2008 Australian Grand Prix

The 2008 Australian Grand Prix (officially known as the 2008 Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix ) [ 3 ] was a Formula One motor race held on 16 March 2008 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit , Melbourne , Australia. It was the first race of the 2008 Formula One season . In qualifying for the event, Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team started from pole position ahead of Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber by 0.15 seconds.

The Grand Prix was contested on 16 March 2008 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit , Melbourne , Australia by 22 drivers, in 11 teams of two. [ 5 ] The competing teams, known as constructors , were Ferrari , McLaren - Mercedes , Renault , Honda , Force India , BMW Sauber , Toyota , Red Bull Racing , Williams , Toro Rosso and Super Aguri . [ 5 ]

The final mass testing session before the new season took place at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló , Spain between 25 and 27 February 2008. All the teams, with the exception of Super Aguri attended this three-day test which was affected by rain on the first day. [ 7 ] On the first day of testing, Lewis Hamilton representing McLaren set the fastest lap a 1:22.276. Second was the Ferraris of Räikkönen and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher . [ 7 ] Hamilton continued to top the times...

“There are definitely four cars that are quicker than us, so we'll get our heads down this evening and work on the race information before qualifying tomorrow. It's pretty windy out on the track, but it's an issue for everyone."

Hamilton lapped faster than Räikkönen in the second practice session with a time of 1:26.559. [ 13 ] Webber was second in the Red Bull, nine-tenths of a second behind Hamilton. Coulthard, Webber's teammate, was fifth, three-tenths behind Kovalainen, who finished the session fourth. The Ferraris were third and sixth; Massa in 3rd and Kimi Räikkönen in sixth. Jarno Trulli in the Toyota and Nico Rosberg in the Williams completed the top eight positions. [ 13 ] In preparation for the qualifying sess...

"I am pleased to qualify third, but there is still room for improvement. It was a fairly smooth lap, and the balance of the car felt good. At the end I didn’t nail a perfect lap, but throughout the weekend I have just been taking things steady, not making any mistakes and keep pushing harder and harder. Last year I didn’t make the best start to the season, so today’s result is a great beginning to my career as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver."

Hamilton won his seventh career pole position, with a time of 1:26.714 in the third session. Second was Kubica, who was a tenth of a second behind Hamilton. [ 17 ] Kovalainen was third, with Massa fourth, four-tenths slower than Hamilton in the third stage. Heidfeld, Trulli, Rosberg and Coulthard completed the top eight positions. [ 17 ] In contrast to Massa's fourth place, his teammate, Räikkönen finished qualifying in 16th place. His Ferrari car suffered a fuel pump problem at the end of stage...

By the end of the first lap, Lewis Hamilton retained his lead followed by Kubica and Rosberg. Kimi Räikkönen elevated himself from fifteenth to eighth on the first lap. [ 25 ] After the safety car was left the race on lap three, Räikkönen was stuck behind Rubens Barrichello, finally passing him lap 19 for sixth place. Sutil retired with hydraulic failure on lap 10. During the first set of pit stops Toyota driver Jarno Trulli was forced to retire due to electrical problems. [ 25 ] [ 27 ] On lap 2...

"Shortly after we called Rubens in for the second of two planned pit stops, Timo Glock had a crash and the safety car was deployed. We had no alternative but to continue to bring him in because he was out of fuel, although we realised that the pit lane was going to be closed due to the safety car and that this would result in a ten-second stop-go penalty. During the pit stop the lollipop was lifted just a fraction early while the fuel hose was just coming off the car. After the pit stop Rubens e...

Heidfeld picked up his first podium since the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix and was relieved to have kept Rosberg behind him, believing that his fellow German was fuelled longer than he actually was. [ 31 ] [ 25 ] He commented that Rosberg "came in earlier than expected on the same lap as myself. What we lost at the start we regained on the pit-stop, so our pit-stop crew, just did a fantastic job to just get me out ahead of [Rosberg]. Then I was lucky on the pit-stops in terms of the safety car." [ ...

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