The F2008's chassis was designed by Aldo Costa, Simone Resta, Tiziano Battistini, Marco Fainello, John Iley, and Marco de Luca. Mario Almondo served as Executive Technical Director leading production, Gilles Simon headed the engine and electronics division, Lorenzo Sassi handled engine design and development, and Mattia Binotto covered engine operations.
The most significant regulatory change shaping the F2008 was the mandatory introduction of a standard Electronic Control Unit produced by McLaren Electronic Systems. This ECU removed virtually all driver aids that had been used in preceding seasons, including traction control, engine braking, and the electronically assisted starting system. It also simplified management of the differential, engine mapping, and gear changes. The removal of traction control placed a greater premium on driver skill and car balance. The F2008 was heavier than its predecessor, the F2007, due to a rule requiring the gearbox to survive four consecutive races and mandating higher side protection around the driver's helmet.
The car was unveiled on 6 January 2008, with Raikkonen conducting the first shakedown at Ferrari's Fiorano test track the following day.
The F2008 retained an all-red livery. Philip Morris, parent company of Marlboro, remained the principal sponsor; Ferrari was the only team in 2008 to carry a cigarette brand as its main sponsor despite the sport's tobacco advertising ban. The Marlboro name was replaced throughout the season by a bar code and was not displayed at any race, though Ferrari chose not to use the lettering even at Bahrain, Monaco, and China, where it would have been permitted. Etihad Airways joined as a new sponsor, advertising on the back of the rear wing. Martini returned for its third and final year with the team, though its logo was blocked in France owing to alcohol advertising laws there.
The 2008 season produced a closely contested Constructors' and Drivers' Championship battle affected by a series of costly incidents across both Ferrari cars. In Australia, Massa suffered nose cone and front wing damage after contact with David Coulthard, while Raikkonen's engine failed at race end. In Malaysia, Massa spun in the first sector and retired. In Monaco, Raikkonen lost his front wing after sliding into the back of Adrian Sutil at the Nouvelle chicane.
At the Canadian Grand Prix, Raikkonen's rear wing detached in the pit lane after Lewis Hamilton drove into his car while the red pit lane exit light remained on. In Hungary, Massa's engine failed without warning from the lead with three laps to go — one of the season's most decisive losses. At Valencia for the European Grand Prix, Raikkonen was unsafely released with the fuel hose still attached and later retired with engine failure. Singapore saw Massa released unsafely with a hose attached as well; Raikkonen struck the wall after a suspension failure. In Japan, Massa and Hamilton collided on the second lap.
Despite these setbacks, the F2008 was fast enough across the full season to win the Constructors' Championship. Raikkonen's fastest lap at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during the season remained the circuit's lap record until Lewis Hamilton broke it at the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix.
Massa arrived at the final race in Brazil needing a single point to become Drivers' World Champion. He led for much of the race before retiring from the lead due to a wheel nut problem. Hamilton, who had dropped to sixth after a stop, recovered sufficiently to take the fifth place he needed to win the championship by one point, completing one of the most dramatic final rounds in Formula One history.
On 11 November 2008, Ferrari ran a test at Fiorano with Raikkonen, Massa, and Luca Badoer driving an F2008 equipped with a kinetic energy recovery system (SREC), evaluating the technology ahead of its planned introduction on the Ferrari F60 for the 2009 season.
The F2008 represents the last Ferrari Formula One car to win the World Constructors' Championship, a status it still held entering the 2025 season. Its success came in the first year of the mandatory standard ECU era, demonstrating that Ferrari could adapt to the removal of driver aids through car design and driver quality. The narrow failure of Massa's Drivers' title bid made 2008 one of the most dramatic season conclusions in the sport's modern history.
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