2008 Formula Renault 3.5 Series
The 2008 Formula Renault 3.5 Series was the fourth Formula Renault 3.5 Series season. It began on 26 April in Monza, Italy and finished on 19 October in Barcelona, Spain after 17 races.
Regulation Changes
Technical
After a three-year cycle, the current Formula Renault 3.5 chassis was replaced by a brand new car built by Italian racecar constructor Dallara. The new car featured flex-fuel technology and could be powered by either premium unleaded petrol or E85 bioethanol, which was a first for this level of motorsport in Europe. The Renault V6 engine, prepared by French company Solution F, will also saw its power increased from to.The car also featured a new carbon bodyshell, as well as a new shaped front wing, hollowed sidepods and multiple side deflectors designed to improve aerodynamic performance. However, several areas of the car, including the gearbox, rear suspension and carbon brakes, remained the same in order to keep costs under control.
The new car made its first public appearance on 21 September at the Magny-Cours round of the 2007 season, with development driver Andy Soucek demonstrating the car at the final round of the series in Barcelona.
Sporting
In a change from recent years, only 26 cars were allowed into the 2008 championship. The World Series by Renault organising committee announced twelve of the thirteen teams on 5 October 2007, with newcomers Ultimate Signature confirmed as the final entrant on 12 October 2007.The 2008 season also saw the introduction of a new qualifying system to the FR3.5 Series.
- The 26 cars will be split into two equal groups, with each having a 20-minute session
- The Top 6 drivers in each group will go forward to a 15-minute 'Super Pole' session
- The grid for Race one is decided by reversing the finishing order of the Top 8 drivers in Super Pole. They are followed by the last four in Super Pole and the remaining 14 drivers in the order they finished qualifying
- For Race two, the Top 8 drivers from Super Pole line up in the order they finished the session, with the rest of the field decided by the finishing order of Race one
Teams and drivers
| Team | Driver name | Status | Rounds | |
 Tech 1 Racing | 1 | Julien Jousse | All | |
| Tech 1 Racing | 2 | Charles Pic | All | |
 International DracoRacing | 3 |  Bertrand Baguette | All | |
| International DracoRacing | 4 |  Marco Barba | All | |
 Carlin Motorsport | 5 |  Mikhail Aleshin | All | |
| Carlin Motorsport | 6 |  Robert Wickens | All | |
| Epsilon Euskadi | 7 |  Mario Romancini | 1–7 | |
| Epsilon Euskadi | 7 |  Filipe Albuquerque | 8–9 | |
| Epsilon Euskadi | 8 | Alexandre Marsoin | All | |
| Prema Powerteam | 9 | Miguel Molina | All | |
| Prema Powerteam | 10 | Álvaro Barba | All | |
| RC Motorsport | 11 | Aleix Alcaraz | 1–4 | |
| RC Motorsport | 11 | Claudio Cantelli | 5–9 | |
| RC Motorsport | 12 | Borja García | 1–3 | |
| RC Motorsport | 12 | Duncan Tappy | 4–5, 8–9 | |
| RC Motorsport | 12 | Paolo Maria Nocera | 6–7 | |
| Pons Racing | 14 | Máximo Cortés | 1–4 | |
| Pons Racing | 14 | Aleix Alcaraz | 5–9 | |
| Pons Racing | 15 | Marcos Martínez | All | |
| KTR | 16 | Daniil Move | 1–5 | |
| KTR | 16 | Siso Cunill | 6–9 | |
| KTR | 17 | Guillaume Moreau | 1–5 | |
| KTR | 17 | Sergey Afanasyev | 7–9 | |
 Interwetten.com Racing | 19 |  Salvador Durán | All | |
| Interwetten.com Racing | 20 | Pablo Sánchez López | All | |
| P1 Motorsport | 21 |  Giedo van der Garde | All | |
| P1 Motorsport | 22 | Pippa Mann | All | |
| Fortec Motorsport | 23 | James Walker | All | |
| Fortec Motorsport | 24 |  Julian Theobald | 1–2 | |
| Fortec Motorsport | 24 |  Fairuz Fauzy | 3–9 | |
| Red Devil Comtec Racing | 25 | Marco Bonanomi | All | |
| Red Devil Comtec Racing | 26 | Pasquale Di Sabatino | 1–7 | |
| Red Devil Comtec Racing | 26 |  Sten Pentus | 9 | |
| Ultimate Signature | 27 | Fabio Carbone | All | |
| Ultimate Signature | 28 | Claudio Cantelli | 1–3 | |
| Ultimate Signature | 28 |  Esteban Guerrieri | 4–9 |
Race calendar and results
The calendar for the 2008 season was confirmed by Renault Sport on 9 January 2008. Seven rounds formed meetings of the 2008 World Series by Renault season, with additional rounds supporting the Monza 1000km and Monaco Grand Prix.Season results
- Points for both championships were awarded as follows:
Drivers' Championship
- Polesitter for feature race in bold
- Driver in italics has been awarded two points for fastest lap
- † — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.
Teams' Championship