Results of the 2008 Australian F1 Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton easily won the opening race of the 2008 season, in a bizarre race that saw just six cars run the full length. Kimi Räikkönen retired on lap 53 yet still managed to pick up a point for running eight at the time, as did rookie Sebastien Bourdais (7th, lap 55).
At an incident laden race held on the Albert Park circuit, Nick Heidfeld also stayed clear of trouble to finish second in his BMW, while rising star Nico Rosberg got his first ever podium for Williams. Hamilton’s nearest serious challenger was Fernando Alonso, back behind the wheel of a Renault and fourth, passing the other McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen in the dying laps and benefitting from the retirement of Bourdais who was also ahead of him. Rookie Kazuki Nakajima finished seventh.
Ferrari had a race to forget, with Felipe Massa retiring on lap 29 and Kimi Räikkönen joining him later in the race after a botched attempt to pass Kovalainen put him in the gravel and ruined his race. Kovalainen was running second for much of the race but lost out when unlucky timing during a safety car period forced him to pit.
There were serious incidents on lap one, taking out Webber, Button, Fisichella, Davidson and Vettel, and again on lap 25 (Coulthard and Massa). Räikkönen had started 16th on the grid and spent much of the race trapped behind the much improved Honda of Ruben’s Barrichello - who was later disqualified from his sixth place, because of a pit incident. The Finn, did have some luck during a safety car deployment that catapulted him to third, but his aggressive driving cost him.
Hamilton hailed it as one of his greatest victories, as he led from pole position and never looked back. It puts him off to a good start in a season that might turn into another thriller.
Results from Albert park
- Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 58 laps one hour 34 minutes 50.616 seconds
- Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber +5.478 secs
- Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota +8.163
- Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault +17.181
- Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes +18.014
DQ Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda +52.453 - Kazuki Nakajima* (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 1 lap behind
- Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 55 laps completed
- Kimi Räikkönen (Fin) Ferrari 53 laps
R Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 47 laps
R Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 43 laps
R Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 32 laps
R Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault 30 laps
R Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 29 laps
R David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 25 laps
R Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 19 laps
R Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 8 laps
R Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 0 laps
R Jenson Button (GB) Honda 0 lap
R Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 0 lap
R Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0 laps
R Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 0 laps