2008 British Grand Prix

2008 British Grand Prix
Race 9 of 18 in the 2008 Formula One World Championship
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Race details[1][2][3][4]
Date 6 July 2008
Official name 2008 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix[1]
Location Silverstone Circuit
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.141 km (3.194 miles)
Distance 60 laps, 308.355 km (191.604 miles)
Weather Rain, later drying
Pole position
Driver
McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:21.049
Fastest lap
Driver Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
Time 1:32.150 on lap 18
Podium
First
McLaren-Mercedes
Second
BMW Sauber
Third
Honda
Lap leaders

The 2008 British Grand Prix (officially the 2008 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix)[1][5] was a Formula One motor race held on 6 July 2008 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, England. It was the ninth race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. The race was held over 60 laps with a practice and qualifying round preceding the race.

Heikki Kovalainen started from pole position alongside Mark Webber in second and Kimi Räikkönen in third on the grid. On the first corner, Lewis Hamilton rose from fourth on the grid to second overtaking Webber and Räikkönen. Hamilton shadowed Kovalainen for the early stages of the race, until he took the lead on lap five. The race was won by Hamilton, racing for McLaren Mercedes ahead of Nick Heidfeld for BMW Sauber in second and Rubens Barrichello third in a Honda. Räikkönen made the fastest lap of the race on lap 18. Hamilton's drive was widely acclaimed as one of Formula One's finest wet-weather drives.[6][7][8]

Of the 20 drivers competing, 13 finished the race, with eight receiving world championship points. Hamilton's win tied him for the lead of the Drivers' Championship, alongside Felipe Massa and Räikkönen. In the Constructors Championship, Ferrari's lead was reduced to 14 points over BMW Sauber, with McLaren a further 10 behind.

  1. ^ a b c "2008 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix". Formula One. 6 July 2008. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  2. ^ "Grand Prix of Great Britain". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 6 July 2008. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Qualifying classification". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 6 July 2008. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference raceclassification was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix Official Program. 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  6. ^ Tremayne, David (4 April 2019). "Lewis Hamilton's wet-weather masterclass at the 2008 British Grand Prix - F1's Best Drives #8". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  7. ^ Gorman, Edward (7 July 2008). "Lewis Hamilton keeps calm in the wet to send rivals into a spin". Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  8. ^ Leslie, Jack (16 November 2016). "8 Of The Best Wet Weather Drives In F1 History". WTF1. Retrieved 4 February 2022.