2008 British Grand Prix

Heikki Kovalainen started from pole position alongside Mark Webber in second and Kimi Räikkönen in third on the grid.[10][11][12] Kubica had performed consistently for BMW Sauber, only failing to score once, and had won his first race four weeks earlier at the Canadian Grand Prix.[16] At the Canadian Grand Prix, he had retired after making contact with a stationary Raikkonen who was waiting at a red light in the pit lane.Massa set the fastest time on the first day with a 1:20.188, 0.3 faster than Heikki Kovalainen, but was unable to escape the track after suffering a mechanical failure with 30 minutes to go which forced the session to be red-flagged.[20] Strong winds caused Giancarlo Fisichella to crash heavily at Becketts corner; he was uninjured, although medical checks meant he was unable to do further testing in the afternoon.[21] Before the race, the FIA announced that Donington Park had been awarded a ten-year contract to host the British Grand Prix from 2010, providing major renovations were completed.[23] They were also critical of the timing of the announcement, being made on the weekend the circuit celebrated its 60th anniversary of hosting the British Grand Prix.[24] Also before the race, Red Bull driver David Coulthard announced he was to retire at the end of the season, saying: "My decision was taken earlier this year and is based on a desire to stop while I am still competitive".Fernando Alonso's Renault engine failed, leaving slippery oil on the racing line at Stowe corner.[28][29] Alonso set the fastest time in the final practice session, which took place in damp conditions following rain earlier in the morning.I've spent a lot of time racing in the UK so it feels great to have scored my first ever Formula One pole position at Silverstone.The car feels just fantastic at the moment; I was able to steadily improve throughout all three qualifying session and I'm confident our pace is going to be strong tomorrow.[32] Hamilton qualified fourth, opting for a more conservative approach to his second flying lap after he had pushed too hard on his first run and slid into the gravel.Championship leader Massa could only qualify ninth after a slow tyre change in the final session left him unable to record a second timed lap.[33] Kubica did not set a time in the final session due to a technical problem with his car, meaning he started from tenth; the first race all season he had qualified behind teammate Heidfeld.[40] The front three drivers (Kovalainen, Webber and Räikkönen) all struggled for grip off the start, allowing Hamilton to edge ahead into the first corner.Despite his pit stop being longer by half a second, Hamilton exited just in front of Räikkönen (Heidfeld briefly took the lead until his pitstop the following lap).[41][43] McLaren were vindicated in their decision almost immediately: the rain returned and Räikkönen was unable to find grip, falling back from Hamilton by up to eight seconds a lap.[40] After being passed by Kubica and Piquet, Räikkönen finally pitted for fresh tyres on lap 30, dropping him to eleventh place.On lap 37, both Hondas elected to change onto the extreme wet-weather tyres, Button queuing behind his teammate in the pitlane while waiting to be serviced.[38] Kimi Räikkönen spun off in his Ferrari for the second time in as many laps, again though he avoided contact with the barriers and was able to rejoin the track.He built up a twenty-second gap over Heidfeld before making his pit stop on lap 47, opting to change to the intermediate wet weather tyres.