Ferrari had no answer for the speed of Lewis Hamilton and McLaren at the Shanghai International Circuit. Hamilton was never troubled on his way to a potentially crucial victory. With one race remaining he is a strong favourite to win his first Formula 1 World Championship.
2008 Chinese GP Qualifying
Hamilton recovered from a difficult second qualifying session to put his McLaren on pole in the final session. Heikki Kovalainen’s inability to get near the front row in the other McLaren meant that Hamilton was surrounded by his fiercest rivals. Kimi Raikkonen lined up second with Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa in third. Fourth on the grid was Fernando Alonso’s Renault. The Spaniard has made no attempt to conceal where his loyalties lie, stating in a recent interview that he would be happy to help Massa defeat Hamilton in the championship.
2008 Chinese GP Race Report
Both Raikkonen and Massa were unusually slow off the line, meaning that neither Ferrari driver was able to challenge Hamilton’s McLaren into turn one. The McLaren driver started to steadily increase the gap to his pursuers, with Raikkonen his nearest challenger. Massa struggled to keep up in third and any hopes that the Brazilian may have been carrying more fuel were dashed when he was the first of the front-runners to pit.
The early stages of the race saw a spirited battle between Kovalainen and Alonso. The McLaren driver’s race was compromised on lap 36 when his front right tyre failed. Although he made it back to the pits for fresh rubber he eventually retired six laps from the end of the Grand Prix.
Raikkonen eventually moved over to let his team-mate past after the second pit stops, allowing Massa to pick up two extra points. Robert Kubica, who still had an outside chance of the title going into the weekend, had his chances ended with a sixth place finish. The Polish driver had struggled for pace all weekend and failed to make it into final qualifying.
At the chequered flag Hamilton was almost 15 seconds ahead of Massa, with Raikkonen third and Alonso, winner of the two previous Grands Prix, fourth. Nick Heidfeld finished fifth in his BMW Sauber, an impressive recovery after receiving a penalty for impeding David Coulthard during qualifying. Kubica was sixth with Timo Glock bringing his Toyota home sixth after utilising a one-stop strategy. The final point went to Nelson Piquet and Renault.
Hamilton and Massa in F1 Title Decider at Interlagos
Hamilton has a seven point lead in the world championship heading to Interlagos for the final race of the year. Massa will be a strong favourite to win the race at his home circuit but, even if he does, Hamilton only needs to finish fifth. He will not be taking anything for granted, however. Last year Hamilton was also the title favourite at the Brazilian Grand Prix, only to lose out to Raikkonen and Ferrari. The Italian team need just seven points to secure the constructor’s championship.
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