So far the 2008 season had been fairly unpredictable – full of bizarre results and incidents, and the next round in Montreal was another, perfect example. Problems with the improved parts of the track caused the track to come away at turn 10 - amazingly this was still being fixed the night before the race.

The race itself contained yet another controversial incident and it was a pretty stupid one at that as Hamilton failed to stop at the red light at the end of the pitlane (red due to the safety car passing by). This ended his own and Raikkonen’s race – the Ferrari was already waiting at the lights in front of Hamilton.

This was pretty frustrating to watch, but it did leave the door open for BMW Sauber to take their first 1-2 of the season and Kubica’s first win. Adding to this, Massa’s race was hampered by fuelling problems whilst David Coulthard made his way onto the podium (for the first time since Monaco in 2006) in third.

Raikonnen’s poor luck continued with technical problems in France (race 8), handing the victory to Massa, although Raikkonen still claimed second. Hamilton started in 13th after receiving a very much deserved 10-place penalty for the pitlane incident in Canada.

To further damage his race chances, he also received a drive-through penalty for running off-track immediately after overtaking Vettel – again this was another not-so-black-and-white steward’s decision.

Halfway House

Marking the halfway point this season was race 9 at Silverstone, and along with Monaco, this was also one of the best Grand Prix of the season. Again it was a wet race in the 2008 season, and there was the usual carnage to go along with this.

A large number of cars on the grid found themselves facing backwards on the track at some point in the race. Once again Ferrari struggled: Massa span five times and the team botched the call over Kimi Raikkonen’s tyres to put out their victory chances.

This left room on the podium for Barrichello (his first podium since 2005 and Honda’s first since 2006) and Heidfeld – the only 2 drivers who were not lapped by the race winner, Hamilton. The Brit pulled off a satisfying, dominant and much-needed home win, keeping his place in the fight for the world championship.

Race 10 in Germany was another incident-packed stop on the F1 tour. Timo Glock's right suspension caused a huge crash –launching his Toyota across the track and into the wall. Luckily he walked away from the wreckage but the impact had scattered debris all over the track, bringing out the safety car.

Pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton demonstrated his incredible ability to overtake as he battled it out with Filipe Massa, amongst others, to take the win. Massa finished the race in third, and was was joined by Nelson Piquet. The Brazilian had an incredible race (aided by the safety car), climbing from 17th to 2nd in his Toro Rosso to take his first F1 podium.

Hungary brought more F1 firsts: Kovaleinen took his first win in Formula 1 and made himself the 100th driver to win an F1 Grand Prix. The McLaren number 2 capitalised on the misfortunes of the front runners to take the win - Massa had an engine failure with 3 laps to go, Raikkonen had a mechanical problem in the closing stages and Hamilton came 5th due to an early puncture.

Still, with almost two thirds of the season already over, Kovaleinen had raised more than a few eyebrows having failed to cash-in on victory until now. Rookie driver Timo Glock also took this opportunity to get his first F1 podium, finishing in second place.

Race 12 was at the first of 2 new tracks in 2008, as the European Grand Prix, formerly at the Nürburgring, Germany, moved to its new home on the streets of Valencia, Spain.

The main excitement of the race actually took place in the pitlane, as Filipe Massa was released into the path of Adrian Sutil (after the race he was fined €10,000) and Kimi Raikkonen jumped the gun on his pit stop and set off with the fuel hose still attached, injuring a mechanic.

There was more bad luck for Kimi as he retired with engine failure just 2 laps later. The top 3 cars on the grid -Massa, Hamilton and Kubica - kept form and finished in order on the podium. After the Grand Prix, there was a lot of negative talk about the race, which faced criticism for its processional style. Many fans, even now, agreed this was the least exciting race of the season.

To turn the fortunes and refuel excitement in F1, the Belgian Grand Prix was another race in which unpredictable circumstances determined the outcome on the day.

It was wet or raining all weekend, and during the race inconsistent wet patches on track and a last minute shower reaped havoc. Most memorably, there was an incredible battle between Hamilton and Raikkonen for first place. Hamilton won the battle, and just 1 lap later Raikkonen crashed into a wall under heavy rain.

After the race Hamilton was stripped of his win for cutting a chicane during the fight, and 10 points were instead awarded to Filipe Massa.

The final European race of the season was race 14, in Italy. Although the race took place in September, there was heavy rain all weekend – so much so that the race started under the safety car.

Sebastian Vettel out-qualified his fellow competitors who were struggling in the wet (Hamilton, Raikkonen & Kubica all failed to make Q3) and went on to claim pole. He led the race for all but 3 laps and crossed the line to become the youngest ever race winner in F1 (taking the title away from Alonso).

This was Torro Rosso’s first ever win, the first German driver to win since Michael Schumacher in 2006 and the youngest ever podium – Vettel, Kovaleinen and Kubica had an average age of 23 years and 350 days.