, he picked up the pace and widened the gap with Räikkönen in second place and Kovalainen in third. The rain returned just as the pit stops began, with the cars hydroplaning and turning toward retirement from the race. While Hamilton deftly kept his car on the road, Jenson Button, Giancarlo Fisichella, Robert Kubica, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Adrian Sutil fell victim to the slippery conditions.
As the race continued, the rains fell and subsided; then an unexpected descent to hit the circuit. Even the race leader was not immune, losing control of his McLaren and stumbling on the grass before continuing. But he handled the conditions superbly; His hunger for victory at home showed on every lap as he used his knowledge of the track to find and maximize grip.
The 23-year-old Hamilton, competing only in his second British Formula 1 Grand Prix, ran masterfully to victory; finishing 68.5 seconds ahead of second place Nick Heidfeld in spectacular fashion. The 90,000 spectators honked their horns and cheered wildly as the hometown hero, now tied first with Massa and Räikkönen in the Championship, received the 2008 Santander British Grand Prix winner’s trophy.