Knowledge (XXG)

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must conform. The F1 world championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets. The most famous Grand Prix is the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo. The results of each race are combined to determine two annual Championships, one for drivers and one for constructors.

Michael Schumacher holds the record for the most Grand Prix victories, having won 91 times. Alain Prost, is second with 51 wins, and Ayrton Senna is third, with 41 wins. Michael Schumacher holds the distinction of having the longest time between his first win and his last. He won his first Grand Prix in 1992 at the Belgian Grand Prix, and his last in 2006 at the Chinese Grand Prix, a gap that spans 14 years, 1 month and 1 day. The youngest winner of a Grand Prix is Sebastian Vettel, who was 21 years, 73 days old when he won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. Luigi Fagioli is the oldest winner of a Formula One Grand Prix; he was 53 years and 22 days old when he won the 1951 French Grand Prix.

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The 2008 Chinese Grand Prix (formally the V Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on October 19, 2008 at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China. It was the 17th and penultimate race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 56 laps, was won by Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team after starting from pole position. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa finished second, and Kimi Räikkönen was third in the other Ferrari.

Hamilton, the eventual Drivers' Champion, led the Championship going into the race, and started from pole position alongside Räikkönen. Second in the Drivers' Championship, Massa began from third, next to Fernando Alonso of Renault. The first three drivers retained their positions into the first corner, but Alonso was passed by Hamilton's McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen. However, Alonso was able to regain the place midway through the first lap. Over the course of the race, Hamilton extended a considerable lead over the two Ferraris. Massa passed Räikkönen with seven laps remaining, to improve his chances of surpassing Hamilton's points tally at the final race in Brazil.

The result extended Ferrari's lead over McLaren in the Constructors' Championship from seven to 11 points. Third-placed in the Drivers' Championship, Robert Kubica's sixth place at the Grand Prix eliminated his hopes of winning the Championship, and reduced his lead over fourth-placed Räikkönen to six points.

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The 2008 German Grand Prix (formally the LXVIII Großer Preis Santander von Deutschland) was a Formula One motor race held on July 20, 2008 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany. It was the 10th race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 67 laps, was won by Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team after starting from pole position. Nelson Piquet, Jr. finished second in a Renault car, with Felipe Massa third in a Ferrari.

Hamilton maintained his startline advantage and led until he made his first pit stop on lap 18. As other cars made their pit stops, Hamilton regained the lead on lap 22. On lap 36 Timo Glock crashed, and the race was neutralized by the deployment of the safety car. Hamilton, on a two-stop strategy, did not stop to get more fuel during this period, while all the cars around him did. Thus when he did eventually stop on lap 50, he rejoined the race in fifth. In the closing stages of the race, Hamilton overtook first his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, then Massa, and finally Piquet, to take the lead again on lap 60, which he maintained to win the race.

The victory was Hamilton's second consecutive win, having won the preceding British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The win put him ahead of his two main rivals in the Drivers' Championship, Kimi Räikkönen (who finished sixth) and Massa of Ferrari, who were on equal points with him before the race. After the race he was four points ahead of Räikkönen, and seven ahead of Massa. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren drew closer to the two teams ahead of them, BMW Sauber and Ferrari. Ferrari still led by 15 points from McLaren, and 12 from BMW, whose drivers – Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica – finished fourth and seventh respectively.

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• FriP1: Rosberg tops first Australia practice
• FriP2: Rosberg stays on top in second practice
• SatP: Rosberg also tops final Australia practice
• Qualy: Button heads Brawn Front row
• Race:Button takes home dream win with a Brawn 1-2
• # The race finished under the safety car.
• † After the race, Trulli was originally given a 25-second penalty for passing Lewis Hamilton (4th, +2.914) under yellow flags. However, due to misleading the stewards, Hamilton was disqualified and Trulli's penalty was overturned.
• * Timo Glock (1:26.975, 6th) and Trulli (1:27.127, 8th) were both disqualified from qualifying and sent to the back of the grid, as their Toyotas' rear wing elements were in breach of the rules.

• FriP1: Rosberg fastest in first Malaysia practice
• FriP2: Ferrari duo on top in second practice
• SatP: Rosberg back on top
• Qualifying: Button grabs second consecutive pole
• Race: Button wins shortened Malaysian Grand Prix
• The race was red flagged on lap 33 and the results were taken from lap 31.

* Sebastian Vettel (3rd, 1:35.518) got a 10 place grid penalty for his collision with Kubica at the previous Grand Prix.
^ Rubens Barrichello (4th, 1:35.651) got a 5 place grid penalty for a gearbox change.

The 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix (formally the V Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on April 6, 2008 at the Bahrain International Circuit, in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the third race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 57 laps, was won by Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team. Kimi Räikkönen was second in the other Ferrari, and BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica was third.

The race began with Kubica in pole position alongside Massa; Lewis Hamilton, the eventual Drivers' Champion, started from third, alongside Räikkönen. Kubica was passed by Massa into the first corner, and then by Räikkönen on the third lap. The Ferraris dominated at the front of the race, leading to their one-two finish. Hamilton had a slow start after almost stalling on the grid, and dropped back to ninth. The McLaren driver ran into the back of Fernando Alonso's Renault a lap later, breaking off the McLaren's front wing and dropping Hamilton to the back of the field.

Kubica's strong finish promoted BMW Sauber to the lead in the Constructors' Championship, after BMW driver Nick Heidfeld finished fourth. Ferrari and McLaren trailed, one and two points behind, respectively. Räikkönen took the lead in the Drivers' Championship, with 19 points, three points ahead of Heidfeld and five ahead of Hamilton, Kubica and Kovalainen, with 15 races remaining in the season.

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• FriP1: Hamilton sets the early pace in China
• FriP2: Button edges Rosberg in second practice
• SatP: Rosberg fastest in final China practice
• Qualifying: Vettel gives Red Bull first F1 pole
• Race: Vettel scores Red Bull's maiden F1 win
• Timo Glock received a five place grid penalty for changing his gearbox, dropping from 14th to 19th

• FriP1: Hamilton tops first practice in Bahrain
• FriP2: Rosberg back on top in second practice
• SatP: Glock fastest in final Bahrain practice
• Qualifying: Trulli heads all-Toyota front row
• Race: Button storms to Bahrain GP victory
• Adrian Sutil received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Mark Webber, and dropped him from 16th to 19th.

The 2008 Turkish Grand Prix (formally the IV Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on May 11, 2008 at the Istanbul Racing Circuit, Istanbul, Turkey. It was the fifth race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team after starting from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren, with Kimi Räikkönen third in the second Ferrari.

Massa claimed pole, with teammate Räikkönen fourth, the two Ferrari cars sandwiching the McLarens of Heikki Kovalainen and Hamilton. At the first corner Räikkönen clipped Kovalainen's rear tyre and gave him a puncture. The safety car was deployed on the first lap, after a collision, but only remained out for one lap. During the course of the race, Hamilton, intending to make one more pit stop than both Ferrari drivers, was faster than Massa due to carrying a lighter fuel load and overtook him on lap 24. After Hamilton had made his third pit stop, he rejoined in second behind Massa but in front of the Championship leader, Räikkönen. Massa won the race, with Hamilton 3.779 seconds behind, and Räikkönen a further half-second behind. The two BMW Sauber cars of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld took fourth and fifth.

In the week running up to the grand prix, the Super Aguri team had withdrawn from Formula One, due to financial problems, leaving the sport with only ten teams. Massa's victory was his third consecutive pole position and victory in Turkey, having also won the race from pole in 2006 and 2007. This was also Rubens Barrichello's 257th Grand Prix start, breaking Riccardo Patrese's previous record of 256. Due to the race result, Räikkönen's lead in the Drivers' Championship was lowered to seven points. Massa rose to second from fourth, whilst Hamilton dropped to third, both drivers tying on 28 points but separated by Massa's two wins thus far to Hamilton's one. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari increased their lead to 22 points ahead of BMW Sauber, with McLaren a further two points behind in third.

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