2008 Formula One World Championship
The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 62nd season of Formula One motor racing, recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the governing body of motorsport – as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over eighteen races commencing in Australia on 16 March and ending in Brazil on 2 November. The 2008 season saw the debut of the Singapore Grand Prix, which was held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Marina Bay, Singapore and was the first Formula One race held at night. The European Grand Prix moved to a new venue at the Valencia Street Circuit, in Valencia, Spain.
Lewis Hamilton (pictured in 2007) won the first of his seven World Championship titles in 2008, in his second year of F1 participation. He remains the last McLaren driver to win a championship.
Felipe Massa finished runner up by a single point behind Hamilton
Kimi Räikkönen, the defending World Drivers' Champion, finished the season ranked 3rd.
Ferrari took the Constructors' Championship for the second year in a row.
Formula One, commonly known as Formula 1 or F1, is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the world's premier forms of racing since its inaugural running in 1950. The word formula in the name refers to the set of rules all participants' cars must follow. A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix. Grands Prix take place in multiple countries and continents on either purpose-built circuits or closed public roads.
Juan Manuel Fangio's 1951 title-winning Alfa Romeo 159
Stirling Moss's Lotus 18 at the Nürburgring during 1961
Stefan Johansson driving for Ferrari at the 1985 European Grand Prix
Damon Hill driving for Williams at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix