After a three week break, Formula 1 turned to Valencia for the European Grand Prix 2008. Valencia is one of the two new circuits introduced to F1 this year. As with any new venue, there was an air of uncertainty and anticipation at the same time. The initial impressions were satisfactory and almost all drivers giving it a thumbs up. Valencia is a 5.4 KM long street circuit with numerous twists and turns.
As it was the very first GP at this venue, everyone was somewhat unsure about their car setups. This made things very interesting as everyone was on a level playing field. Spanish crowd, obviously, was all behind their hero, Fernando Alonso. It was more or less certain that Ferrari and McLaren will again be the teams to beat. However, the pecking order was very much uncertain.
Both Ferrari and McLaren started off great with Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton leading their respective teams. World champion, Kimi Raikkonen was again struggling for grip and as a result was unable to pose any significant threat to the front runners. Hamilton’s team mate Heikki Kovalainen was doing an okay job for the team since he is not really in contention for the title anymore.
Massa was able to claim the first pole position at this circuit while Lewis was only able to manage the 2nd slot on the grid. Robert Kubica had a good lap for BMW Sauber and was able to take 3rd while Kimi had to settle for 4th on grid. Heikki ended up in 5th but the main surprise was Sebastian Vettel of Torro Rosso in 6th. Vettel was having a good time driving around and he looked great out there.
The race turned out to be an uneventful one for the front runners. The top three drivers on the grid all had great starts and were able to maintain their positions. Kimi had to give way to Heikki at the first corner and lost significant amount of time behind the McLaren driver. Kubica was able to keep Heikki and Kimi behind him all the way through the first stint despite some kind of problem with his car.
The track provided no overtaking opportunity to the drivers and the race almost ended as it started. Massa, Hamilton and Kubica finished the race in 1st, 2nd and 3rd places respectively. No driver was able to challenge the one in front of him. In the meanwhile, Kimi was able to invent some sort of excitement at every turn. He rarely looked the champion that he is during the race. He even managed to run over a mechanic during a pit stop.
Kimi eventually retired from the race with an engine failure. Heikki finished 4th for McLaren while Jarno Trulli of Toyota finished 5th. Vettel, Glock and Rosberg claimed the final point scoring positions in that order. Lewis was able to maintain his lead in driver’s championship while Massa is the one catching up fast. Kimi is slipping behind with every race and he surely will have to pick up his game. The full results are as follows -
1 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 57 - 1:35:32.339
2 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes - 57 - +5.6 secs
3 - Robert Kubica - BMW Sauber - 57 - +37.3 secs
4 - Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren-Mercedes - 57 - +39.7 secs
5 - Jarno Trulli - Toyota - 57 - +50.6 secs
6 - Sebastian Vettel - STR-Ferrari - 57 - +52.6 secs
7 - Timo Glock - Toyota - 57 - +67.9 secs
8 - Nico Rosberg - Williams-Toyota - 57 - +71.4 secs
9 - Nick Heidfeld - BMW Sauber - 57 - +82.1 secs
10 - Sebastien Bourdais - STR-Ferrari - 57 - +89.7 secs
11 - Nelsinho Piquet - Renault - 57 - +92.7 secs
12 - Mark Webber - Red Bull-Renault - 56 - +1 Lap
13 - Jenson Button - Honda - 56 - +1 Lap
14 - Giancarlo Fisichella - Force India-Ferrari - 56 - +1 Lap
15 - Kazuki Nakajima - Williams-Toyota - 56 - +1 Lap
16 - Rubens Barrichello - Honda - 56 - +1 Lap
17 - David Coulthard - Red Bull-Renault - 56 - +1 Lap
Ret - Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 45 - Engine
Ret - Adrian Sutil - Force India-Ferrari - 41 - Accident
Ret - Fernando Alonso - Renault - 0 - Accident Damage
