Formula 1 - The 2008 Season, Scores and Statistics

World Champion
Lewis Hamilton, Mclaren-Mercedes

Drivers Championship 2008 Final Table
1 Lewis Hamilton, British, McLaren-Mercedes 98
2 Felipe Massa, Brazilian, Ferrari 97
3 Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish, Ferrari 75
4 Robert Kubica, Polish, BMW Sauber 75
5 Fernando Alonso, Spanish, Renault 61
6 Nick Heidfeld, German, BMW Sauber 60
7 Heikki Kovalainen, Finnish, McLaren-Mercedes 53
8 Sebastian Vettel, German, STR-Ferrari 35
9 Jarno Trulli, Italian, Toyota 31
10 Timo Glock, German, Toyota 25
11 Mark Webber, Australian, Red Bull-Renault 21
12 Nelsinho Piquet, Brazilian, Renault 19
13 Nico Rosberg, German, Williams-Toyota 17
14 Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian, Honda 11
15 Kazuki Nakajima, Japanese, Williams-Toyota 9
16 David Coulthard, British, Red Bull-Renault 8
17 Sebastien Bourdais, French, STR-Ferrari 4
18 Jenson Button, British, Honda 3

Constructors Championship Final Table
1 Ferrari 172
2 McLaren-Mercedes 151
3 BMW Sauber 135
4 Renault 80
5 Toyota 56
6 STR-Ferrari 39
7 Red Bull-Renault 29
8 Williams-Toyota 26
9 Honda 14

(Teams Force-India and Super Aguri failed to score. Super Aguri withdrew after Race 4)

2008 Race Winners
Australia 16/03/2008 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
Malaysia 23/03/2008 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
Bahrain 06/04/2008 Felipe Massa Ferrari
Spain 27/04/2008 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
Turkey 11/05/2008 Felipe Massa Ferrari
Monaco 25/05/2008 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
Canada 08/06/2008 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber
France 22/06/2008 Felipe Massa Ferrari
Great Britain 06/07/2008 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
Germany 20/07/2008 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
Hungary 03/08/2008 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes
Europe 24/08/2008 Felipe Massa Ferrari
Belgium 07/09/2008 Felipe Massa Ferrari
Italy 14/09/2008 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari
Singapore 28/09/2008 Fernando Alonso Renault
Japan 12/10/2008 Fernando Alonso Renault
China 19/10/2008 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
Brazil 02/11/2008 Felipe Massa Ferrari

Race Wins
Felipe Massa 6
Lewis Hamilton 5
Kimi Räikkönen 2
Fernando Alonso 2
Heikki Kovalainen 1 (First ever win)
Robert Kubica 1 (First ever win)
Sebastian Vettel 1 (First ever win and record youngest driver to win at 21 years, 73 days.

---

www.jenkin7.co.uk

Formula 1 2008 - Lewis Hamilton, second time lucky?

He was in a similar position in his rookie year, but things didn't work out. Can it be second time lucky for British F1 Driver, Lewis Hamilton?

If so, he will become the first Brit since Damon Hill in 1996 to win and become the youngest World Champion in F1 History. The record is currently held by Fernando Alonso at 24 years, 59 days. You may have heard of him.

Hamilton leads the Drivers Championship by 7 points with just a single race remaining. The last deciding race takes place this weekend at Interlagos race track, Brazil.

Last year, Hamilton was defeated by Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for the Championship and this year it is his Brazillian team mate, Phillipe Massa's turn to try to upset the party. 2007 World Champion Raikkonen, has suffered a mysterious drop of form the second half of 2008 and is way out of the running. He could however, still provide a bit of a nuisance to Hamilton during Sunday's Grand Prix.

In interview Hamilton said,

"I know we didn't have the pace to win last year, but things could be very different this season. I'm really looking forward to getting out on the track at Interlagos and seeing where we stand."

Last year, after an eventful race, Lewis was forced to retire with gearbox failure.

Astonishingly, Mclaren haven't had a Drivers World Champion since Mika Hakkinen in 1999. Team Boss, Ron Dennis and all his pit-crew will surely be keeping their fingers crossed as will most of the British viewing public.

Massa was second at Interlagos last year and won the race the previous, we know he is quick at the track. All this makes for a potentially exciting and nail biting race. Phillipe will be racing to become the first Brazillian World Champion since Ayrton Senna. That surely is incentive enough.

---

www.jenkin7.co.uk

Formula 1 - Ferrari to Quit?

In an announcement that will surely rock the sport, Ferrari have said they may quit Formula 1 if planned rules are brought in to standardise the engines.

Ferrari hold great historic significance in Formula 1 which dates back to 1950. Without Ferrari, the sport would lose a lot of its allure which is struggling as it is. Their first World Champion was Alberto Ascari in 1952 and they have always been a top performing team. Ferrari F1 Champions to date are,

1952: Alberto Ascari
1953: Alberto Ascari
1958: Mike Hawthorn
1961: Phil Hill
1964: John Surtees
1975: Niki Lauda
1977: Niki Lauda
1979: Jody Scheckter
2000: Michael Schumacher
2001: Michael Schumacher
2002: Michael Schumacher
2003: Michael Schumacher
2004: Michael Schumacher
2007: Kimi Räikkönen

The Formula 1 ruling body, The FIA, have said the changes are necessary to cut rising costs and intends to implement these new rules from the 2010 season onwards.

A statement was released from Ferrari,

"We have major reservations over any proposals that would lead to teams using the same engines. It would deprive Formula One of its whole reason for existing, which is based on competition and technological development. If these elements were to become obsolete, our Administrative Council reserves the right, after consultation with its partners, to evaluate whether we remain committed to the discipline."

It is unlikely that the FIA will back out of their proposed Engine move so we now run into a bit of a stalemate. Bernie Ecclestone said,

"What we want is to reduce the necessity to spend to be competitive. That is the simplest thing."

I can see both sides of the argument here, but surely some kind of middle ground can be found. Formula 1 without Ferrari? It doesn't bare thinking about. Lets hope some sort of agreement can be reached.



Phillipe Massa has an outside chance of grabbing the 2008 title for Ferrari this season. With one race to go in his native Brazil, he trails Lewis Hamilton by 7 points. He would need to win and Lewis Hamilton finish 7th or lower.

Ferrari look good for the Constructors championship of 2008.

---

www.jenkin7.co.uk