Formula 1 News

Lewis Hamilton dominates the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix 

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton took today a dominant win at the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, putting almost his hands on the 2008 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship title.  The Briton dominated the race right from the first turn and beat easily the two Ferraris. Felipe  Massa and Kimi Raikkonen took a podium finish, with the Finn leaving P2 to his teammate in the final stages. The Brazilian has now 87 points, while Hamilton leads the Drivers’ standings with 94. The Briton will have to finish among the top five at the last round of this season’s championship in Brazil in order to secure the title.

At the race start, Hamilton kept the first position leaving behind him both Ferraris with Raikkonen in P2 and Massa in P3. Behind them, Heikki Kovalainen put some pressure on Fernando Alonso while Robert Kubica came up to P8. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli collided with Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais. While the Frenchman continued the race, the Italian had to retire as his car was considerably damaged.

Ten laps later, Hamilton was leading the race clocking a series of fastest laps while Raikkonen was trying to keep the Briton’s pace. On P3, Massa had a 7.3 second gap from the race leader. The Brazilian along with Fernando Alonso were the first to enter the pits among the bigs, followed by Hamilton and Raikkonen. Even after the first pit stops, nothing changed: Hamilton was comfortably in P1, followed by Raikkonen (P2), Massa (P3) and Alonso (P4).

With around 20 laps to go, Heikki Kovalainen suffered a puncture on his front right tyre but managed to head back  to the pits for a new set. He, however, rejoined in P15 but a few laps later he got back to the pits where he parked his car and had to retire.

After the final pit stops, with Hamilton still in P1 (+13  seconds ahead of Raikkonen), the Finn relaxed his pace and was passed by Massa. The positions remained unchanged until the chequered flag: Lewis Hamilton won the 9th Grand Prix of his F1 career ahead of Felipe Massa,  Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Nick Heidfeld, Robert Kubica, Timo Glock and Nelsinho Piquet.

Lewis Hamilton keeps the lead on the Drivers’ Championship standings with 94 points, Felipe Massa follows with 87 and Robert Kubica with 75. The Pole, however, lost his chances to fight for the title at the upcoming 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix.

2008 Chinese Grand Prix, Race Results: