Oct 7, 2008 - 7:03 PM
0 shoutsOctober 12, 2008 Fuji Speedway Oyama, Japan
Race 15 of 17 in Grand Prix Series
Laps: 67 Track length: 2.835 miles Race length: 190 miles
DRIVERS TO WATCH ----------------
Fernando Alonso (Spain) Team: Renault 2008 Points: 38 (7th)
Two-time champion has struggled in return to Renault, but won at Singapore; had just three top fives all season - fourth places at the season opener at Australia, Hungary and Italy prior to win; retired in Spain and Canada and has a pair of sixth and eighth place finishes; had a tumultuous 2007 season with McLaren, but still managed to finish third overall; had the same points as teammate Lewis Hamilton, but lost the tiebreaker for second place; won four times last season, but relationship with team and Hamilton deteriorated after Ferrari spy scandal affair and returned to Renault for 2008 season; won consecutive titles in 2005-06 with Renault; won six races in 2006 and seven in 2005; retired from this race last season.
Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Team: McLaren 2008 Points: 84 (1st)
Ran third at Singapore and leads Felipe Massa by seven points atop the standings; finished second at the Grand Prix of Europe and won the British and German Grands Prix; was involved in a pit road incident with Kimi Raikkonen and retired from the Canadian Grand Prix; opened the season with a dominant win at Australia then ran fifth at Malaysia and 13th in Bahrain; bounced back to finish second at Turkey; had a stunning rookie season, scoring podiums in his first nine races; won four times and captured six poles to outperform more heralded former teammate Fernando Alonso; was the favorite to win the championship last year until errors in final two rounds dropped him to second place behind Raikkonen; retired from the race at China to give his teammate and Raikkonen the chance to steal the crown; won at Japan to open a 12-point lead over Alonso with two races left; made history at Canada where he became the first black driver to win a Formula One race; followed that victory in Canada by winning the United States Grand Prix; won this race last season.
Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Team: BMW Sauber 2008 Points: 56 (5th)
Ran second to teammate Robert Kubica at Canada; finished 5.4 seconds behind Hamilton to claim second at Australia and was runner-up to Hamilton in Britain; was sixth at Malaysia, fourth in Bahrain and Germany, and fifth in Turkey; finished sixth at Singapore and remained fifth in the standings; was the best of the rest behind the Ferrari and McLaren drivers last year after an impressively consistent season for BMW, finishing fifth overall; did not win last season as best race of the season was at Canada where he finished second; had consecutive fourth-place finishes at Italy and Turkey and was third in Hungary; opened the year with three consecutive fourth place finishes at Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain; forced to retire at Spain and the United States Grand Prix; has nine top-five finishes in 17 starts last year; finished 14th here last year.
Robert Kubica (Poland) Team: BMW Sauber 2008 Points: 64 (3rd)
Won his first race at Canada and took over the top spot in the standings; win at Canada was made more impressive after he was injured in a scary crash at the same track a year ago; followed win by running fifth in France; finished 11th at Singapore and currently sits third in the standings, 20 points behind Lewis Hamilton; finished sixth overall last year in his first full Formula One season; opened the season by retiring at Australia, but has finished in the top five in every race since, except Singapore; ran second at both Malaysia and Monaco; was third at Bahrain and fourth at both Spain and Turkey; ran seventh here last year.
Felipe Massa (Brazil) Team: Ferrari 2008 Points: 77 (2nd)
Picked up his fourth win of the season at the Grand Prix of Europe then ran sixth at Italy to move within a point of leader Lewis Hamilton; followed that up with a pit road mishap at Singapore and finished 13th to fall seven points back; rebounded from an awful start to the season by winning at Bahrain and Turkey; completed only 29 laps before retiring at Australia with engine issues; also retired at Malaysia by spinning out early; posted three wins and six poles last season, but reliability issues and a disqualification in Canada put him out of title contention and he wound up fourth; contract with Ferrari runs until 2010; retired from the Italian Grand Prix with suspension problems, dropping to fourth place in the standings; last year bounced back from a 13th-place finish at Hungary by winning in Turkey; had 11 top five finishes in 17 starts last season; ran sixth here last year.
Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Team: Ferrari 2008 Points: 57 (4th)
Retired from the Grand Prix of Europe with engine issues and ran ninth at Italy, falling to fourth in the standings; remained there after running 15th at Singapore; retired at Canada after a pit road incident with Lewis Hamilton then finished second at France, fourth in Great Britain and sixth at Germany; opened defense of his title by running eighth at Australia, completing just 53 laps before having engine problems; bounced back to win at Malaysia, ran second at Bahrain and third in Turkey; won first appearance for Ferrari in Australia last season then went on to win five more times; biggest win came at the season-ending event at Brazil, which gave him his first drivers title by a single point over Hamilton; trailed Hamilton by seven points entering final race; had 14 top-five finishes in 17 starts last season; joined Ferrari after spending five years with McLaren where he went winless in 2006; ran third here last season.
2007 Top 10 ----------- 1. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, McLaren-Mercedes 2. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, Renault 3. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Ferrari 4. David Coulthard, Great Britain, Red Bull-Renault 5. Giancarlo Fisichella, Italy, Renault 6. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari 7. Robert Kubica, Poland, BMW 8. Adrian Sutil, Germany, Spyker-Ferrari 9. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Italy, STR-Ferrari 10. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Honda
Past Champions -------------- 2007 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes 2006 Fernando Alonso, Renault 2005 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren 2004 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari 2003 Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari 2002 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari 2001 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari 2000 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari 1999 Mika Hakkinen, McLaren-Mercedes 1998 Mika Hakkinen, McLaren-Mercedes 1997 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari 1996 Damon Hill, Williams 1995 Michael Schumacher, Benetton 1994 Damon Hill, Williams 1993 Ayrton Senna, McLaren 1992 Riccardo Patrese, Williams 1991 Nelson Piquet, Benetton 1990 Alessandro Nannini, Benetton 1989 Ayrton Senna, McLaren 1988 Gerhard Berger, Ferrari
