2008 Belgian Grand Prix

The 2008 Belgian Grand Prix (officially the 2008 Formula 1 ING Belgian Grand Prix ) [ 5 ] was a Formula One motor race held on 7 September 2008 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps near the village of Francorchamps , Wallonia , Belgium. It was the 13th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship . Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team won the 44-lap race, after the initial winner, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton , was penalised for cutting a chicane and gaining an advantage over Ferrari's Kimi Räik...

Hamilton started from pole position alongside title rival Massa. Hamilton's McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen started from third next to the 2007 winner Kimi Räikkönen. Following a spin by Hamilton on the second lap, Räikkönen led most of the race, until rain fell on lap 41 and Hamilton performed the penalised pass. Räikkönen crashed on the following lap as the rain became heavier. Massa finished second on the road after Hamilton, followed by Nick Heidfeld of BMW Sauber .

Hamilton received a 25-second penalty, which demoted him to third place and advanced Massa and Heidfeld to first and second positions. McLaren appealed the decision at the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) International Court of Appeal. Their case, however, was declared inadmissible, with the Court ruling that 25-second penalties cannot be challenged. The penalty prompted global press discussion, primarily from the United Kingdom and Italy, with several former drivers questioning t...

Following the European Grand Prix on 24 August, mid-season testing took place at Italy's Autodromo Nazionale Monza . Ferrari concentrated on their aerodynamic set-up during tests on Monza's long straights. Massa set the quickest times on the first day, ahead of McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen . [ 7 ] BMW Sauber 's Nick Heidfeld was quickest on the second day. Massa spun off into the gravel at the Ascari chicane, bringing a brief halt to testing. [ 8 ] Hamilton was fastest on the third day. [ 9 ...

I did a great lap, but it was not enough to be on pole position. Today, we lacked a bit of speed compared to our main rivals but the race is very long and, over a distance, we know we can be very competitive and therefore we are capable of fighting for the win ... Then, we will have to see what the various strategy choices are and obviously, how the weather evolves. If it was to rain, the race could be turned into a lottery.

Hamilton clinched his fifth pole position of the season with a time of 1:47.338, ahead of Felipe Massa, who qualified second 0.34 seconds behind his McLaren rival. [ 16 ] A mistake-free run allowed Kovalainen to take third place on the grid, alongside Räikkönen in fourth. [ 15 ] Heidfeld took fifth, ahead of Alonso, Webber and Kubica. Bourdais – after setting the quickest time in the first session – took ninth, one place ahead of his Toro Rosso teammate Vettel. [ 17 ] Toyota driver Jarno Trulli ...

Nelson Piquet was the only driver not to start with the softer compound dry-weather tyres on a track which was still drying from morning rain, with the Brazilian opting for the harder tyre available. [ 19 ] There was a strong chance of showers predicted during the race. [ 20 ] Several cars were slow away on the slippery track, most notably Kovalainen. The main beneficiaries off the line were Piquet and Trulli, who each gained five places. Trulli was hit from behind at the first corner by Bourdai...

On the second lap, Hamilton spun at La Source and lost his lead to Räikkönen on the next straight. Glock lost several places over the first few laps due to a lack of grip from his tyres. [ 21 ] On lap ten, Heikki Kovalainen attempted to pass Webber at the Bus Stop chicane, but hit Webber on the side, causing the Australian to spin. Although the McLaren driver later dismissed the contact as "a racing accident", [ 24 ] he was given a drive-through penalty, which he took on lap 14, dropping him to ...

By the ten-lap mark, Räikkönen had opened a three-second lead over Hamilton. Hamilton was the first of the leaders to pit, on lap 11, followed by Räikkönen a lap later. Massa and Alonso pitted on lap 13, with Heidfeld a lap after them. Heidfeld's BMW teammate Robert Kubica pitted on lap 15, along with Bourdais. [ 26 ] Räikkönen maintained his lead over Hamilton after the round of pit stops, followed by Massa, Alonso and Bourdais. [ 25 ]

The first nine runners continued in the same order until Räikkönen and Hamilton both took their second pit stops on lap 25, with Alonso pitting on lap 27, Massa on lap 28, and Heidfeld on lap 31. Bourdais and Kubica pitted on laps 32 and 33, respectively. [ 26 ]

Following the second round of pit stops, Räikkönen was five seconds ahead of Hamilton, but Hamilton began to close in on Räikkönen during the last stint as a result of the tyres better suiting his McLaren Mercedes. [ 28 ] Heavy rain began to fall on lap 41. Hamilton closed the gap on Räikkönen to under a second, still six seconds ahead of Massa. Hamilton attempted to pass Räikkönen at the Bus Stop chicane, but was forced off and had to cut across the chicane to avoid a collision. Consequently, H...

Timo Glock was handed a 25-second penalty for overtaking Mark Webber under yellow flags during the final lap of the race. The penalty pushed Glock from eighth to ninth place. [ 33 ]

Hamilton appeared on the podium and subsequent press conference in the winner's position. When questioned on the incident at the press conference, Hamilton defended his actions:

[Räikkönen] pushed me to the point where I would either have been on the kerb and crashed into him or have to go on the escape route, so I went on the escape route. I understood I had to let him past, so I did. I got in his tow and he was ducking and diving left and right and I did the same and managed to get back to the inside of him. But then he hit me at the apex of the corner but I think I was pretty much gone from there.

— Lewis Hamilton, [ 34 ]

On 9 September, McLaren lodged an official complaint with the FIA about the incident. [ 37 ] In the appeal hearing on 22 September, McLaren alleged that they had twice been advised by race director Charlie Whiting that Hamilton had correctly returned the position to Räikkönen. [ 38 ] Furthermore, they presented telemetry evidence suggesting that Hamilton had not only crossed the finish line after Räikkönen, but that he was travelling 6.7 km/h (4.2 mph) slower at the time. [ 39 ] [ 40 ] McLaren's...

On 23 September, the Court of Appeal issued its decision, ruling that the appeal was inadmissible. [ 42 ]

From the position where [Hamilton] was, because he cut the chicane, he was [able to pass into turn one]. But if he had would have been behind me through the chicane then it may have been a different story.

Some Formula One drivers focussed more on Hamilton gaining an advantage, rather than a penalty of 25 seconds over-punishing him for the fact that Räikkönen later crashed out having already re-passed Hamilton. Sébastien Bourdais of Toro Rosso said that "the penalty is really rough but in the end it's up to you to give the position back (which he did) or not. Pretty straightforward". [ 44 ] The view was reiterated by his fellow drivers Nico Rosberg and Jarno Trulli . [ 44 ] Trulli believed that "H...

Former world champion Niki Lauda said that he did "not understand this completely wrong decision", [ 46 ] adding "It's unbelievable how the best driver in yesterday's race makes no mistakes and only gets six points". [ 46 ] He called for the formation of permanent race stewards, instead of the temporary steward system currently in place. He called it "the worst judgement in the history of F1 ", [ 46 ] saying, "It's absolutely unacceptable when three [stewards] influence the championship like thi...

The incident and subsequent court hearing led to a clarification by the FIA, saying that drivers must wait one further corner after cutting a chicane before attempting another overtaking manoeuvre. [ 52 ] Formula One driver and a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association Mark Webber said that the clarification had made the issue much clearer:

Lewis would probably never ever have had a crack at Kimi around the outside at the first part of the Bus Stop without knowing he had the option of going onto the asphalt part. I think we've got to get on top of the chicanes going forward, and we're not too far away from that at the moment, where drivers know that if you gain a position or gain an advantage, you have to give it back a bit more.

— Mark Webber, [ 53 ]

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