2008 Australian Grand Prix 2008 Australian Grand Prix The 2008 Australian Grand Prix (formally the LXXIII ING Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 16 March 2008 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2008 Formula One season. The 58 lap race was won by Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team after starting from pole position. Nick Heidfeld finished second in a BMW Sauber car, with Nico Rosberg third in a Williams, his first ever F1 podium. This was the last race until the 2010 Korean Grand Prix that neither Red Bull
2009 Japanese Grand Prix and 2008. Those drivers included Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Heikki Kovalainen, local driver Kazuki Nakajima, Adrian Sutil, Sébastien Buemi, Jaime Alguersuari and Romain Grosjean. However, both Vettel and Sutil had driven the circuit in practice sessions before when they served as test drivers in 2006. The 2009 Japanese Grand Prix saw Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen and Adrian Sutil all start their fiftieth race in Formula One. The Friday practice sessions were dominated by heavy rain that severely reduced running time. Toyota's Timo Glock was advised not to drive as he was suffering from a fever, and was replaced by GP2