Click above for a high-res gallery from the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix.
If you had bets placed with your bookie ahead of this year's Hungarian Grand Prix, chances are overwhelming that you lost your money. That's how shocking the final podium was at the culmination of the 11th round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship. You might have been just as surprised if you had been watching the race up until the final laps when everything went topsy-turvy. If you've got the race TiVo'd, we'd advise you to go no further. But if you're keen to see how the grand prix turned out and where the results leave the race for this year's championship, read on.
[Source: Autosport]
All sorts of things can happen over the course of a race distance. If not, the qualifying results on Saturday would more closely mirror the final standings on Sunday afternoon. But with the skill levels of the top drivers so closely matched and the stresses placed on their cars so extreme, almost anything can happen.
When the lights flashed green this past Sunday morning, the pair of McLarens driven by Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen were on the front row. Felipe Massa, in the number two Ferrari, slipped by both of them immediately to take a lead that he would hold for the bulk of the race. With his team-mate (otherwise known, in the world of F1, as his first rival) Kimi Raikkonen relegated to the sixth spot on the grid, behind Robert Kubica's BMW and Timo Glock's Toyota, Massa's biggest competition came from championship leader Lewis Hamilton. However things did not end well for either of the front-runners.
Opening up a commanding lead over the McLarens, Massa emerged from the first round of pit-stops well ahead of both Hamilton and Kovalainen, the former re-emerging behind Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. Then
all Hell
his front tire broke lose with a puncture on lap 41, dropping him back to tenth place by the time the tire was replaced. As Massa continued to add to his lead over second place Kovalainen, it seemed all but given that the Brazilian would take the checkered flag. But on the third to last lap Felipe's engine went up in flames as he passed the pit lane, forcing the young Ferrari driver to retire disappointed. With Hamilton still caught up in traffic, Kovalainen sailed to the finish line, marking the young Finn's first victory and crowning him the 100th race winner in the history of Formula One.
Joining Heikki on the podium in second place was no less of a surprise as reigning GP2 champion Timo Glock proving his mettle with his first podium finish, landing a remarkable second place for Toyota. Raikkonen worked his way up the field to finish third and round out the podium.
Fernando Alonso rolled his Renault over the finish line in fourth, his team-mate Nelson Piquet in sixth with Hamilton sandwiched in fifth place. Raikkonen set the fastest lap once again, proving superiority of his skills and the Ferrari's pace independently of wheel-to-wheel circumstances. The results still leave Hamilton in the lead with 62 points to Raikkonen's 57 and Massa's 54, as Ferrari retains its lead in the constructors' title at 111 points to McLaren's 100.
2008 Hungarian Grand Prix
1. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes
2. Glock Toyota
3. Raikkonen Ferrari
4. Alonso Renault
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
6. Piquet Renault
7. Trulli Toyota
8. Kubica BMW Sauber
9. Webber Red Bull-Renault
10. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
11. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault
12. Button Honda
13. Nakajima Williams-Toyota
14. Rosberg Williams-Toyota
15. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari
16. Barrichello Honda
17. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari
18. Massa Ferrari
Fastest lap:
Raikkonen, 1:21.195
Not classified/retirements:
Sutil Force India-Ferrari
Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari
World Championship standings
(after 11 rounds)
Drivers:
1. Hamilton 62
2. Raikkonen 57
3. Massa 54
4. Kubica 49
5. Heidfeld 41
6. Kovalainen 38
7. Trulli 22
8. Alonso 18
9. Webber 18
10. Glock 13
11. Piquet 13
12. Barrichello 11
13. Rosberg 8
14. Nakajima 8
15. Vettel 6
16. Coulthard 6
17. Button 3
18. Bourdais 2
Constructors:
1. Ferrari 111
2. McLaren-Mercedes 100
3. BMW Sauber 90
4. Toyota 35
5. Renault 31
6. Red Bull-Renault 24
7. Williams-Toyota 16
8. Honda 14
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 8
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