2. Title rivals Massa and Hamilton clash – 2oo8
However, the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix will always be remembered for title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa coming to blows.
Following his victory in the wet the year before, Lewis Hamilton had taken pole position. But, in conditions that could not be more different from 2007, he went on to have a shocker of a race.
Perhaps psyched-out by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen (who had qualified on the front row), he made a terrible start, before making an even bigger mess of the first corner and locking up, forcing several cars (including both Ferraris) wide. The congestion meant Kubica and Alonso were able to get past, while David Coulthard ended up heavily in the barriers after a chain reaction crash including Kazuki Nakajima.
The problems weren’t over for Hamilton though, and just a couple of laps later he collided with Massa as he desperately tried to get ahead of his championship rival. The McLaren driver was left pointing in the wrong direction and lost even more positions.
The stewards judged Felipe Massa to be at fault for the collision and awarded him a drive through penalty, while Hamilton was given a drive through penalty of his own for his involvement in the first corner chaos.
It was therefore a difficult race for both men, with Felipe Massa recovering to seventh place. Hamilton however, failed to score, and could only reach twelfth place before the end of the race. It was one of the rare moments in the season that the two had come into contact with each other, and set the tone for a tense end to the year.
Image Credit: Ferrari
