Hamilton stays afloat

The British Grand Prix was held on 6 July 2008 at the Silverstone circuit. It was the ninth race of the 2008  Formula One World Championship. Before the race, Ferrari driver Felipe Massa led the drivers’ championship with 48 points, BMW driver Robert Kubica trailed by two points, and Massa’s teammate Kimi Raïkkonen was third on 43 points. Things looked promising for the Scuderia Ferrari.

Finn Heikki Kovalainen, very much at ease in his McLaren-Mercedes, took his first Formula 1 pole position, ahead of Webber (Red Bull) and Raïkkonen (Ferrari). His team mate Hamilton jumped from fourth on the grid to second at the start, drove a fantastic race in heavy rain and crossed the finish line on lap 60 (picture above) to win the Grand Prix by 68 seconds (!) from Nick Heidfeld (BMW) in second.

The margin of victory was the largest since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix. Rubens Barrichello finished in third position for Honda’s best finish of the 2008 season. David Coulthard announced that he would retire at the end of the season, “wishing to retire while still being competitive”. 

Picture below: At the 2008 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Rubens Barrichello, at the wheel of RA108, gave Honda its last podium as a manufacturer.