Eleven teams competed in the championship. Traction control was banned for 2008 after being re-introduced to the sport in 2001. The season also marked the last use of grooved tyres, which had been mandatory since 1998; slick tyres returned for 2009. It was the first season in Formula One history in which all teams ran the same two drivers throughout the entire year.
The Spyker team was sold to Indian businessman Vijay Mallya ahead of the season and renamed Force India. New team Prodrive, fronted by David Richards, had been granted a grid entry but withdrew in November 2007 over unresolved disputes about the legality of customer cars. Super Aguri entered the season but folded on 6 May due to financial troubles, having completed only four races.
Driver changes were significant. Fernando Alonso departed McLaren after a single season to rejoin Renault, replaced by Heikki Kovalainen. Giancarlo Fisichella moved to Force India, with Nelson Piquet Jr. taking his place at Renault. Sebastien Bourdais joined Toro Rosso, replacing Vitantonio Liuzzi.
The season introduced two new venues. Singapore hosted its first Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, becoming Formula One's first night race. The European Grand Prix relocated from the Nurburgring to the Valencia Street Circuit in Spain.
Hamilton and Massa traded the championship lead throughout the year. Kimi Raikkonen, the reigning champion, won in Malaysia and Spain but suffered a mid-season dip in form that ultimately dropped him to third in the standings. Heikki Kovalainen won in Hungary, making 2008 the only season in which two Finnish drivers won races. Hamilton took six victories across the year.
The Singapore Grand Prix became infamous for the Crashgate affair. Fernando Alonso won the race, but his victory was later revealed to have been aided by Renault teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashing his car to bring out the Safety Car at a strategically beneficial moment for Alonso's pit strategy. Piquet revealed the scheme to the press in 2009; Renault team principal Flavio Briatore resigned, and the team was disqualified from the results, though Alonso's win stood.
Going into the final race in Brazil, Massa needed to win and rely on Hamilton finishing outside the top five to claim the title. Massa led and won the race. Hamilton ran fifth for most of the closing laps, which would have been enough. On the final lap, Glock — who had not pitted for wet-weather tyres during a late safety car period — lost pace dramatically on slick tyres in the damp conditions. Hamilton overtook him on the last corner of the race to reclaim fifth and win the title by one point. Massa's family and Ferrari's pit wall had begun celebrating before the pass occurred.
Hamilton, aged 23, became the youngest driver to win the Formula One World Championship at that time. Sebastian Vettel would later surpass that record by winning the 2010 title. Hamilton was also the first Black driver and the first British champion since Damon Hill in 1996. It was McLaren's last Drivers' Championship win until Lando Norris in 2025, and Ferrari's last Constructors' title as of that same date.
The Honda team competed in 2008 but the manufacturer withdrew from Formula One in December due to financial difficulties. Ross Brawn subsequently purchased the team and renamed it Brawn GP, racing with Mercedes-Benz engines in 2009. Honda returned to Formula One as an engine supplier between 2015 and 2021.
David Coulthard retired at the end of the season after 14 years and 246 race starts, moving into television punditry with the BBC. All engines in the championship were 2.4-litre V8 units; tyres were supplied exclusively by Bridgestone.
The 2008 season is remembered primarily for its extraordinary finale, one of the most dramatic conclusions in the sport's history. It also stands as a regulatory watershed: the last season of traction control, the last of grooved tyres, and the final year in which refuelling was not yet prohibited. The Crashgate scandal cast a long shadow over the Singapore win and contributed to ongoing scrutiny of team orders in Formula One.