The 2008 Belgian Grand Prix was a topsy-turvy race affected by the typical Belgian weather, and it turned out to be a very key moment in the 2008 season, as one championship contender was all-but eliminated from the bout in the closing stages of the race, one championship contender had a race victory taken away from him, allowing for another championship contender to take a very unlikely race win.
Lewis Hamilton led the championship for McLaren prior to the event by six points from Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. Massa’s team mate Kimi Räikkönen was seven points behind the Brazilian with BMW’s Robert Kubica two points adrift from Räikkönen despite running in under-developed machinery. Typically, qualifying was dominated by McLaren and Ferrari, with Hamilton on pole despite a massive mistake at the first corner. Massa was second, with Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren occupying third ahead of Räikkönen. Nick Heidfeld in the BMW was fifth ahead of Fernando Alonso’s upgraded Renault. Mark Webber was a fine seventh for Red Bull ahead of Kubica. Sebastien Bourdais outqualified his Toro Rosso team mate Sebastian Vettel to round out the top ten. There were no big names as such lower down the grid, as the field lined up in the lower half of the grid in this order: Jarno Trulli’s Toyota, Nelson Piquet Jr.’s Renault, Timo Glock’s Toyota, David Coulthard’s Red Bull, Nico Rosberg’s Williams, the two Hondas of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, Adrian Sutil’s Force India, Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams and Giancarlo Fisichella’s Force India.
Rain fell prior to the race on Sunday, leaving the track in a situation where it was drying. There were a lot of issues on the first lap, with multiple cars getting tangled up or having poor starts. Trulli gained no less than five places at the start, whilst Kovalainen fell backwards. Räikkönen found his way past Massa as well, whilst Alonso also made progress. On lap two, Hamilton spun at La Source, allowing Räikkönen through. Kovalainen hit Webber into the tricky Bus-Stop Chicane, earning a drive-through penalty. The order – Räikkönen, Hamilton, Massa, Alonso, Bourdais, was maintained up until and through the first round of stops.
Piquet crashed out after hitting a damp patch on the track, other than that the order remained pretty much the same, although Hamilton was gradually closing in on Räikkönen. Rain began to fall on lap 41, and Hamilton attempted to pass Räikkönen into the Bus-Stop, but was forced off the track by Räikkönen. Hamilton gained the place but instantly dropped back, and was back into second place as he crossed the line. However, Hamilton darted from left to right and back and made a pass into La Source. The rain was heavy by the time the two reached the other side of the circuit, and Nico Rosberg, who was recovering from a spin, forced Hamilton on the grass. However, Räikkönen, who had just taken the lead, spun himself, and then spun again at the fast Blanchimont corner, eliminating himself from the race. At the end of lap 42, Heidfeld pitted for intermediate tyres and was third by the end of the race. Alonso and Glock pitted a lap later, going from eighth and tenth to fourth and eighth respectively. However the two Toro Rossos struggled in the wet, with Bourdais and Vettel going from third and fourth to seventh and fifth. Hamilton crossed the line first ahead of Massa and Heidfeld, followed by Alonso, Vettel, Kubica, Bourdais and Glock. Alonso’s spectacular final lap can be seen below.
However the race result was not finalised. Glock was given a penalty for overtaking Webber illegally, swapping the two around. But the biggest talking point was Hamilton being dropped from first to third for supposedly overtaking Räikkönen illegally and gaining an advantage, despite being advised by race director Charlie Whiting that Hamilton’s move was legal. It turned out that the second overtake on Räikkönen was deemed illegal by an unwritten rule in the regulations which said that you had to wait another corner before overtaking the car again as it was still considered an ‘unfair advantage’. As the penalty was given as a drive-through, McLaren’s appeal was rejected, although it took two weeks for it to be thrown out. Big names in Formula One including Niki Lauda and Jackie Stewart claimed that the penalty was unjust, and the result of this led to clarification by the FIA on a situation like this.
Ultimately, whilst the history books recorded this race as a victory for Felipe Massa, who was absolutely anonymous all day long, this race will be remembered more for the victory for Lewis Hamilton which never was. Had Hamilton lost the championship in 2008, many would have looked back at this race as the race, and the crazy decision by the stewards which would have cost Hamilton the title.
Race highlights can be found here. (UK only)
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