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FERRARI TAKES ITS 16TH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
Felipe Massa won his home Grand Prix and Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has won the 2008 Formula 1 Constructors' World Championship in Brazil today (2 November 2008).
And the other big winner on the day was the sport of motor racing, as this final round of the season was thrilling from start to finish, thanks to a sudden shower at the start and another one in the closing laps.
In fact for a few moments on the very last lap, Felipe Massa looked to have secured the Drivers' crown as Sebastian Vettel and Timo Glock relegated Lewis Hamilton to sixth. However, in the very last metres, the Englishman got past the Toyota to retake fifth place, enough to give the McLaren-Mercedes man the Drivers' crown, by one single point. For the record, Felipe won six races this year to Lewis' five.
"It was an exciting day,” said Massa. “We did everything to perfection and we almost managed to pull it off. Then, as I crossed the line, Rob told me that Hamilton had finished fifth and therefore he took the title by one point. Sport is like this and one has to accept that. Congratulations to Lewis: whoever gets the most points deserves the title. I am very proud of the whole team and how much support they have given me during this fantastic season. Now we must be happy with what have done, namely bringing home the Constructors' title which I know is so important for the team. It was a season of highs and lows and we have learned a lot, from the good moments and from our mistakes. I can leave Interlagos with my head held high because once again I have won in front of my home crowd and because this is an unforgettable day. Now I want to celebrate with my family, my friends and my team. We deserve it!"
Kimi Raikkonen came home in third place.
"I am happy that the team has managed to win the Constructors' title and I am sorry for Felipe, who has lost the title by a single point,” said Raikkonen. “That's racing and we have to live with it. I am particularly happy for Stefano, in his first year as team principal as I know how much pressure he has had to deal with and I think that this result is a good reward for that. My race was not particularly exciting. At the start the track was wet, especially the first three corners, where I was being very careful not to make a mistake. Then, my first set of dry tyres gave me a lot of understeer and I was struggling to match the pace of the leaders. On the second set, things gradually improved and I managed to close up on Alonso. Then, when we went onto wets, I got very close but the team told me to avoid taking any risks as Felipe had a chance of winning the title and so I gave up on attacking him. A not very positive season for me has come to an end, but I will do all I can to make up for it next year."
The atmosphere on the grid at Interlagos was electric with seemingly every single spectator chanting "Felipe, Felipe!" as the Brazilian sat on pole position, with the fans on the startline nearer to the track than at any other venue. Jarno Trulli's Toyota lined up alongside, while Kimi was behind his Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team-mate. In fourth spot, with the comfort of a seven point lead was Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren Mercedes. The threat of rain had gradually reduced during the day, even if it had not disappeared completely. Incredibly, with just a couple of minutes to go to the start of the formation lap, a five minute deluge hit the track and the organisers aborted the start, delaying it by ten minutes. The rain had stopped but the track was wet enough for the cars to switch to intermediate rain tyres.
As the two Ferrari got away in grid position order with Trulli between them, an accident further down the field brought out the safety car immediately on lap 1. The question now was would drivers profit from this to dive into pit lane to fit dry tyres, or would they stay out. One of the cars involved in the tangle was the Red Bull Renault of David Coulthard who therefore had a very rapid end to his long F1 career. Piquet was also out in the Renault. The order behind the SC was Massa, Trulli, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Vettel, (up from seventh,) Alonso fighting off Kovalainen, with Bourdais in the last of the points positions.
On lap 7, Kimi made his first but unsuccessful attempt to get past Trulli, as Rosberg was the first to pit for dry tyres. Button and Bourdais followed, then Glock and Sutil. Vettel was the first of the front runners to switch tyres and he was followed in by Alonso.
Massa came in next time round, as did Kovalainen and Heidfeld, the McLaren man having a slow stop. The order was now Trulli, Raikkonen, Hamilton, but this trio all came in next, with Kimi getting ahead of the Toyota at the stop. The order was now Massa, Vettel, Alonso, as Trulli had a big sideways moment coming down the hill. Fourth was Kimi followed by Fisichella, yet to stop, Hamilton, Glock, Bourdais, Trulli with Heidfeld completing the top ten. Hamilton passed Fisichella to move up to fifth on lap 18. Massa led Vettel by almost a second, while Kimi fourth was ten seconds behind his team-mate. Vettel then put in a fastest lap closing slightly on Felipe on lap 22. Next it was Massa do to a fastest lap. Vettel was running lighter than the leader and pitted on lap 26,promoting Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton to second, third and fourth, with Alonso four seconds behind the Brazilian. Glock came in from fifth on lap 36, pretty much the halfway point of the 71 lap race. Felipe refulled on lap 37, rejoining in fourth place, with everyone ahead of him still to pit, as Alonso now led for Renault, but only for one lap as the Spaniard came in next time round. He was followed in by Hamilton, who rejoined sixth. Kimi pitted from the lead next time round, which meant the order was now, Massa, Vettel, Alonso, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Webber (who had only stopped once) Kovalainen, Glock, Trulli and Heidfeld rounding off the top ten. With 20 laps to go, Vettel came in from second to make his final stop, rejoining fifth, so that Massa now led Alonso by almost ten seconds, with Kimi a further 7.4 behind in third. Hamilton was 6 down on the Finn, with Vettel 2.9 behind the McLaren in fifth spot. With eleven laps to go, Kimi had closed to within 2.3 of second placed Alonso. On lap 61, the gap came down to 1.7. It was 1.2 on lap 62.
And at this point, the forecast predicted more rain in the final laps and indeed with six laps to go the rain began. Kimi came in for intermediates with 5 laps to go, followed by Hamilton and Vettel. Then Massa came in, stationary for just 5.5 seconds as he too took on intermediate rain tyres. The order was now Massa, Alonso, Raikkonen, Glock Hamilton, with Vettel only 1.2 behind the Englishman. Would the McLaren driver be passed by the Toro Rosso, which would hand Felipe the title if he won the race? There were only three laps to go and Vettel had closed the gap to 0.8. Then the unbelievable happened, as Glock passed Vettel with both men getting past Hamilton as he ran wide. For a few moments it seemed Felipe would achieve his dream. But Glock was still on dry tyres and in difficulty, so that first Vettel and then Hamilton went past him.
The podium saw an emotional Felipe flanked by second placed Alonso and third placed Kimi. The other points went to Vettel, Hamilton, Glock, Kovalainen and Trulli.
(ends)
Brazilian GP - Race
Interlagos, 2nd November 2008
F. Massa: 1st 1:34.11.435 - 71 laps chassis 269
K. Raikkonen: 3rd 1:34.27.670 + 16.235 71 laps chassis 271
Weather: air temperature 25/26 °C, track temperature 26 °C, overcast, rain at the start and at the end of the race.
1. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 71 laps 01:34:11.435
2. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault +13.2
3. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +16.2
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari +38.0
5. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +38.9
6. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota +44.3
7. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +55.0
8. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota +68.4
9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +79.6
10. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber +1 lap
11. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber +1 lap
12. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota +1 lap
13. Jenson Button Britain Honda-Honda +1 lap
14. Sebastien Bourdais France Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
15. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Honda-Honda +1 lap
16. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Ferrari +2 laps
17. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota +2 laps
18. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Ferrari +2 laps
RTD. Nelson Piquet Jr Brazil Renault-Renault 0 laps completed
RTD. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Renault 0 laps completed
F1 DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP (AFTER ROUND 18 OF 18)
POSITION / DRIVER / TEAM / POINTS1. / LEWIS HAMILTON / VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES / 98
2. / FELIPE MASSA / SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO / 97
3. / KIMI RAIKKONEN / SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO / 75
= / ROBERT KUBICA / BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM / 75
5. / FERNANDO ALONSO / ING RENAULT F1 TEAM / 61
6. / NICK HEIDFELD / BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM / 60
7. / HEIKKI KOVALAINEN / VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES / 53
8. / SEBASTIAN VETTEL / SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-FERRARI / 35
9. / JARNO TRULLI / PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING / 31
10. / TIMO GLOCK / PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING / 25
11. / MARK WEBBER / RED BULL RACING-RENAULT / 21
12. / NELSON PIQUET JR / ING RENAULT F1 TEAM / 19
13. / NICO ROSBERG / AT&T WILLIAMS-TOYOTA / 17
14. / RUBENS BARRICHELLO / HONDA F1 RACING / 11
15. / KAZUKI NAKAJIMA / AT&T WILLIAMS-TOYOTA / 9
16. / DAVID COULTHARD / RED BULL RACING-RENAULT / 8
17. / SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS / SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-FERRARI / 4
18. / JENSON BUTTON / HONDA F1 RACING / 3
F1 CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP (AFTER ROUND 18 OF 18)
POSITION / TEAM / POINTS1. / SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO / 172
2. / VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES / 151
3. / BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM / 135
4. / ING RENAULT F1 TEAM / 80
5. / PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING / 56
6. / SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-FERRARI / 39
7. / RED BULL RACING-RENAULT / 29
8. / AT&T WILLIAMS-TOYOTA / 26
9. / HONDA RACING F1 TEAM / 14
10. / FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM-FERRARI / 0
Ten years in figures
2008
Ferrari: Pti/Pts 172 - 1°/1st 8 - 2°/2nd 4 - 3°/3rd 7 - PP 8 - GV/FL 13
McLaren-Mercedes: Pti/Pts 151 - 1°/1st 6 - 2°/2nd 3 - 3°/3rd 4 - PP 8 - GV/FL 3
BMW: Pti/Pts 135 - 1°/1st 1 - 2°/2nd 7 - 3°/3rd 3 - PP 1 - GV/FL 2
2007
Ferrari: Pti/Pts 204 - 1°/1st 9 - 2°/2nd 6 - 3°/3rd 7 - PP 9 - GV/FL 12
McLaren-Mercedes: Pti/Pts 203 - 1°/1st 8 - 2°/2nd 9 - 3°/3rd 7 - PP 8 - GV/FL 5
BMW: Pti/Pts 101 - 1°/1st 0 - 2°/2nd 1 - 3°/3rd 1 - PP 0 - GV/FL 0
2006
Renault: Pti/Pts 206 - 1°/1st 8 - 2°/2nd 7 - 3°/3rd 4 - PP 7 - GV/FL 5
Ferrari: Pti/Pts 201 - 1°/1st 9 - 2°/2nd 7 - 3°/3rd 3 - PP 7 - GV/FL 9
McLaren-Mercedes: Pti/Pts 110 - 1°/1st 0 - 2°/2nd 4 - 3°/3rd 5 - PP 3 - GV/FL 3
2005
Renault: Pti/Pts 191 - 1°/1st 8 - 2°/2nd 6 - 3°/3rd 4 - PP 7 - GV/FL 3
McLaren-Mercedes: Pti/Pts 182 - 1°/1st 10 - 2°/2nd 4 - 3°/3rd 4 - PP 7 - GV/FL 12
Ferrari: Pti/Pts 100 - 1°/1st 1 - 2°/2nd 5 - 3°/3rd 3 - PP 1 - GV/FL 3
2004
Ferrari: Pti/Pts 262 - 1°/1st 15 - 2°/2nd 9 - 3°/3rd 5 - PP 12 - GV/FL 14
BAR-Honda: Pti/Pts 119 - 1°/1st 0 - 2°/2nd 4 - 3°/3rd 7 - PP 1 - GV/FL 0
Renault: Pti/Pts 105 - 1°/1st 1 - 2°/2nd 1 - 3°/3rd 4 - PP 3 - GV/FL 0
2003
Ferrari: Pti/Pts 158 - 1°/1st 8 - 2°/2nd 1 - 3°/3rd 7 - PP 8 - GV/FL 8
Williams-BMW: Pti/Pts 144 - 1°/1st 4 - 2°/2nd 6 - 3°/3rd 2 - PP 4 - GV/FL 4
McLaren-Mercedes: Pti/Pts 142 - 1°/1st 2 - 2°/2nd 8 - 3°/3rd 3 - PP 2 - GV/FL 3
2002
Ferrari: Pti/Pts 221 - 1°/1st 15 - 2°/2nd 19 - 3°/3rd 2 - PP 10 - GV/FL 12
Williams-BMW: Pti/Pts 92 - 1°/1st 1 - 2°/2nd 5 - 3°/3rd 7 - PP 7 - GV/FL 3
McLaren-Mercedes: Pti/Pts 65 - 1°/1st 1 - 2°/2nd 2 - 3°/3rd 7 - PP 0 - GV/FL 2
2001
Ferrari: Pti/Pts 179 - 1°/1st 9 - 2°/2nd 10 - 3°/3rd 5 - PP 11 - GV/FL 3
McLaren-Mercedes: Pti/Pts 102 - 1°/1st 4 - 2°/2nd 3 - 3°/3rd 6 - PP 2 - GV/FL 6
Williams-BMW: Pti/Pts 80 - 1°/1st 4 - 2°/2nd 4 - 3°/3rd 1 - PP 4 - GV/FL 8
2000
Ferrari: Pti/Pts 170 - 1°/1st 10 - 2°/2nd 6 - 3°/3rd 5 - PP 10 - GV/FL 5
McLaren-Mercedes: Pti/Pts 152 - 1°/1st 7 - 2°/2nd 10 - 3°/3rd 5 - PP 7 - GV/FL 12
Williams-BMW: Pti/Pts 36 - 1°/1st 0 - 2°/2nd 0 - 3°/3rd 3 - PP 0 - GV/FL 0
1999
Ferrari: Pti/Pts 128 - 1°/1st 6 - 2°/2nd 6 - 3°/3rd 5 - PP 3 - GV/FL 6
McLaren-Mercedes: Pti/Pts 124 - 1°/1st 7 - 2°/2nd 6 - 3°/3rd 3 - PP 11 - GV/FL 9
Jordan-Mugen: Pti/Pts 61 - 1°/1st 2 - 2°/2nd 1 - 3°/3rd 3 - PP 1 - GV/FL 0
For further information, please contact
Kevin Wall
/ Tel: +61 2 9701 8000General Manager, European Automotive Imports / Fax: +61 2 9701 3555
Official Ferrari importer Australia & New Zealand / E:
Edward Rowe
/ Tel: +61 2 9701 8000Public Relations Manager / Fax: +61 2 9701 3555
European Automotive Imports / Mob: +61 407 913 244
Official Ferrari importer Australia & New Zealand / E:
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