2008 Japanese Grand Prix — 16th motor race of the 2008 Formula One season
Fernando Alonso won the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix, marking Renault's last constructor victory, while championship contenders Hamilton and Massa clashed amid controversial penalties.
Key Facts
- Race winner
- Fernando Alonso (Renault)
- Race distance
- 67 laps
- Season round
- 16th of 2008 F1 World Championship
- Championship gap after race
- Hamilton led Massa by 5 points
- Constructors' lead
- Ferrari led McLaren by 7 points
- Last Renault constructor win until
- This race (next: N/A as constructor)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Lewis Hamilton entered the race leading the Drivers' Championship from pole position, with Felipe Massa as his closest rival. Early-race incidents defined the outcome: Hamilton braked late at turn one, forcing Räikkönen wide and earning a penalty, while Massa was penalised after touching Hamilton's car on lap two and spinning him to the back of the field.
The 2008 Japanese Grand Prix was held at Fuji Speedway on 12 October 2008. Fernando Alonso, starting fourth, capitalised on the chaos among front-runners to win the 67-lap race. Robert Kubica finished second for BMW Sauber after holding off Räikkönen in the closing laps, with the Ferrari driver taking third place.
Alonso's victory was Renault's last as a constructor, and his own last until the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix. Massa's seventh place reduced Hamilton's championship lead to five points. Ferrari moved seven points ahead of McLaren in the Constructors' Championship with two races remaining. The post-race penalty demoting Bourdais from sixth to tenth drew widespread criticism from media and former drivers.