Straw Poll: 2008 wrap-up

The 2008 season wasn't short of a story or two. Granted, there wasn't anything on the colossal scale of Spygate for the media to get its teeth into, but there were plenty of big hitting stories and slow-burning classics to keep the assembled journalists happy as the season went on.

As ever, some of the stories ran and ran - such as the future of Fernando Alonso - while some, such as the Max Mosley scandal, emerged like a bolt from the blue.

But there were several stories that really stood out in 2008 and developed an enormous amount of column inches - not to mention paddock chatter. This is not an exhaustive list of the tales of 2008, but a snapshot of some of the stories that triggered the most speculation and idle chatter in the media centre.

Singapore Sling

Formula One, for such a high-tech sport, took a long time to embrace the light bulb. An invention of the 18th century, it pre-dates the internal combustion engine by several decades and has been constantly developed over the past 150 years or so. So why was F1 so amazed to discover in Singapore in September that floodlighting works?

Mark Webber practices in Singapore © LAT

There is something inherently conservative about F1. Basically, that means that if something is new, there's a fair chance that most in the paddock will be clamouring to declare it a disaster well in advance in the event. But at least that means that when things do go off without a hitch - as in Singapore - the sport is quick to declare them the best thing since... well, the light bulb.

The inaugural Singapore Grand Prix was a fantastic event - even the nocturnal timetable that led to the paddock staying on European time worked better than anyone expected - and the consensus was that the event was a big thing for F1, which will now doubtless claim to have invented the night race!

And the naysayers had a caveat to bang on about for next year. After all, what happens if it rains?

Where now for Alonso?

In the second half of the season, just about every grand prix had a different version of the Alonso rumour.

The year started with many assuming that Alonso had signed up for Ferrari for 2009 even before choosing to return to Renault. As the season went on, that year got pushed back to 2010, while other potential suitors emerged.

After the Canadian Grand Prix, Autosport's Charles Bradley broke the story that the Spaniard was in talks for a big-money move to Honda. Soon after, it emerged that Alonso was on BMW Sauber's shopping list.

That's when the rumours went into overdrive. Several times various experts in the media centre would tell you something like "Alonso has definitely done his Honda/Renault/Eiffeland/ATS deal - it'll be announced on Wednesday." That would trigger a visit to Alonso, who would usually say something like "I would like to see what they will say on Wednesday when nothing happens!"

As it was, Wednesday didn't come until after the Brazilian Grand Prix. Despite some very serious talks with Honda and BMW in particular, Renault's revival persuaded Alonso to stay on at a team where he feels very much at home.

But of course, some still say Alonso is going to Ferrari in 2010... This one's set to run and run.

Running down Raikkonen

Even Kimi Raikkonen's staunchest fan would find it hard to make a case that the Finn looked like a defending world champion day-in, day-out in 2008. That's not to say there weren't good, even great, days but overall it was no surprise that there was plenty of talk about his long-term future.

Fernando Alonso © LAT

Then, at Monza, came the quiet announcement that the Finn's contract had been extended to 2010. Some journalists, who only hours earlier would assure you that Raikkonen was out for 2009 or 2010 and being replaced by Fernando Alonso/Niki Lauda/Jean-Pierre Wimille, sagely nodded and informed us that this was what they had expected all along. But the fact was, it came as something of a surprise.

It soon turned out that the deal wasn't quite as clear-cut a case as Ferrari signing him for an extra year, but the announcement at least quelled the tide of questions. At least, it has bought him enough time to get himself back on track in winter testing with a 2009 Ferrari that should be more suited to his driving style.

But if it's a similar story for Raikkonen in '09, except the same stories to circulate with increasing vigour.

Massa: Mediocrity to master

Just two grands prix into the season, word was that Felipe Massa's future at Ferrari was bleak. After fraught races at Australia and Malaysia, had the ban of traction control found him out? Turns out not.

Then came a run of two wins and a second place in Turkey, Bahrain and Spain, after which Massa never looked back. It's a sign of just how convincing his season was that come the Brazilian Grand Prix, there was a genuine willingness to accept him as world champion.

Unfortunately for Massa, things turned around in the final seconds of the race as Lewis Hamilton nicked the title at the last, but even in defeat the Brazilian found a lot of friends. As lead driver for a team which hasn't always had the best reputation for taking losing in its stride, you might have expected him to show a little frustration, anger even at the manner of his defeat. But he didn't.

Massa was the perfect loser in 2008. That's a compliment - a big one - and not a criticism. He was no less deserving than Hamilton of being champion, but showed to the world how to take defeat with dignity. It was that, as much as any of his frequently stunning on-track performances this year, that left an indelible impression on the sport.

Post-Brazil, there was just as much talk about Massa's show of speed and dignity as there was about Hamilton's astonishing victory. A sign of a classic season if ever there was one.