Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery from the 2008 French Grand Prix.

The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship had its standings mixed up yet again as the world's best duked it out for victory at the French Grand Prix at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.

This year's race could, however, prove the last to be held at the historic track which has hosted the event for the past 17 years. With the facilities falling below the standard demanded of F1 circuits, discussions will now begin on whether the race will continue there next year, move to an alternative location (possibly at EuroDisney near Paris or Bernie Ecclestone's Paul Ricard circuit in the south), or ultimately be removed from the calendar entirely to make room for another race in Asia.

Follow the jump to read how the swan song played out.

Gallery: 2008 French Grand Prix

It was a red letter day in France this Sunday, and that letter was V for Victory.

With overwhelming force, Ferrari demonstrated today in France that it can dominate even harder than Max Mosley's call-girls. The dynamic duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa started the race on the front row, having taken pole and second position in Saturday's qualifying session. The scarlet racers took off from the lights at the start of the race and immediately began opening up a distance in front of the rest of the field onto which they held for the entirety of the race distance. By the midpoint, with thirty-five laps down and thirty-five to go, Raikkonen held a healthy lead over his team-mate, but the two of them held a half-minute lead over the next fastest car. In the process, Raikkonen yet again set a blistering fastest lap that remained unchallenged the entirety of the race distance.

With the race seemingly locked up and in the proverbial bag, however, Raikkonen suffered from a broken exhaust pipe, forcing him to concede the lead to his team-mate. Far better than being forced into the garage or limping across the finish line, the defending world champion managed to hold on to second place despite the mechanical and aerodynamic disadvantage resulting from the damaged tailpipe.

Although Ferrari were clearly the overwhelming victors of the race, the Italian flag was shared on the podium by Toyota's Jarno Trulli, who took his first podium finish in three years (and Toyota's first in over two). Trulli pulled off a command performance, and in the end helped hold off the rest of the field from gaining position on the Ferraris well ahead.

Far behind is where the rest of the field remained for the entire race, as erstwhile race winners fought each other for position all afternoon. With Lewis Hamilton held up farther back after being hit with a drive-through penalty for clipping a corner, his McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen tried repeatedly to pass Trulli, who managed to make his Toyota three lanes wide to hold his position. In the closing laps Kubica kept his BMW poised to pounce in an attempt to pass the both of them, but ultimately never had the opening.

French fans had to be disappointed that their home-grown team Renault could not manage better than seventh place, with Nelsinho Piquet leading his double-world-champion team-mate Fernando Alonso to the checkered flag and a points finish for both. The only French driver on the grid, four-time ChampCar champion Sebastien Bourdais, finished a languishing seventeenth in front of his home crowd.

Jenson Button was the only driver to retire from the race, but his Honda counterpart Rubens Barrichello hardly fared any better, finishing in fourteenth place one lap down.

The race results catapult Felipe Massa into the lead in the drivers' championship with 48 points to the 46 retained by Kubica, who came to France leading the championship after winning in Canada. Raikkonen remains close behind with 43, well ahead of Hamilton's 38. The 1-2 victory also gives Ferrari the overwhelming lead in the constructors' championship with 91 points to BMW Sauber's 74 and McLaren-Mercedes' 58.

The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship picks up again on July 4-6 at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.

2008 French Grand Prix

1. Massa Ferrari
2. Raikkonen Ferrari
3. Trulli Toyota
4. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes
5. Kubica BMW Sauber
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault
7. Piquet Renault
8. Alonso Renault
9. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault
10. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
11. Glock Toyota
12. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari
13. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
14. Barrichello Honda
15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota
16. Rosberg Williams-Toyota
17. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari
18. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari

Fastest lap:
Raikkonen, 1:16.630

Not classified/retirements:
Button Honda

World Championship standings
(after 8 rounds)

Drivers:
1. Massa 48
2. Kubica 46
3. Raikkonen 43
4. Hamilton 38
5. Heidfeld 28
6. Kovalainen 20
7. Trulli 18
8. Webber 18
9. Alonso 10
10. Rosberg 8
11. Nakajima 7
12. Coulthard 6
13. Barrichello 5
14. Glock 5
15. Vettel 5
16. Button 3
17. Piquet 2
18. Bourdais 2

Constructors:
1. Ferrari 91
2. BMW Sauber 74
3. McLaren-Mercedes 58
4. Red Bull-Renault 24
5. Toyota 23
6. Williams-Toyota 15
7. Renault 12
8. Honda 8
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7

Gallery: 2008 French Grand Prix