Coming off the back of a controversial season in 2007, it was going to be a hard-push to have another year so headline-grabbing, so shocking, and as competitive as the last.

Adding to this, last year was a very negative season for F1. The spy-gate saga was on top of the agenda for a large part of 2007, and was present throughout 2008 with McLaren banished to the end of the pitlane.

There was a handful of new drivers that joined the line-up this season, including two sons of former F1 legends: Kazuki Nakajima (son of Saturo Nakajima) moved from Williams test driver to racing driver, and Nelson Piquet Jr (son of the three times world champion), also came from a role as test driver. Both would be driving for Renault. They were joined by Sebastian Bordais (Torro Rosso) and last year’s BMW test driver, Timo Glock, who was welcomed to the F1 driving elite by Toyota. Ralf Schumacher was the only 2007 driver not to be making a return to the F1 line-up this season.

So coming into 2008 there was a lot to live up to, a lot to prove and a lot at stake. Predictions were that Raikkonen would defend his championship title hands-down, many believing that the fashion in which Lewis Hamilton lost the championship in ‘07 was evidence enough that he wasn’t world champion-material.

Round 1

It didn’t take long for pre-season speculation to be dispelled. At the very first Grand Prix in Australia, Hamilton laid down the gauntlet as a championship contender with a strong win. Ferrari had a terrible opening weekend, with both driving and mechanical failures plaguing the team and neither car landing in the points. Safety car antics enabled Heidfeld and Rosberg to take a place on the podium and also caused Barichello to be disqualified for exiting the pitlane under a red light.

At round 2, in Malaysia, defending world champion Kimi Raikkonen entered his own bid for the championship by taking the win at Sepang. But it wasn’t all glory for Ferrari just yet; Raikkonen’s teammate, Filipe Massa span out for the second race in a row already giving rise to speculation that he might lose his seat at Ferrari in 2009. The first of many controversial stewards' decisions in the 2008 season came early on – a 5-place penalty handed down to both McLaren drivers for blocking in qualifying meant the team had a quiet weekend overall.

Filipe Massa’s opportunity to disprove the critics and start his own championship bid came at round 3 in Bahrain, when Massa got his first finish and win of the season. Both he and Raikkonen took the first 1-2 of the season and were joined on the podium by pole-sitter Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber. With two podium finishes in a row the Pole put himself firmly in contention for the world title and put his team at the top of the constructors' championship for the first time in their history.

Hamilton had another miserable weekend, crashing into Alonso and whilst continuing with the race, he finished outside the points in 12th.

Ferrari got their second 1-2 of the season in Spain (race 4) which took place amongst the biggest off-track controversy of 2008 – allegations made again Max Mosely in the British press. On track Heikki Kovaleinen’s high speed crash was the main incident this weekend, caused by rapid tyre deflation. The Finn lost consciousness on track and was airlifted to hospital, but was said to have just a mild concussion.

Along with the rest of the drivers, Kovaleinen was back two weeks later in Turkey. Ferrari nearly claimed a third consecutive 1-2, although at the last minute Hamilton squeezed ahead of Raikonnen to claim second. It was a historic Grand Prix for Brazilian Reubens Barichello in the Honda who became the most experienced driver in Formula 1 with 257 race starts.

Coming up to the sixth race of the season, Ferrari reigned supreme - they had won 4 out of 5 races and the partnership was looking fierce - much stronger than the less-experienced McLaren alternative. Fortunately for McLaren, Monaco was next. This is a street circuit that favours the British team, and is arguably the most coveted win of them all - exactly what McLaren needed to boost their momentum. In very wet conditions, there was plenty of action, enough aquaplaning and general carnage for crash-junkies to get their fix, as well as drive-through penalties and safety cars – all comprising one of the best Grand Prix of the season. Even when Kimi Raikonnen cruelly ran into the back of Adrian Sutil it only added to the drama, and proved that F1 isn’t always about the win. The Force India driver was about to collect what would have been his team’s only points of the season.