2008 FORMULA 1 EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX VALENCIA

Photo © Henry Marcel

Brazilian driver Felipe Massa became Lewis Hamilton's closest challenger for the 2008 GP world championship after a start-finish victory in the European Grand Prix at Valencia. Ferrari's Massa, who started from the pole position, gradually pulled away from Hamilton during the race until finishing 5.6 seconds ahead of his contender. Polish driver Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) finished third, barely beating Mc Laren's second pilot Heikki Kovalainen by 2 seconds.

World champion Kimi Raikkönen (Ferrari) abandoned the race as a result of an engine failure. Two laps prior to his retirement, Raikkönen injured a mechanic during his second refueling stop when he left the pit lane early with the refueling hose still attached to his Ferrari. Felipe Massa also caused an incident during his second refueling stop when he almost hit German driver Adrian Sutil (Force India) in the pit lane. Massa came under investigation by the stewards after the race and was fined 10,000 euros for unsafe driving.

Much to the disappointment of the 150,000 spectators, home favorite Fernando Alonso was forced to retire shortly after the start of the race after being hit from behind by Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima. The incident knocked off Alonso's rear wing and damaged the suspension and gear box of his Renault. Alonso had started 12th, his worst qualifying result this season.

FINAL RESULTS:

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