Ferrari F2008

Design

The chassis was designed by Aldo Costa, Simone Resta, Tiziano Battistini, Marco Fainello, John Iley and Marco de Luca with Mario Almondo playing a vital role in leading the production of the car as the team's Executive Technical Director and with Gilles Simon in charge of the engine and electronics division assisted by David Salters (engine design and development) and Mattia Binotto (engine operations).

It features a new standard Electronic Control Unit (ECU), which is the electronic system that controls all the cars, produced by McLaren Electronic Systems. This was included to comply with the new regulations. The ECU also removes most of the driver aids used in previous seasons, including traction control, engine braking, and electronically assisted starting system. It also makes the management of the differential, engine, and gear changes easier.

The car also weighs more than last season's F2007 chassis due to rule changes which include the gearbox which has to be used for four consecutive races, higher side protection around the driver's helmet, etc.

Launch

The car was unveiled to the public on January 6, 2008. World champion Kimi Räikkönen gave the car its first shakedown at Ferrari's Fiorano test track on January 7, 2008.

Sponsorship and livery

Like its predecessor, the F2008 was painted all red. The team's principal sponsor is Philip Morris, the parent company of Marlboro. Ferrari was the only team to have a cigarette brand as its main sponsor in 2008, despite the tobacco advertising ban. Although Ferrari could have used the Marlboro logos in Bahrain, Monaco, and China, Ferrari did not use the lettering in these races either. So it happened that throughout the season the brand name was indicated by a bar code and was not seen in any race. Etihad Airways joined as a new sponsor and advertised on the back of the rear wing.

Once again, Martini returns for third and final year with the team. The logo was blocked out in France due to alcohol advertising were outlawed.

Incidents and accidents

• In the 2008 Australian Grand Prix, Felipe Massa suffered nose cone and front wing damage after an incident with David Coulthard; Kimi Räikkönen's engine failed at the end of the race, forcing him to retire.
• In the 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix, Massa spun in the first sector, forcing him to retire.
• In the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix, Räikkönen lost his front wing after sliding into the back of Adrian Sutil at the Nouvelle chicane.
• In the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Räikkönen lost his rear wing in the pit lane, after Lewis Hamilton collided with him while the red light still on.
• In the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix, Massa's engine failed without warning, forcing him to retire from the lead with three laps remaining.
• In the 2008 European Grand Prix, Räikkönen was unsafely released from his pit box with the fuel hose still attached. His engine failed several laps later, forcing him to retire.
• In the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix, Räikkönen suffered front wing damage after running wide then spinning before the chicane.
• In the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Massa was unsafely released from his pit box with the fuel hose still attached; Räikkönen suffered a suspension problem then hit the wall in the kerbs.
• In the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Massa collided with Hamilton on the second lap.

Ferrari F2008K

On November 11, 2008 on the Fiorano track, Ferrari carried out a test session with Räikkönen, Massa and Badoer, who were driving an F2008 equipped with an SREC, with the aim of introducing this technology on the Ferrari F60 from 2009.

Other appearances

Mika Salo drove an F2008 at the Suzuka Circuit at the Ferrari Racing Days event in March 2012.

Gallery

Image:Kimi Raikkonen 2008 Belgium.jpg|Kimi Räikkönen driving the F2008 at the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix. Image:Felipe Massa 2008 Canada.jpg|Felipe Massa driving for Ferrari at the 2008 Canadian GP. Image:Luca Badoer 2008 test.jpg|Luca Badoer testing the F2008. The variant front-nosecone has a conduit for air to flow through from bottom to up in the nose. Image:Kimi Raikkonen 2008 Belgium crash.jpg|Räikkönen's damaged F2008 is brought back to the pits after the Finn crashed with two laps to go in the 2008 Belgian GP.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Driver did not finish the Grand Prix but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Räikkönen's fastest lap at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya remained the lap record until it was broken by Lewis Hamilton during the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix.

References

References

1. (2008). "[[Autocourse]] 2008–09". Crash Media Group.
2. (7 January 2008). "Ferrari first to the line with F2008 launch". Motorsport.com.
3. "No more Marlboro logos for Ferrari".
4. "Ferrari F2008K".
5. "Mika Salo, sorprendido por la tecnología actual de la F1".
6. (2008-04-16). "Ferrari F2008 – vented nosecone assembly". Formula One official website.