FERRARI F2008

   The 2008 season and the Ferrari F2008 hold a special place in the hearts of Ferrari “tifosi”, as they remain (as of 2026) the last season and the last single-seater to bring a World Championship title back to Maranello, in the province of Modena. They were also at the center of one of the most dramatic season finales in Formula 1 history. In the final race of the championship in Brazil, Felipe Massa crossed the finish line as World Champion and, while celebrations had already begun on the Ferrari pit wall, Lewis Hamilton overtook Timo Glock’s Toyota (struggling on dry tires) just two corners from the end, snatching the Drivers’ title from Massa by a single point. For Ferrari, 2008 also marked a profound internal revolution: the first true season of the post–Jean Todt era, as Todt handed over the Team Principal role to Stefano Domenicali, consolidating the so-called “Italian management” following the legendary cycle of Todt, Brawn, and Byrne.

FERRARI F2008, Felipe Massa
Montecarlo, Monaco GP 2008

   Alongside Domenicali, Mario Almondo served as Executive Technical Director, a key figure in managing the Scuderia’s industrial and logistical processes, ensuring the factory operated like clockwork. The new Technical Director was Aldo Costa, the true heir to Rory Byrne, with whom he had collaborated on all the championship-winning Ferraris of the 2000s. Marco Fainello took on the role of Head of Vehicle Performance, Tiziano Battistini was Head of Chassis Design, Marco de Luca served as Chief Aerodynamicist, and Simone Resta led the Research and Development department as Head of R&D. Another Italian engineer on the pit wall was Luca Baldisserri, responsible for race strategy and carrying enormous responsibility in a championship decided by dramatic twists. Beyond the Made in Italy engineering group, other crucial figures were present, such as Chief Designer Nikolas Tombazis, who returned to Ferrari after a stint at McLaren, bringing with him a more aggressive vision for the design of the new F2008. The famous “S-Duct” (the hole in the nose) and the complex airflow management that made the F2008 unbeatable in high-speed corners were the work of the Greek engineer. John Iley remained head of aerodynamics, while Chris Dyer and Rob Smedley served as race engineers for the two main drivers: reigning World Champion Kimi Räikkönen of Finland and Brazilian Felipe Massa. Franco-Moroccan Gilles Simon continued as Engine Technical Director, tasked with improving the reliability and integration of the Ferrari Tipo 056 V8 with the chassis, making the engine a benchmark for power delivery, crucial in a year without electronic driving aids. Alongside him worked Lorenzo Sassi as Engine Chief Designer, as well as a young Mattia Binotto, responsible for engine management.

FERRARI F2008, Felipe Massa
Melbourne, Australian GP 2008

   The F2008 is remembered as one of the most beautiful Ferraris of the modern era, the pinnacle of a technical cycle that began with Schumacher in 1996, and it represented the perfect balance between extreme aerodynamics and pure performance. The F2008 was not only fast and reliable but also a true aerodynamic laboratory, with obsessive attention to detail. The most visible innovation of the F2008 was the so-called S-Duct, an opening beneath the nose that exited on the upper part of the chassis. Beneath the nose of a Formula 1 car, a high-pressure zone accumulates, creating drag and instability. Rather than suffering this air resistance, the S-Duct system channeled air from below and expelled it upward, cleaning up the airflow directed toward the rest of the car and, above all, increasing front-end downforce without excessively increasing drag. It was such an effective solution that it has been reinterpreted in various forms up to today’s Formula 1 cars. The F2008’s front wing was a work of art, featuring a secondary profile that arched over the nose (the “bridge wing”), connecting the two sides of the main wing and directing airflow toward the sidepods and the floor. The wing endplates were shaped to generate controlled vortices that shielded the front wheels, aided by extremely complex bargeboards, a true labyrinth of aerodynamic appendages. The sidepods were heavily undercut in the lower section, allowing greater airflow toward the rear, and featured the characteristic chimneys and gills for hot air extraction. There were also horn-shaped appendages beside the engine air intake to clean up airflow directed toward the rear wing. As already seen on the 2007 car, the F2008 was equipped with aerodynamic wheel covers that also helped improve brake cooling airflow extraction.

FERRARI F2008, Felipe Massa
Montecarlo, Monaco GP 2008

   The F2008’s new chassis had a significantly shorter wheelbase to improve performance in tight corners, where the previous F2007 had struggled. The suspension was completely redesigned to work better with the era’s grooved Bridgestone tires, aiming to maximize the contact patch despite the absence of electronic aids. Indeed, 2008 marked an invisible revolution with the introduction of the standard SECU (Standard Electronic Control Unit), produced by McLaren Electronic Systems. Electronic aids such as traction control and engine braking were eliminated, forcing engine manufacturers to revise torque delivery. Ferrari’s engineers interpreted the new regulations exceptionally well, and the F2008 was praised for its outstanding mechanical traction, which partially compensated for the lack of electronics.

FERRARI F2008, Kimi Räikkönen
Montréal, Canadian GP 2008

   The new F2008 was officially unveiled on January 6 and immediately taken to the track by reigning World Champion Kimi Räikkönen. In addition to the Finn and Massa, Italian Luca Badoer and Spaniard Marc Gené also used the new Maranello single-seater for private testing and simulator correlation work. With 8 victories (6 for Massa and 2 for Räikkönen), 8 pole positions, 13 fastest laps, and a total of 19 podium finishes, the F2008 was the best car of the 2008 season. It secured the Constructors’ Championship with 172 points but missed out on the Drivers’ title due to internal rivalry between the two drivers. Massa immediately found the perfect feeling to push the car to its limits, especially in qualifying. After a shocking start with two retirements in Australia, the season quickly turned around with four consecutive victories, two each for Räikkönen and Massa, including two one-two finishes. In the middle phase of the championship, the Finn lost momentum and Massa became the Scuderia’s leading contender. Unfortunately for him, two incidents marred what was his best season: his retirement in Hungary, when the engine of his F2008 failed three laps from the end while he was leading, and the pit lane incident at the Singapore Grand Prix. With Massa in the lead, during his refueling stop, the crew chief released him while the fuel hose was still attached. The result: the Brazilian tore off the fuel rig and dragged the hose down the pit lane. Race ruined and victory thrown away. These two negative episodes led to the dramatic finale in Brazil, where Massa was beaten by Hamilton by just one point in the final standings. At the end of the season, at the Fiorano circuit, Luca Badoer drove the F2008K, a modified version of the 2008 car, to test the new energy recovery system (KERS) that would be used on the 2009 single-seaters.