Motorsport Heroes
Motorsport Heroes: The Ferrari that made Massa F1 champ for 38s
In Motorsport Heroes, the full-length feature film by Manish Pandey now available on Motorsport.tv, four legends of our sport share their life stories. Here, we look at the machinery that almost powered Felipe Massa to the 2008 world title.
In the film, Massa relives some of the greatest and worst moments of his career throughout this documentary, including his experiences in the F2008 (below).
- To watch the film, subscribe to Motorsport.tv from $4.99/€4.50/£3.99 a month.
Ferrari F2008 (659) 2008 side view
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Massa was world champion for 38 seconds, for when he crossed the finish line to win the Brazilian GP he had done all he could to secure the 2008 crown. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, his championship challenger, lay in sixth place, needing at least a fifth-place finish.
“Is that Glock, going slowly?!” – Martin Brundle, F1 commentator
Those famous words will forever be intertwined with the significance and emotion of that moment, as Massa’s team, family and the Brazilian crowd came to the realisation that fourth-placed Timo Glock was struggling to keep his Toyota on the track. As they tip-toed around the final corners of the drenched Interlagos track not only had Vettel passed Glock, but so too had Hamilton. With that pass, the Briton became the 2008 world champion instead.
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-23 Mercedes
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
While Massa fell just short of his target, the F2008 did prove to be enough for Ferrari to win the constructors’ championship that year.
This last multi-winglet generation of cars, before the more vanilla ruleset arrived in 2009, are considered to be some of the most complex to have ever raced in Formula 1. They were created at a point when F1 was under immense pressure to restrict its operations and reduce the financial burden that unrestricted development was having.
Ferrari F2008 (659) 2008 exploded detail view
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
2008 became a gateway year, with track testing mileage already restricted, further limitations were imposed on CFD and windtunnel usage, readying the teams for even harsher restrictions thereafter. The standard ECU was also introduced for 2008, a measure installed by the FIA to prevent any prohibited systems being concealed within the teams own management systems.
The F2008 carried its predecessor’s genes, featuring many of its design cues but optimising them even further.
So let's take a look by clicking on the arrows below to scroll through the images...
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Sutton Images
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Sutton Images
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Motorsport Heroes is available on Motorsport.tv. Written and directed by Manish Pandey, who wrote the multi award-winning Senna movie, the 111-minute film interweaves the narratives of our heroes, telling their stories with both archive and first-hand testimony.
To watch the film, subscribe to Motorsport.tv from $4.99/€4.50/£3.99 a month.
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