2008 Japanese Grand Prix

2008 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 16 of 18 in the 2008 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Race details[1][2]
Date	12 October 2008
Official name	2008 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
Location	Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Sunto District, Shizuoka, Japan
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.563[3] km (2.835 miles)
Distance	67 laps, 305.416[3] km (189.777 miles)
Weather	Cloudy with temperatures reaching up to 17 °C (63 °F)[4]
Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
Time	1:18.404
Fastest lap
Driver	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Time	1:18.426 on lap 55 (lap record)
Podium
First	Fernando Alonso	Renault
Second	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 2008 Japanese Grand Prix (officially the 2008 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix)^[5] was a Formula One motor race held on 12 October 2008, at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Japan. It was the 16th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Fernando Alonso for the Renault team won the 67-lap race from fourth position on the starting grid. Robert Kubica finished second for BMW Sauber, and Kimi Räikkönen third for Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton, the eventual Drivers' Champion, led the Championship going into the race, and started from pole position alongside Räikkönen. Hamilton's McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen began from third, next to Alonso. At the first corner Hamilton braked late, forcing Räikkönen wide. Hamilton was later given a penalty, and was criticised by the British racing press for overaggressive driving. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, Hamilton's principal Championship rival, was penalised after an incident on lap two in which he touched Hamilton's car, causing it to spin. The incident dropped Hamilton to the back of the field, from where he was unable to regain a points scoring position. Massa later collided with Sébastien Bourdais of Toro Rosso. Bourdais was penalised after the race, and demoted from sixth to tenth position. The penalty prompted widespread criticism from the racing media and ex-drivers.

The victory was Alonso's second consecutive win; he started from 15th on the grid to win the Singapore Grand Prix two weeks prior. Kubica held off a determined attack from Räikkönen in the closing laps to take second place. Massa's seventh place narrowed his gap to Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship to five points. Ferrari established a seven-point lead over the McLaren team in the Constructors' Championship, with two races of the season remaining.