The 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season was the fourth and final season of

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix Operations Ltd. operated as A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themse ...

. A1 Team Ireland became the fourth A1GP champions, after a title battle which went down to the final round in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. Ireland won with 112 points, with team driver Adam Carroll taking five victories at

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

, Sepang, Taupo and the series finale at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

during the shortened 14 race season. Financial issues led to the cancellation of three events and ultimately the cancellation of the 2009–10 season.

Calendar

Ten events were scheduled to be held in the 2008–09 series.

Cancellations

On 21 August 2008, the Italian round at Mugello was postponed following a delay in the build schedule of the new chassis. A replacement date was not announced and the event was never held. Further timetable changes were announced on 26 August 2008. The Chinese round was confirmed to be held at Chengdu Goldenport Circuit, and swapped places in the calendar with the Indonesian round at Jakarta. Subsequent to that, the Indonesian race was moved back further, to 8 February due to track construction. The Indonesian round was later cancelled on 16 January due to the circuit missing a construction deadline. On 9 September 2008,

was confirmed as hosting the British round at the end of the season. On 19 December,

Interlagos Interlagos is a neighborhood located in the district of Socorro (district of São Paulo), Socorro in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Its name comes from the fact that the region is located between two large reservoirs, Guarapiranga and Billings ...

was announced as the season finale on the weekend of 15–17 May 2009. On 5 March, the Interlagos race was removed from the circuit's official calendar – making Brands Hatch the finale. The Mexican round was also moved back by one week, so as to avoid clashing with a concert held in the

baseball stadium A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...

inside the circuit on the original date. On 17 February 2009, an official preview reported that the Mexico City round was no longer to take place on the weekend of 20–22 March and a replacement date was being sought. eTicket.com.mx advertised the event as it should take place on the weekend of 22–24 May, and was confirmed on 31 March 2009, subject to the FIA-stipulated changes to the ''Peraltada'' corner. On 29 April 2009, the Mexican round was cancelled due to an outbreak of swine flu.

Entry list

Teams representing

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

joined the grid, whilst the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

left the series.

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

appeared on the pre-season entry list, but did not participate in any rounds. A1-Mon-Kyalami-01

Rule changes

Technical changes

* On 11 October 2007, A1GP and

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

announced a six-year collaboration on the new generation of A1GP cars. The new "Powered by Ferrari" car is a modification of the

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

Ferrari F2004 chassis with a V8

engine producing 600 bhp. The car was officially revealed and driven for the first time by John Watson in May 2008.

Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...

supplied the tyres for the new car.

Sporting changes

* The four qualifying sessions were reduced in length from fifteen minutes to ten minutes each. * Teams may now utilise a "joker" qualifying lap (from Malaysia onwards). In one of the four qualifying sessions the team may elect to utilise their joker – for the flying lap in that session, the driver is granted the availability of the PowerBoost button for the entire lap. * A mandatory pit-stop was added to the Sprint Race, brought into effect starting in Malaysia. Sprint Race time certainty was decreased to 24 minutes + 1 lap

Results and standings

Results summary

Championship standings

;Points system The Sprint Race awards points to the top eight positions as opposed to the top ten in the 2007–08 season. The teams that competed in all 7 events were required to drop their worst round pointscore as a number of teams missed the season-opener in Zandvoort due to delays in producing the new chassis. ;Championship standings

Notes

References

External links

A1GP official web-site
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 A1 Grand Prix Season A1GP A1GP