2008 Formula One season

The 2008 Formula One season was the 59th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It began on 16 March and ended on 2 November with eighteen Grand Prix races.

Lewis Hamilton won the driver's title by a point – by overtaking Toyota's Timo Glock on the final corner of the final grand prix of the season to claim the required 5th place finish – from Brazilian Felipe Massa while Massa's teammate, the 2007 world champion, Kimi Räikkönen was ranked third, with two wins. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro won the constructors' title. In winning the title, Hamilton became the youngest driver ever to win the title and the first black driver to do so. He was also the first British champion since Damon Hill in 1996.

Eleven teams competed in the championship, although Super Aguri withdrew on 6 May from the 2008 Formula One season due to financial troubles, completing four races. New technical rules for 2008 included the banning of traction control after it was re-introduced in. 2008 also introduced two new street circuits. The Valencia Street Circuit and Marina Bay Street Circuit hosted the European GP and the new Singapore GP respectively. The Singapore GP was also the first Formula One event held at night.

This was the last season for the Honda team before they pulled out of F1 later in December due to the global economic crisis. Then, Ross Brawn bought the team and renamed it to Brawn GP in February of using the Mercedes-Benz engines. This was also the last Formula One season to race with grooved tyres, used since, before slick tyres returned to Formula One in.

It was the first time in the history of Formula One that all teams have used the same two drivers throughout the season and it was the first time that all the race cars were driving without traction control since.

Pre-season testing
The first multi-team test session started in Jerez on 14 January 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 Sauber was not in attendance as they were launching the F1.08. Testing then moved to Valencia on 22 January. 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. 1 February 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 4 February, Ferrari and Toyota moved to Bahrain to continue testing the F2008 and TF108.

On 12 February 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 19 February. 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 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 25 February 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 and Drivers
There were 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 at the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix. All teams in both groups have two spots each on the 2008 grid. The following teams and drivers competed in the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship:

‡ Super Aguri withdrew on 6 May from the 2008 Formula One season due to financial troubles.

New Entries
On 14 February 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 in total, several new teams applying included European Minardi F1 Team Ltd, Jordan Grand Prix, Direxiv and Carlin Motorsport. However despite the Prodrive application being accepted, Richards later announced that the team would not race in 2008 due to a dispute over the legality of customer cars.

Team Changes

 * Rumours about  the possible sale of the 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 businessman Vijay Mallya bought the team for €88   million, several million more than Spyker paid. On 24 October  2007, Mallya was granted permission to change the team's name to Force India.  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". 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.
 * During the  2008 season on May 6, the Super Aguri team folded and withdrew from  Formula One. The team was in dire financial straits at the end of  as the team did not receive a  payment on a sponsorship deal. Super Aguri rejected a  buyout offer in January 2008 from an Indian consortium led by the CEO  of the Spice Group, on the condition Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan drove in the line-up, because it  meant demoting or cutting one of the team's 2007 drivers. Despite this  Super Aguri were unable to sign any contracts until agreements had been  reached with their sponsors. Sato and  Davidson were confirmed on 10 March. Super Aguri announced that a major deal had  been made with Magma Group to solve the team's financial problems,  however this fell through, and on 6 May  2008, Super Aguri withdrew from the Formula One World Championship. It affirmed a  prediction at the start of the season by Max Mosley saying the team would not make it  to the final race in Brazil.

New car launches
* Team started the season with updated versions of their 2007 car.

Notes
 * 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 début on 21 January 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 3 March.
 * Toro Rosso started the 2008 season with an updated version of their STR2 car. Their new car the Toro Rosso STR3 made its début at the 6th round in Monaco Monaco.

Driver changes
Changed teams
 * Fernando Alonso: McLaren → Renault F1
 * Heikki Kovalainen: Renault F1  → McLaren
 * Giancarlo Fisichella: Renault F1 → Force India
 * Nelson Piquet, Jr.: Renault F1 (test driver) → Renault F1 (race seat)
 * Timo Glock: GP2 Series/BMW Sauber F1 (test driver) → Toyota Racing (race seat)
 * Vitantonio Liuzzi: Scuderia Toro Rosso → Force India (test driver)
 * Kazuki Nakajima: GP2 Series/WilliamsF1  (test driver) → WilliamsF1  (race seat)†
 * Alexander Wurz: WilliamsF1  → Honda Racing F1  (test driver)
 * Christian Klien: Honda Racing F1 (test driver) → BMW Sauber  (test driver)
 * Sakon Yamamoto: Spyker F1 → Renault F1 (test development driver)

Entered F1
 * Sébastien Bourdais: Champ Car World Series → Scuderia Toro Rosso
 * Marko Asmer: British Formula Three Championship  → BMW Sauber  (test driver)†

Exited F1
 * Ralf Schumacher: Toyota Racing → DTM Touring Cars series

2008 Race Calendar
The FIA World Council approved the 2008 schedule on 24 October 2007. Singapore was Formula One's first ever night race.

† New circuits

‡ Night Race

Calendar changes

 * Singapore hosted its first Grand Prix in 2008, with a contract for the next five years. The race, held on a street circuit designed by KBR, is Formula One's first night race., The practice and qualifying sessions also take place at night.
 * The European Grand Prix took 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 took place at Hockenheimring  in 2008. It will continue to alternate between these two circuits  yearly.
 * The Indianapolis Motor Speedway did not hold a Grand Prix in 2008; however, a possible return to  Indianapolis in the future has not been completely ruled out.
 * In the run up to the 2007 French Grand Prix it was reported that it would be  the last Grand Prix to be held at Magny-Cours. Some  alternatives suggested for the French Grand Prix included Paul  Ricard or a new circuit near Disneyland Paris or Charles de Gaulle airport.  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 alternatives."

Rule changes

 * A standard Electronic Control Unit was supplied by Microsoft MES, a joint venture between Microsoft and McLaren Electronic Systems.
 * Traction control and Launch control banned along with several other electronic aids including engine braking reduction.
 * An engine freeze to last five years was started in 2008, with the first unscheduled engine change of the season not leading to the usual 10 place grid penalty.
 * Fuel of the cars must have been made up of at least 5.75% biological materials.
 * Gearboxes to last four races, 5 place grid penalty for a gear box change. If a driver did not finish a race, he was allowed to change the gearbox for the next race without receiving a penalty.
 * Improved cockpit protection.
 * The use of a spare car was restricted. Each competing team would not be allowed to have more than two cars available for use at any time. In this context, a car was considered as such if it was a partially assembled survival cell, fitted with an engine, any front suspension, bodywork, radiators, oil tanks or heat exchangers.
 * Bridgestone will be the official tyre supplier for the 2008–2010 seasons. They would also be marking their extreme wet weather tyres with a white line in the central  groove to differentiate it from the softer wet weather tyre compound.
 * No competing team was allowed to carry out more than 30,000 km  (18,641 mi) of testing during the 2008 calendar year.

Qualifying

 * The first part of qualifying lengthened to 20 minutes, and final part of qualifying shortened to 10 minutes. Teams taking part in Q3 would 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 was 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 demoted five grid places after the stewards decided that they had impeded Nick Heidfeld and Fernando Alonso. The minimum lap time was different for each race. For example, it was 1:39 in Bahrain.
 * From 8 May 2008, the FIA announced that, following Super Aguri's departure from Formula One, the qualifying procedures changed. Rather than six drivers being eliminated at the end of Q1, only the five lowest-qualified drivers would be eliminated. This increased the likelihood that one of the midfield contenders would drop out, as only the top 15 drivers would go through to Q2. The Q2-Q3 transition remained unchanged.

Drivers
† Drivers did not finish the Grand Prix, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Constructors
† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

‡ Super Aguri withdrew from the Formula One world championship on May 6, 2008, with immediate effect. The company went into administration a day later.

Report
The 2008 Formula 1 season was one of the closest in the history of the sport. Kimi Räikkönen rivaled Lewis Hamilton during the first half of the season, and Felipe Massa challenged Hamilton through the second half. The championship came down to a single overtake of Timo Glock by Lewis Hamilton to surpass Felipe Massa by one point.

TV coverage
All broadcasters of Formula One worldwide take what is known as the world feed for the majority of their race coverage. The host broadcaster which produces the world feed has access to trackside, onboard and pitlane cameras. Timing, position and other graphics are also added to the world feed before it is provided to the broadcasters. For the 2008 season, Formula One Management, owner of the commercial rights to the sport acted as host broadcaster for 16 of the 18 rounds of the championship.
 * In the Arab world, practice, qualifications and races were broadcast exclusively by Al Jazeera Sports.
 * In Australia, qualification was aired early in the morning on the race day. The race had recently been shown live on Ten HD. If it started at 10:00pm AEST, it would be shown later on Network Ten, however if at a different time, it would be shown live.
 * In Brazil, all races and qualifications were broadcast by Rede Globo.
 * In Canada, the races were shown on TSN, although in Quebec, it also aired on RDS.
 * In France, both qualifications and races were broadcast by TF1.
 * In Greece ALPHA TV broadcast the Grands Prix live.
 * In India, all races were broadcast by ESPNStar alliance, primarily on Star Sports.
 * In Japan, Fuji TV broadcast all the races and qualifications, digests in terrestrial channel and live in satellite channel (Fuji CS721) via SKY PerfecTV. In parallel with the two channels, the company started broadcasting high-definition live program in HD satellite channel (Fuji CSHD) after the 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix.
 * In Malaysia, the race is broadcast live on Pay-TV Astro's ESPNStar Star-Sport's channel. Free TV channel RTM's shows the race delayed, and takes the ITV commentary feed.
 * In Mexico, all races were broadcast live on Fox Sports, and by Televisa's XHTV Canal 4 a few hours later using a tape delay broadcast.
 * In Singapore, Star Sports and ESPN broadcast qualification sessions on Saturday, and the race itself on Sunday.
 * In Sweden, the qualification was broadcast in both TV 6 and Viasat Motor simultaneously, although Viasat Motor did not have commercials.
 * In the United Kingdom, ITV provided the coverage for the last time before the BBC took over in 2009.
 * In the United States, all races were broadcast live on the Speed cable channel except for four races broadcast by the terrestrial Fox: the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, 2008 French Grand Prix, 2008 British Grand Prix and the 2008 German Grand Prix. However, only the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix was televised live, and others were tape delayed.
 * In Venezuela, all races were broadcast live on Televen, and by Meridiano Televisión a few hours later using a tape delay broadcast.

Race-fixing controversy
In a scandal that became known as "Crashgate" in the media, during the 2009 season around the time of the Belgium Grand Prix, allegations by former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. about his crash in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix led to charges of race-fixing against Renault and the departure of team boss Flavio Briatore and engineering director Pat Symonds.