2008 Spanish Grand Prix

Championship standings

Räikkönen leads on 19 points, Heidfeld second on 16, with Hamilton, Kubica and Kovalainen all level on 14. BMW Sauber lead the Constructors’ on 30 points, one ahead of Ferrari, two ahead of McLaren.

Previous race

Massa led Räikkönen to a Ferrari 1–2 in Bahrain — the team’s second consecutive win. Hamilton nearly stalled on the grid, then ran into the back of Alonso’s Renault on the following lap, losing his front wing and dropping to the back of the field. He finished 13th.

Entrants

Super Aguri are competing at this race having narrowly avoided withdrawing in mid-April; they were only given confirmation to race by team owner Honda on the Friday of the race weekend. The team has been unable to finalise sponsorship arrangements since the end of 2007.

Background

The Circuit de Catalunya has been placed on probation by the FIA following racist abuse directed at Lewis Hamilton during pre-season testing at the same venue. The FIA has launched a “Racing Against Racism” programme; the European Grand Prix in Valencia is also under probation. Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said his team would not celebrate prematurely despite leading the Constructors’ Championship: “We are aware. We were not depressed after the first race and we are not euphoric after Bahrain.”

Practice

Räikkönen was fastest in both Friday sessions. In FP1 his 1:20.649 put him ahead of Massa, who recovered from a spin and an off-track excursion on his opening laps. Hamilton, Kubica and Kovalainen completed the top five; Alonso was sixth on home ground. In FP2, Räikkönen repeated at 1:21.935, Piquet Jr. second and Alonso third; Kovalainen had gearbox problems and Hamilton was 11th, struggling with oversteer. Heidfeld led the final session at 1:21.269 on softs. Webber suffered a mechanical failure and his car stopped at the pit-lane exit after just two installation laps.