Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the first of the team’s two home races. After an eventful race over 60 laps (308.355 kms) in changeable weather conditions, he lapped all but two drivers and came home 68.5sec ahead of Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) in second place.
Lewis’s team mate Heikki Kovalainen, who had started from his first ever Formula 1 pole position, ended up fifth. Both drivers were on two-stop strategies. Lewis came in on laps 21 (8.0sec) and 38 (7.3sec); Heikki pitted on laps 19 (7.9sec) and 34 (6.6sec). Halfway through the championship, after nine out of 18 Grands Prix, Lewis is back in the lead with 48 points; he is tied on points with Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen.
Heikki is sixth overall with 24 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is third with 72 points; Ferrari leads with 96 points. It was Lewis’s third win of the season, the seventh in his 26 F1 races so far, the 55th of the McLaren Mercedes partnership and McLaren’s 159th grand prix victory.
LEWIS HAMILTON
"This was the toughest race, but also one of the best ones I have ever driven. It was so extreme and slippery out there, very similar to the Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji last year. I had troubles with my visor and tried to clean it a couple of times. I thank my team for a great job; they did fantastic work and we always made the right decisions with the tyres in the difficult conditions.
When I came round the last time, I saw the crowd standing up and I prayed: ‘Just finish, just finish.’ It was a very emotional moment to win my home grand prix and I want to dedicate this victory to my family. As everybody knows I had some troubles over the past few weeks and they have been always there for me and supported me. To pull on another Vodafone McLaren Mercedes rocket red victory T-shirt feels awesome."
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
"Congratulations to Lewis on his superb home win. I had a good start and, for a few laps, Lewis was really pushing hard - which meant he eventually managed to overtake me on lap five when I ran a little wide.
It was an extremely difficult race with lots of things happening. It was so easy to get caught out today by aquaplaning and slippery conditions: I spun twice but I was not the only one. At least I scored four points and helped to increase our constructors’ points total."
RON DENNIS
"To win your home grand prix is always special, and so today is indeed a special day for Lewis. It's also a special day for all at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. But above all it was a magnificent grand prix, full of drama, and it was won by a man who mastered the treacherous conditions faultlessly
. Lewis's was one of those drives that will live in the memory for a long time - but it should be remembered that, fabulous though Lewis's performance was, it was also the result of brilliant teamwork by our engineers and mechanics.
As for Heikki, he qualified superbly yesterday and clearly showed that he too is truly world-class. He shouldn’t feel too disappointed today because he demonstrated once again that his racing skills are beyond question. His time will come."
NORBERT HAUG
"Lewis managed a superb and most impressive win and over the 60 laps, he was on average more than one second per lap faster then Nick Heidfeld in second place and he lapped all drivers behind third place. We are back in the title fight and that’s great!
Unfortunately Heikki suffered from understeering throughout the longest part of the race. It’s a pity because he had a very good set-up in qualifying which helped him to achieve his first Formula 1 career pole position.
Lewis is back in the lead with 48 points; he is tied on points with Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen. We are now focusing on our second home Grand Prix in Hockenheim in two weeks’ time.
Please come there to the Mercedes grandstand and watch Lewis and Heikki there will be a first class programme for all the visitors behind the grandstand. To all team mates my sincere thanks for achieving this result today - let’s try to do the same at Hockenheim when our next home Grand Prix takes place."
- Steve Cooper, Wolfgang Schattling - photos McLaren
Wetter: konstant nasse Strecke, zeitweise starker Regen, 16-18°C Luft, 17-21°C Asphalt
Mit einer fehlerfreien Fahrt und starken Überholmanövern erkämpfte Nick Heidfeld in einem ... mehr
2008 British Grand Prix Race Report
Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/02):DNF 16:59.400 (10 laps)
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05): DNF 43:12.620 (26 laps)
Heavy rain showers, wet track conditions and standing water all contributed to an extraordinary British Grand Prix today at Silverstone, with just 13 finishers and o ... mehr
Car 10, MARK WEBBER, (Finish Position 10th, Start Position: 2nd)
"Unfortunately I dropped it on the entrance to Becketts on the first lap. I was quite close to Kimi (Raikkonen) and just got on the white line. I lost the car on the exit and had to let the field go past, so it was clear to spin back round. After that it was about making the right call for the right c ... mehr
2008 BRITISH GRAND PRIX - SUNDAY 06/07/08
Sébastien Bourdais (STR3-01)
Pos. 11th
"It was very tough at the start as I couldn't see because the water wasn't clearing off my visor. It's the first time I've encountered this problem. In the early stages I had a lot of understeer which ruined the tyres.
Putting the extreme wets on was a g ... mehr
BRITISH GRAND PRIX – RACE SUNDAY 6 JULY, 2008
Predictably extreme weather conditions promoted one of the most eventful races of the season today at round nine of the Championship, the British Grand Prix. Kazuki Nakajima drove his FW30 through the challenging conditions to a points-paying eighth place finish for AT&T Williams at the team’s home Grand Prix.
... mehr
2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX
1 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 60 Winner 4 10
2 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 60 +68.5 secs 5 8
3 17 Rubens Barrichello Honda 60 +82.2 secs 16 6
4 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 3 5
5 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 59 +1 Lap 1 4
6 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 59 +1 L ... mehr
Heikki Kovalainen (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) has achieved his first ever F1 pole position by using Bridgestone’s medium compound Potenza to go fastest in qualifying at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, round nine of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
Kovalainen was quickest by over half a second with a lap of 1min 21.049 secs. Second fastest was Red Bull Raci ... mehr
Wetter: feucht im Training, überwiegend trocken im Qualifying, 18-20°C Luft, 16-32°C Asphalt
Das BMW Sauber F1 Team erlebte das Qualifying zum Großen Preis von Großbritannien in Silverstone mit gemischten Gefühlen. Für Nick Heidfeld war es erfreuli ... mehr
5. Juli 2008 – GP Großbritannien
Das ING Renault F1 Team zeigte am Samstagnachmittag eine gute Vorstellung im Qualifying für den Grand Prix von Großbritannien. Fernando Alonso nimmt das Rennen morgen von Rang sechs auf, Nelson Piquet startet vom siebten Platz.
Fernando Alonso, Renault R28-02 Nelson Piquet, Renault R28-01
Q1 1.20,998 m ... mehr
Lewis Hamilton MP4-23 02
Heikki Kovalainen MP4-23 05
2008 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Heikki Kovalainen will start Sunday’s Santander British Grand Prix, the first of the team’s two consecutive home races, from his first Formula 1 career pole position. In an exciting final part of Satu ... mehr
British Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
Today's Weather: Wet morning and further spots of rain in Q1, then dry. Air 19-20°C, track 22-32°C
Best 2008 grid position: 3rd Jarno Trulli (Malaysia)
Best 2008 race result: 3rd Jarno Trulli (France) ... mehr
2008 British Grand Prix Qualifying and Final Free Practice
Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/02):
FP3: 17th 1:23.049 (22 laps)
Q1: 19th 1:21.786 (9 laps)
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05): ... mehr
BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING SATURDAY 5 JULY, 2008
AT&T Williams had a difficult qualifying session for Sunday’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone today. Having suffered with an unresolved suspension issue all weekend, Nico Rosberg was forced out of Q1 in P18. Kazuki Nakajima fared only slightly better making it into Q2 but was restricted to P15, the conclus ... mehr
2008 BRITISH GRAND PRIX - SATURDAY 05/07/08
Best ever qualifying for the team
F1 career best for Bourdais
1st Q3 for STR3
Sebastian Vettel (STR3-03)
"I qualified 7th in Indy with BMW, but to be 8th with Toro Rosso means we can be very proud of what we have achieved today. We had a very good balance ... mehr
Car 10 MARK WEBBER, Position 2nd
"It's gone really well for us today and to be on the front of the grid for tomorrow's race is very encouraging. The guys have worked really hard since the last race and, with the factory just down the road, there's an amazing atmosphere.
Five percent of the job is done, but we've got a long race ahead of us tomorrow and we' ... mehr
2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX
1 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.957 1:19.597 1:21.049 15
2 10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:20.982 1:19.710 1:21.554 16
3 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:20.370 1:19.971 1:21.706 18
4 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.288 1:19.537 1:21.835 13
5 3 Nick Heidf ... mehr
2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX
1 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:20.740 16
2 10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:20.988 0.248 18
3 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.266 0.526 14
4 15 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 1:21.277 0.537 19
5 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.668 0.928 14
6 6 Ne ... mehr
It was Fernando Alonso’s turn to set the pace in the final practice session at Silverstone on Saturday morning.
The Spaniard lapped his Renault in 1m 20.740s right at the end of a session which began with a wet track after torrential rain this morning but ended mainly dry.
Mark Webber also improved at the end, to move his Red Bull into second place o ... mehr
4. Juli 2008 – GP Großbritannien, der Freitag
Das ING Renault F1 Team startete heute auf dem Silverstone Circuit mit den unmittelbaren Vorbereitungen auf den Großen Preis von Großbritannien am Sonntag. Fernando Alonso und Nelson Piquet spulten während der insgesamt drei Stunden Freien Trainings problemlos ihre vorgesehenen Programme ab.
Fernando Alonso, ... mehr
Silverstone, Friday 4th July 2008
Lewis Hamilton MP4-23 02
Heikki Kovalainen MP4-23 05
2008 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX FREE PRACTICE
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton finished Friday’s second Free Practice for the Santander British Grand Prix in Silverstone, the first of the team’s two consecutive home ... mehr
2008 British Grand Prix Free Practice
Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/02):
FP1: 18th 1:22.169 (16 laps)
FP2: 19th 1:21.756 (30 laps)
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05):
FP1: 19th 1:22.219 (19 laps)
FP2: 16th 1:21.520 (42 laps)
The Force India Formula One Team started its pre ... mehr
BRITISH GRAND PRIX - FREE PRACTICE FRIDAY 4 JULY, 2008
It was a busy day of preparation work for AT&T Williams at Silverstone today. At the team’s home track, drivers Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima, having already benefited from a three day test here last week, continued their set-up work ahead o ... mehr
2008 BRITISH GRAND PRIX - FRIDAY 04/07/08
Sebastian Vettel (STR3-03)
"Last week's test was the first time I drove this track and I like it, especially the first part with very fast corners and combinations of them. It's good fun and today we had a very productive session, ending up with clear answers on all the things we had on our test list.
... mehr
Car 10 MARK WEBBER, 1st Practice P11, 2nd Practice P2
Not a bad afternoon session. We had a look at a few different settings, as conditions were not the same as at the test, but that's normal. After a small electronic problem this morning, we had some better running this afternoon when I was much happier with the car. Now we'll wait and see what the weather ... mehr
2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX
1 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.989 35
2 10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:20.520 0.531 32
3 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.543 0.554 31
4 9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:20.589 0.600 36
5 7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:20.748 0.759 43
6 15 Sebastia ... mehr
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa set the fastest time in Friday’s first practice session for the British Grand Prix here at Silverstone this morning, but also brought out the red flag for 15 minutes after crashing immediately after establishing the benchmark.
The Brazilian had just lapped in 1m 19.575s when he encountered freshly spilled oil at Stowe corner, courtesy of Fernando Al ... mehr
Following discussions with Formula One Management, the FIA can confirm that the British Grand Prix will be retained on the Formula One World Championship calendar. From 2010 the new home of the British Grand Prix will be Donington Park.
Max Mosley, FIA President said, "After many years of patient but fruitless negotiation wi ... mehr
2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX
1 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:19.575 8
2 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.587 0.012 15
3 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.623 0.048 13
4 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:19.948 0.373 16
5 4 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:20.367 0.792 11
6 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:20.436 ... mehr
Zum Formel 1-Rennen in Silverstone:
Zur Halbzeit der Rennsaison 2008 macht die Formel 1 derzeit Station in England. Hier liegen die Wurzeln der Königsdisziplin im Motorsport, 1950 fand in Silverstone das erste Formel 1-Rennen der Geschichte statt.
R ... mehr
There are no plans to give up racing to start a career as TV commentator. Far from it.
At this moment, Frédéric is competing in the German Formula 3 Championship and at the end of the season he will be testing Force India's Formula 1 car
. "I'm sure this will be a great experience, but I'm also quite nervous", said Frédéric before his TV debut. Rendezvous on Sund ... mehr
British Grand Prix preview 4 - 6 July 2008
The British Grand Prix later this week will mark the mid-point of Force India's debut Formula One World Championship season. It's an appropriate place for the team to reach this milestone given the Silverstone Circuit, where the race is ... mehr
Thanks to a partnership between Panasonic Toyota Racing and Warner Bros. Pictures, Hollywood is coming to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix weekend to celebrate the release of the event movie of the summer: The Dark Knight.
The much-anticipated film, which releases in cinemas across the UK on 25 July, is the follow up to the 2005 action hit Batman Begins. The Dark Kn ... mehr
The British Grand Prix marks the mid-point of the season: too early for nostalgia, but time for a look back over the first half of the year, with the team principal, the drivers and the chief engineer.
FRANZ TOST
After half a season, we now have a team that has better stab ... mehr
It's half-term for the world of F1: time for a "what do you think of it so far" report from Red Bull Racing's Team Principal, Chief Engineer and drivers.
CHRISTIAN HORNER
The first half of the season has gone pretty well for us. We have taken a big step forward in reliability an ... mehr
Silverstone is the original Formula 1 circuit, the place where the World Championship was born in 1950, but history is just one aspect; for Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock, speed is king.
After Monza, Silverstone is the fastest track on the calendar, with an average speed of almost 230km/h on a flying lap and a top speed of over 300km/h at the ... mehr
Fabrice Lom, leitender Motoreningenieur beim Partnerteam Red Bull Racing, blickt zurück auf den Großen Preis von Frankreich und voraus auf den Grand Prix von Großbritannien.
Fabrice, wie bewerten Sie das Rennen in Magny-Cours aus der Sicht von Red Bull Racing?
Fabrice Lom: " Wenn wir das Gesamtergebnis betrachten, müssen wir mit ... mehr
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As for Heikki, he qualified superbly yesterday and clearly showed that he too is truly world-class. He shouldn’t feel too disappointed today because he demonstrated once again that his racing skills are beyond question. His time will come."
