2008 Formula One Season

[Wido Rossen]

BMW Sauber first and second in final practice

If you thought Friday afternoon's practice session was confusing, the final session on Saturday morning raised far more questions than it answered as Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld staged a BMW Sauber one-two.Throw in Fernando Alonso in third place for Renault, ahead of Williams' Nico Rosberg and Red Bull's David Coulthard, and Felipe Massa only 11th for Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton 12th for McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen 14th for Ferrari, and you get the picture...

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[Wido Rossen]

Hamilton draws first blood in Melbourne

On a day that Ferrari might prefer to forget, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton opened his 2008 world championship challenge by grabbing pole position for the Australian Grand Prix from a super-impressive Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber. With Kimi Raikkonen already sidelined after problems in Q2, team mate Felipe Massa had to uphold Ferrari honour alone in Q3, but after recording 1m 27.178s on his first run, he failed to improve on his second. Kubica, meanwhile, was on a blinder that resulted in 1m 26.869s even though he ran wide in Turn Nine. The Pole kept his foot in it and didn't appear to lose an awful lot of time, and planted his BMW Sauber on the front row for the first time in his career.

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[Wido Rossen]

Gearbox change penalty for Glock

Toyota's Timo Glock will drop ten places on the grid for the start of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix after the team had to change the gearbox on the German's car. Glock had qualified in ninth place at Albert Park.Revisions to the regulations for the 2008 season require gearboxes to last for four consecutive events, but problems in Saturday morning's final practice session forced Toyota to replace Glock's ahead of qualifying...

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[Wido Rossen]

Red Bull wows Melbourne with annual party

Some may have tried to steal the party crown from Red Bull, but nobody ever manages to throw a night-time extravaganza with as much panache as the energy drinks company. If further proof of their festive credentials were needed, then Red Bull's traditional season-opening party on Friday in Melbourne did just that.Held in the Australian city's docklands area, Red Bull transformed a usually empty warehouse into a neon-light heaven. The 1800-strong crowd of guests included the cream of the country's acting talent, as well as Red Bull drivers' Mark Webber and David Coulthard, and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais.

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[Wido Rossen]

FIA post-qualifying press conference - Australia

Drivers: 1st Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1m26.714s; 2nd Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber), 1m26.869s; 3rd Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren), 1m27.079s.Q: Lewis, a new look to qualifying and a sensational qualifying session. Obviously we don't know the fuel loads involved and your friend Robert put you under massive pressure with two or three minutes to go.

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[Bram Hengeveld]

Nice crash by Webber

 

[Wido Rossen]

Qualifying analysis - BMW Sauber eyeing maiden win

Saturday was a day of surprises in Melbourne - no Ferrari on the front row, BMW Sauber looking a genuine threat to polesitters McLaren, and Honda eclipsing Renault and almost making Q3 - despite all the gloomy pre-race predictions that have surrounded the Japanese team. But whose pace was for real and who was running light? And who are the genuine contenders for victory on Sunday afternoon? We take a look at how all 11 teams fared in qualifying at Albert Park?

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[Wido Rossen]

Paddock Postcard from Melbourne

There is never any doubt that something is happening in Melbourne when the Grand Prix is in town. The place rocks, quite literally. Legendary rockers KISS came in to play a gig at the race, and also to appear on stage when veteran singer Leo Sayer electrified guests at the annual Grand Prix Ball on Friday...

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[Wido Rossen]

Hamilton victorious in action-packed Melbourne race

Lewis Hamilton's win for McLaren at the Australian Grand Prix almost went unnoticed in Albert Park this afternoon - and that tells you just what sort of race it was. The 23 year-old Briton dominated an event characterised by safety car interventions following a series of dramatic incidents that all happened behind him.Hamilton would build a lead, lose it behind the safety car, build it again, lose it again. You get the picture. But if he was impressive here a year ago, he was even better on Sunday...

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[Attila Domján]

i am more then disappointed... my poor little Kimi did not drive well at all today, i lost counting how many times he focked up his own race... well, next time....

 

[Wido Rossen]

Barrichello disqualified, Raikkonen gains point

Honda's Rubens Barrichello has been disqualified from sixth place in the Australian Grand Prix. Barrichello was penalised by stewards for exiting the pits under a red light. It means Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen moves up to eighth place and hence scores a point.The penalty brought a sad end to what had been an eventful afternoon for Barrichello. After putting in a performance far stronger than anyone had predicted in the RA108...

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[Wido Rossen]

(spoiler) Maiden podium for Rosberg, Malaysia penalty for Nakajima

Nico Rosberg finished an excellent third in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix to secure his first Formula One podium. Combined with team mate Kazuki Nakajima's sixth place, it means Williams leave Melbourne second in the constructors' championship behind McLaren.Starting seventh on the grid, Rosberg drove a clean, fast and confident race at the head of the field, surviving three safety-car periods to bring his Toyota-powered FW30 home less than three seconds behind the second-placed BMW Sauber of Nick Heidfeld...

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[Wido Rossen]

Ferrari rue dismal Melbourne weekend

Ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix, Ferrari had looked strong enough to lead many to suspect they would dominate the Melbourne race in much the same way as they did last season. The Italian team, however, leave Albert Park on Sunday with just one solitary point, after both Felipe Massa and world champion Kimi Raikkonen exited the Australian race prematurely with engine trouble...

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[Wido Rossen]

FIA post-race press conference - Australia

1st Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1h34m50.616s; 2nd Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), 1h34m56.094s; 3rd Nico Rosberg (Williams), 1h34m58.779s.

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[Grzesiek Zabielski]

I bet Nakajima will knock somebody in Malaysia

 

[James Johnson]

got good feeling Hamilton will go all the way this season Ferrari are starting to feel the effects of the management changes and the loss of Schu

 

[Patrick van Driel]

Nah !! The Italian stallion will rise again

 

[Hannu Karesola]

Yep, things will change already in next race and Ferrari returns back to first place. In addition Heikki starts beating Hamilton constantly after race 4. Kimi caught that one point which he needs after last race to win the championship.

 

[Maurice Hurkmans]

Go Hammy Go Nice spin by Massa in first corner, i love the traction control ban !!!

 

[Wido Rossen]

Australia race analysis - an afternoon of surprises

Three different teams on the podium, just seven cars running at the finish and not a red one in sight - not a prediction many would have made ahead of Sunday's season opener in Melbourne. After the disappointment of 2007, McLaren made a near-perfect start to their '08 campaign, while arch rivals Ferrari were left pondering exactly what went wrong. Williams were also celebrating, after their best result since Monaco 2005, and there were surprises further down the order too. We take a team-by-team look at the Australian Grand Prix?

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