Back 2008 Franse Grand Prix Afrikaans جائزة فرنسا الكبرى 2008 Arabic Gran Premiu de Francia de 2008 AST 2008 Голяма награда на Франция Bulgarian Gran Premi de França del 2008 Catalan Grand Prix Francie 2008 Czech Großer Preis von Frankreich 2008 German Gran Premio de Francia de 2008 Spanish Ranskan Grand Prix 2008 Finnish Grand Prix automobile de France 2008 French
| 2008 French Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 8 of 18 in the 2008 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details[1][2][3] | |||||
| Date | 22 June 2008 | ||||
| Official name | Formula 1 Grand Prix de France 2008 | ||||
| Location | Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 4.411 km (2.741 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 70 laps, 308.586 km (191.746 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Dry at first; light rain in the final stages | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 1:16.449 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |
 Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | |||
| Time | 1:16.630 on lap 16 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Ferrari | ||||
| Second | Ferrari | ||||
| Third | Toyota | ||||
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Lap leaders | |||||
The 2008 French Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Grand Prix de France 2008)[1] was a Formula One motor race held on 22 June 2008 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France. This race would be the last French Grand Prix for a decade, before returning in 2018 at Circuit Paul Ricard. The 70-lap race event, the eighth of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, was won by Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team starting from second position. Kimi Räikkönen, who started from pole position, finished second in the other Ferrari car; Jarno Trulli was third in a Toyota.
Räikkönen and Massa both made a clean start. Renault's Fernando Alonso, who started third, was overtaken by Trulli and BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica. The front three of Räikkönen, Massa and Trulli maintained their positions through the first round of pit stops. On lap 30, Räikkönen led Massa by six and a half seconds, and Trulli by 30 seconds. Just before half distance, Räikkönen's right exhaust pipe broke, which caused the engine to lose power. Massa, in second place, began lapping quicker than Räikkönen, and he caught and passed him on lap 39. Massa maintained his lead through the second round of pit stops, and won the race; Räikkönen finished almost 18 seconds behind. Trulli fended off McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen, who challenged him in the latter stages, to take third.
Massa's win promoted him into the lead of the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career, overtaking Kubica. Kubica was second, two points behind Massa, while Räikkönen was third. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari increased their lead to 17 points ahead of BMW Sauber, McLaren a further 16 points behind in third.
- ^ a b "2008 French Grand Prix". The Official Formula 1 Website. 2008-06-22. Archived from the original on 31 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
- ^ "Grand Prix of France". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2008-06-22. Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
- ^ "2008 French Grand Prix fastest laps". The Official Formula 1 Website. 2008-06-22. Archived from the original on 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2009-07-01.