Exiting Europe and entering the unknown

The next race at Singapore was the first in a sequence of unpredictable races finishing off the 2008 season. It was the second of 2 new tracks this season and the first ever F1 Grand Prix to be held at night. The race was largely determined by the fortunes and misfortunes endured under the safety car, as many drivers fell foul to a 10-second penalty for pitting under the safety car.

Alonso was one of the few drivers that benefitted from the safety car. The Spaniard, who'd currently been on top form, then went on to win the race, his first win of the season. Previously his expectations for 2008 had not been met due partly to bad luck and mostly to a poorly performing Renault. Whilst it was a quiet race for McLaren, Ferrari brought more F1 drama. Raikkonen bizarrely crashed out near the end of the race, and a problem with a semi-automatic release system saw Massa waiting at the end of the pit lane for mechanics to remove the 15-foot of hose dragging behind him.

Race number 16 at Fuji, Japan was incident-packed. Alonso continued his fantastic form to win his second consecutive Grand Prix as both he and second place Kubica capitalised on the errors made at the front of the pack.

Hamilton, who was in the lead in the world championship took pole but had a poor start, and decided to go for broke at the start of the race. Hamilton braked late and heavily going into the first corner – cutting up both Kimi Raikkonen and team-mate Kovaleinen, flat spotting his tyres and incurring a drive-through penalty.

If Hamilton had not already thrown away his point-scoring chances, shortly after this first incident, Massa re-entered the track and crashed into Hamilton whilst battling with his rival. This sent Hamilton into a spin and put the final nail into the coffin for Hamilton’s race. The third controversy of the day was on Sebastien Bordais’ exit from the pitlane, when he came into contact with Massa who was going along at race pace - a controversial incident which didn’t do too much damage to either driver, and despite Charlie Whiting’s declaration that drivers exiting the pitlane have right of way, Bourdais was awarded a 25-second penalty after the race.

The Grand Prix at Shanghai, China was race number 17 and the penultimate race of 2008. After the constant drama and incidents of most of the season, this was a realatively serene race.

Hamilton got a much-needed clean get away off the grid from pole and went on to bag a solid win, which he desperately needed as it was his first win since Germany six races before. Raikkonen gave his second place to Massa to give his team-mate a boost in the championship fight.

The finale

Finally, and whilst remaining firmly off the band wagon of season finale-followers, my favourite race of the season was number 18, Brazil. This race was very much in keeping with the rest of the season – unpredictabile rain and a controversial result (although not so debateable).

Having dominated the weekend, Massa took pole and the win, followed by Alonso and Raikkonen. Both Vettel and Glock played their part in the Grand Prix – 2 outstanding drivers this season and totally unexpected form for both. David Coulthard crashed out on the first corner as did Piquet Jr, but there was no great drama until the end of this race when the rain almost put the fire out of Hamilton’s championship bid, but fortunately for him he capitalised on Glock’s final struggle on the wet last lap.

The lack of patterns and predictability this season makes it difficult to sum up in just a few words. There were so many factors contributing to the story: the lack of a dominant reigning world champion, the frequent wet weather conditions, younger drivers unexpectedly outperforming their cars, and the inconsistent and controversial stewards' decisions are a few examples.

To add to this, the fact that both the tacticians and the drivers in the top teams (Ferrari and McLaren) made some huge errors this season meant that they had to relinquish some of their stranglehold on F1 (although they still had their hands all over the world and constructors' championships).

The overhaul of rules next season will be the biggest change in Formula 1 for 20 years, revolutionising the sport. The smaller teams and younger drivers will be inspired by this season, and the hope is that the rule changes will equal the playing field.

Not only this, but the current front runners will have more to prove than ever next year - Massa still chasing his first title, Raikkonen re-establishing himself as Ferrari’s number 1, Alonso continuing his end-of-season form, Kubica back with a stronger car, and Hamilton trying to defend his first title will no doubt provide high-quality entertainment. Of course there’s also potential for a brand new audience – British television coverage will be returning to the BBC from advert-ridden ITV in 2009, and this might give F1 the platform it needs to captivate new viewers.

So it seems this season, one of the most exciting in recent times, is just the tip of the iceberg. 2008 has been full of firsts in F1 but this may merely be an indicator of what is to come.