R1. Australia (16 March):
A perfect start to the championship for Hamilton sees him secure a comfortable victory, once team-mate Heikki Kovalainen was taken out of contention by a late-race safety car, while all other eventual title contenders had poor races. Felipe Massa put himself out of contention for a podium when he spun off at the first corner of the race, before an engine failure scuppered his chances for points at the mid-way point. Team-mate Räikkönen was handicapped by a fuel pump problem in qualifying, putting him back to 15th on the grid, before an error in trying to overtake Kovalainen put him to the back of the field half-way through the race. He looked set for seventh before a second Ferrari engine failure put him out of the race, although he still picked up a point thanks to Barrichello's disqualification. Robert Kubica wasn't so lucky, having retiring from the race with 11 laps to go after being hit from behind by Kazuki Nakajima, picking up no points.
Points: Hamilton: 10, Räikkönen: 1, Kubica: 0, Massa: 0
R2. Malaysia (23 March):
A dominant performance by Kimi Räikkönen sees him secure an easy victory over second-placed Robert Kubica, once team-mate Massa had spun himself out of second place on lap 31. Kimi waited until the first round of pitstops to overtake polesitter Massa, going one lap longer on fuel to leapfrog the Brazilian. For the second race running, Massa spun off the track, this time his race ending in the gravel, while BMW's Robert Kubica picked up the extra points for second after a lonely race from fourth on the grid. Hamilton meanwhile had a difficult race to fifth, first after being penalised five grid positions for blocking Heidfeld in qualifying, and then when a slow pitstop cost him two more positions.
Points: Hamilton: 14, Räikkönen: 11, Kubica: 8, Massa: 0
R3. Bahrain (6 April):
A faultless performance by Ferrari saw them secure their first 1-2 of the season, with Massa driving strongly from second on the grid to a 3-second win. Räikkönen was hounded by pole-sitter Robert Kubica near the end of the race, with the Pole taking advantage of a long middle stint to close in on the Finn, having earlier lost second place to him on the third lap. Lewis Hamilton meanwhile had a torrid race, first by dropping through the field after a botched start from third, before then running into former team-mate Fernando Alonso on lap 2, forcing an unscheduled pitstop. The Briton eventually finished 13th, and lost the championship lead to Räikkönen.
Points: Räikkönen: 19, Hamilton: 14, Kubica: 14, Massa: 10
R4. Spain (27 April):
A back-to-back one-two finish for Ferrari, with Räikkönen this time leading a tight contest between the Scuderias. Despite the safety car period following Kovalainen's accident cutting their lead, Räikkönen and Massa cruised home, albeit followed closely in third and fourth by Hamilton and Kubica respectively. Räikkönen opened up a healthy nine-point lead in the championship.
Points: Räikkönen: 29, Hamilton: 20, Kubica: 19, Massa: 18
R5. Turkey (11 May):
Massa secures his third successive Turkish GP win, driving untroubled from pole. A inspiring drive by Lewis Hamilton saw him take second on a three-stop strategy, which included a pass on the heavy-fuelled Massa on lap 24. Räikkönen missed out on second, finishing just half a second behind the Briton, while fourth went to Robert Kubica, after dropping behind the leaders following a strong first stint.
Points: Räikkönen: 35, Massa: 28, Hamilton: 28, Kubica: 24
R6. Monaco (25 May):
The first wet race of many this year went to Lewis Hamilton, despite the Briton hitting a barrier on lap 6, forcing an early unscheduled stop. A safety car soon after negated the lead built up by Felipe Massa, putting Hamilton right back into contention, and once his second stop came around the time had come to switch to dry weather tyres. Before a second safety car period began, the McLaren man had built a lead in excess of 30 seconds from Kubica and Massa. Felipe had looked like a solid bet for the win but fell behind Kubica in the end after the team was slow to switch to dry weather tyres. Räikkönen meanwhile finished outside the points after losing control of his F2008 under braking and hitting Force India's Adrian Sutil. He had to stop for a new wing, dropping him from fifth.
Points: Hamilton: 38, Räikkönen: 35, Massa: 34, Kubica: 32
R7. Canada (8 June):
A schoolboy error by Lewis Hamilton in the pitlane of Montreal saw him run into the back of the Kimi Räikkönen, as the Finn waited patiently for a green light at the end of the pitlane. The crash handed Robert Kubica his chance for a maiden win, with the Pole eventually taking it by 15 seconds ahead of team-mate Heidfeld, a result which also gave him the drivers' championship lead. Massa finished down in fifth after a fuel rig problem at his first stop put him out of contention for a top four finish. A post-race stewards investigation duly handed Hamilton a 10-place grid penalty for the French Grand Prix.
Points: Kubica: 42, Hamilton: 38, Massa: 38, Räikkönen: 35
R8. France (22 June):
With Hamilton starting down the field with his grid penalty, Ferrari cruised to another comfortable 1-2, but not without the dramas. Räikkönen looked set for the win only for an exhaust pipe to work loose mid-way through the race, ultimately handing the 10 points to Massa, with the Finn finishing almost 20 seconds behind. A short shower of rain during the final 15 laps wasn't enough to disrupt the result. Robert Kubica finished in fifth after a tough race, while Lewis Hamilton finished outside the points again after being given a drive-through penalty for straight-lining a chicane to aid a pass on Vettel. Massa takes the drivers' championship lead for the first time in his career.
Points: Massa: 48, Kubica: 46, Räikkönen: 43, Hamilton: 38
R9. Britain 9 (6 July):
Just like Massa had done in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton responded to the criticism by winning in style. Intermittent rain gave Hamilton the perfect opportunity to exploit his knowledge of the track, and after fending off the challenge of Räikkönen in the opening stint, he cruised home over a minute clear of Heidfeld in second. Räikkönen finished down the order in 4th, after a decision to stay on worn intermediate tyres lost the Finn almost a minute and a half as the rain returned. Kubica failed to score for only the second time of the year after spinning off in the heavy rain, while Massa limped him in 13th after spinning five times in a Ferrari wholly ill-suited for the rain. A three-way points tie is the result after a topsy-turvy opening half of the year.
Points: Hamilton: 48, Massa: 48, Räikkönen: 48, Kubica: 46
R10. Germany (20 July):
Hamilton took his first back-to-back win of the season by winning in Mercedes' home ground, overcoming an almost disastrous decision by McLaren management to keep the Briton on-track as others pitted behind the safety car. And, after being let through by team-mate Kovalainen, Lewis on fresh tyres was easily able to pass the helpless Massa and Piquet within ten laps from the finish. Despite struggling massively with tyre grip, and brake problems latterly in the race, Massa finished a solid third, with Kimi Räikkönen suffering somewhat more than his team-mate to take sixth. Robert Kubica fared little better in 7th, having lost places to both Kovalainen and Räikkönen on-track.
Points: Hamilton: 58, Massa: 54, Räikkönen: 51, Kubica: 48
R11. Hungary (3 August):
Most certainly the best overtaking manoeuvre of the season followed by one of the greatest race drives of the year ended in nothing for Felipe Massa after yet another Ferrari engine failure sidelined the Brazilian just three laps from the finish. A sensational start from third on the grid saw him make an audacious pass on Hamilton around the outside into turn one, and looked set for a solid win, even before Hamilton punctured a tyre which dropped him four places. Kovalainen duly won his first race, with Räikkönen third. Hamilton eventually finished down in fifth, while Kubica struggled with oversteer to finish just 8th. Massa's win would have put him in a clear championship lead, but instead found himself eight points adrift.
Points: Hamilton: 62, Räikkönen: 57, Massa: 54, Kubica: 49
R12. Europe (24 August):
Another sheer class performance by Felipe Massa this time sees him take a comfortable victory, over five seconds clear of Hamilton in second. The Brazilian led throughout, bar during the pitstops, after securing a comfortable pole on the Saturday, with Hamilton showing no response on the Valencia streets. Another solid drive by Kubica saw him take third, while Kimi Räikkönen had a dismal end to the race, when he first lost a place by leaving his pit box too early, and then by retiring with an engine failure 12 laps from home. He had been set for a sixth-place finish.
Points: Hamilton: 70, Massa: 64, Räikkönen: 57, Kubica: 55
R13. Belgium (7 September):
The infamous Belgian Grand Prix saw Massa take a controversial win, only after Lewis Hamilton had been handed a 25-second penalty for gaining an advantage by cutting a chicane two laps from the end of the race. Hamilton led the first lap from pole, but a spin on lap 2 let Räikkönen through to lead, until a late rain shower threw the advantage back in McLaren favour. With the MP4-23 coping better in the slippery conditions, Hamilton visibly gained an advantage by jumping the final-corner chicane, before overtaking Kimi at the following corner. Massa cruised to second, before being promoted to victory by the post-race stewards' enquiry. A McLaren appeal to the penalty was also thrown out by the Court of Appeal. Kubica, meanwhile, finished sixth after a race spent battling with the Toro Rossos.
Points: Hamilton: 76, Massa: 74, Kubica: 58, Räikkönen: 57
R14. Italy (14 September):
A victory for Sebastian Vettel meant there was only one place on the podium for the title contenders, with Robert Kubica finishing third in his BMW. A strange error to fit intermediate tyres at the wrong time during qualifying saw Hamilton qualify down in 15th, but managed to climb through the field to seventh, just a place behind Massa who struggled again with the Ferrari's wet-weather handling. Räikkönen, who had also qualified poorly, finished in ninth after also struggling with the car's handling.
Points: Hamilton: 78, Massa: 77, Kubica: 64, Räikkönen: 57
R15. Singapore (28 September):
Undoubtedly the best qualifying lap of the year saw Felipe Massa take pole position by a margin of six tenths, despite carrying similar a fuel-load to second-placed man Lewis Hamilton. After leading comfortably in the opening stint, Massa's race was all but ended by an error in the first pitstop, putting him to the back of the field, before finishing 13th. Lewis Hamilton took a conservative third, the only title contender to score. Kubica finished down in 11th, while Räikkönen crashed out on lap 58 while chasing Glock for fourth.
Points: Hamilton: 84, Massa: 77, Kubica: 64, Räikkönen: 57
R16. Japan (12 October):
The year's second controversial Grand Prix saw Fernando Alonso win from Kubica, who just about kept his championship hopes alive. The race was characterised by another schoolboy Hamilton error, when he locked his brakes and ran all the front-runners off the road at the first corner, copping a drive-through penalty. While trying to recover ground, the Briton collided with Massa, an incident for which Massa was given a drive-through. In the end, the Brazilian picked up two points, while Räikkönen's third place wasn't enough to keep him in the championship hunt.
Points: Hamilton: 84, Massa: 79, Kubica: 72, Räikkönen: 63
R17. China (19 October):
Hamilton took his fifth win of the season after a near-perfect drive from pole position. In the dullest race of the year, Hamilton was followed home by Massa in second, only after he was let through by team-mate Räikkönen in the closing stages, with the Finn finishing third. Sixth place for Robert Kubica meant the championship was now officially a two-horse race, with Massa trailing Hamilton by seven.
Points: Hamilton: 94, Massa: 87, Kubica: 75, Räikkönen: 69
R18. Brazil (2 November):
Despite coming to Brazil with new parts on the car, McLaren took the high-risk strategy of racing for the championship, with Hamilton needing only fifth place to secure his first title. After qualifying fourth, Hamilton kept position on the damp track at the start, and everything looked on-course for the title until a late rain shower just five laps from the end. Hamilton duly pitted for wet tyres, while Toyota's Glock stayed out. With just three laps to go, Hamilton was overtaken by Vettel, but in a stroke of luck was able to pass Glock at the final corner of the race, securing him the title by the skin of his teeth. Yet another Massa masterclass went unrewarded, as he sauntered to a dominant victory, while Räikkönen finished third to take third in the championship.
Points: Hamilton: 98, Massa: 97, Räikkönen: 75, Kubica: 75
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