The week before the Turkish Grand Prix there was a controversy over Super Aguri being barred from the Istanbul paddock. This was a result of Honda'sNick Fry telling Bernie Ecclestone that Super Aguri wouldn't be competing in the race after worries that Weigl's sponsorship would be insufficient. The next day Super Aguri announced that they would be departing from Formula One, as the team was past saving. McLaren went into Turkey hoping for a good result and got a mixed one with Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen finishing second and twelfth respectively. The lights had a bit of a problem at the start but eventually the race got underway with Hamilton overtaking his team-mate. Kimi Räikkönen got overtaken by a fast-starting Alonso while Giancarlo Fisichella charged into the back of Kazuki Nakajima. Hamilton chose a three-stop strategy due to high tyre wear, but put in a fantastic overtaking manoeuvre on Felipe Massa. Late-race there was a three-way battle between Jenson Button, Nelsinho Piquet and a recovering Kovalainen, who had his left-rear tyre punctured by Räikkönen's front wing on the first lap. Button was struggling on the option tyre while Piquet was trying some moves; on his second overtaking chance he pushed Button into the pit entrance causing Button to slow. Probably thinking it was Hamilton lapping him, Button let Kovalainen pass on the corner immediately after (first corner). Massa thus won the first race of the month, with Lewis Hamilton and his Ferrari team-mate following in hot pursuit behind. Rubens Barrichello celebrated his 257th Grand Prix start by finishing 14th with a "257" paint job on the car and a special "257-themed" helmet. Barrichello's 257th GP race surpassed Riccardo Patrese's former record of 256 GPs, making him the most experienced driver in F1 history. After the Spanish Grand Prix he celebrated in a round of golf accompanied by ITV's Louise Goodman and fellow racers. A week before the Monaco Grand Prix a test was held at Paul Ricard. There were mixed results with only 11-12 cars being tested per day and the sessions being affected by changeable weather. Honda kept their promise and the wings on the nose got a makeover with other visible changes as well. Then the circus moved to Monaco, the stylish venue on the calendar mapped around the bay of Monte Carlo. McLaren's drivers had special diamond studded helmets for the occasion. On the Tuesday that week Mark Webber proved to be the man of the hour after using First Aid on his companion, AMD's Morris Denton, alongside cycling legend, Lance Armstrong. A car had hit Denton through some traffic works; he would need 90 stitches but arrived at the paddock that weekend. Fisichella didn't get his wish of a points finish on his 200th Grand Prix start after retiring with a jumping gearbox. At the start of the parade lap, Kovalainen stalled and had to start from the pit lane, but despite starting from there he grabbed the last of the points-paying positions with eighth and catching up to seventh; he finished three seconds behind Kazuki Nakajima after the gap was sixteen seconds just five laps before. The race started in the rain for the first time since 1997 and the Ferraris came under pressure from Hamilton at the start with Räikkönen falling back to third. Massa led early on, whilst Hamilton tapped the wall and sustained a puncture. However, the McLaren team was able to use the changed pit-stop strategy to their advantage due to frequent Safety Car periods and the gradual improvement in the weather that necessitated a switch to dry tyres before the end of the race. While Massa and Robert Kubica struggled on worn tyres and heavy fuel loads mid-race, Hamilton was able to build up a big enough lead to maintain first position after his second pit stop. Kubica, who jumped past Massa when the Ferrari driver had a brief excursion at Ste. Devote, finished ahead of the Brazilian in second place, but there was last-minute drama behind. Adrian Sutil was running in a strong fourth place after the final safety car period until a recovering Räikkönen, who had earlier damaged his front wing and been forced to pit, slipped up going into the Nouvelle Chicane. Kimi only put on another new front wing and rejoined in ninth, but a devastated Sutil had bad car damage and retired just before the race's 90% distance mark. This left the way clear for Webber, Sebastian Vettel (débuting the Toro Rosso STR3 chassis), Nakajima, Barrichello and Kovalainen to finish in the points. Two weeks later, the championship moved to Canada on its annual trip to North America. The track had been partially resurfaced since 2007, but these new sections of tarmac began to break up, causing a hazard throughout the race weekend. Nevertheless, Hamilton seemed unaffected as he set a pole position time 0.6 seconds faster than second-placed Kubica. In the race, the front two and third man Räikkönen held position until the first round of pit stops, which were taken under Safety Car conditions. Hamilton lost position to his two pursuers with a longer stop, but then compounded his problems by running into the back of Räikkönen as the Finn and Kubica waited for the green light to come on at the end of the pitlane. Both retired, whilst Nico Rosberg (who was also involved) lost his front wing. Both Hamilton and Rosberg have been given ten-place grid penalties for the next race of the season, in France. This incident, fuel rig problems for Massa and Kovalainen's poor pace turned the race into an all-BMW Sauber fight between Kubica and Nick Heidfeld. Choosing different strategies, the former prevailed by making an additional pitsop to the latter. The race marked Kubica's and BMW's first win in F1, and the first time since the 1999 European Grand Prix that neither Ferrari, McLaren nor Renault has appeared on the podium, as David Coulthard finished in third place to take his first points of the season. Timo Glock was also a first-time 2008 scorer as he beat the recovering Massa to the flag, and they were followed home by Jarno Trulli, Barrichello and Vettel. Massa performed the most impressive pass of the race in his progress from the back of the field following his fuel glitch by passing Jenson Button and Kovalainen simulataneously at the Old Pits Hairpin. The result has elevated Kubica into the lead of the Drivers' Championship, with Hamilton, Massa, Raikkonen and Heidfeld not far behind. Chubbennaitor, Barkjon , Diniz(talk)Sage J Callahan
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Below is the F1 Picture for last month (found here) which is decided on every 25th-27th of each month. The picture has to be one uploaded that month and only from the current season.
It is exclusive to the Newsletter.
Note 1: Vettel didn't qualify after hitting the wall and damaging his STR3 in Saturday morning practice.
Note 2: Bourdais changed his engine after qualifying and got a five-place grid penalty (to the back of the grid.
Note 3: Button set one time of 1:23.565 but then drove back into the pits with a gearbox problem he started 18th on the grid in front of the two Toro Rossos.
^Note 4 : Mark Webber spun at the end of Q2 but with a secured place in Q3. He did not set a time due to the car not being suitable to drive.
