18 Brazil - Massa takes Interlagos, Hamilton takes the title!
It all came down to the final race of the season once again and this year it there were no mistakes from Lewis Hamilton as he took the chequered flag in fifth position to claim the Formula One World Championship. Felipe Massa dominated the final race of the season from the pole position, but trailing Hamilton by seven points heading into the race, it was always going to be an uphill struggle for the Ferrari star and it could not have been more dramatic.
Hamilton’s title success - in just his second season of the sport - breaks McLaren’s streak of championship frustration nine years after its last success with Mika Hakkinen. Ferrari meanwhile has secured the constructors’ championship from McLaren making it an astonishing seven championships from the last nine years.
It was an astonishing season finale as right up to the chequered flag on lap 71, it was not clear who would be crowned as champion. A rain shower ahead of the formation lap saw the start of the race delayed ten minutes and Massa promptly led away from pole position and was never seriously threatened for the race win.
The circuit soon dried out but it was a late race shower that really threw the race for the title into confusion. With two laps to go, Hamilton ran wide and Sebastian Vettel slipped through into fifth position and at that point it was Massa who would be crowned as champion. Massa took the chequered flag believing he was champion but the drama was still not over...
Timo Glock, running fourth, had not pitted for wet weather tyres with the rest and on the very last lap of the race he dropped 18 seconds and critically for Hamilton, down to sixth position. It was an amazing result as seconds later Hamilton took the chequered flag in fifth position and he was champion.
Massa didn’t put a wheel wrong and he will be absolutely distraught to lose out in the final seconds of the Grand Prix. The Ferrari star took the chequered flag 13 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso who made best use of an early stop for dry tyres early in the race to vault ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and Hamilton.
Kimi Raikkonen spent the race managing the gap to those ahead of him on track while trying to push Hamilton back into the field. It was really a no win situation for the 2007 champion but at least his third position gave him third position in the championship ahead of Robert Kubica.
Sebastian Vettel finished in fourth position in the leading Toro Rosso pushing Massa before getting out of sequence slightly on the pit stops. His pass on Hamilton with two laps to go could have cost the British racer the championship, but it is a sign that he is willing to battle with anyone and in any situation.
Hamilton took the chequered flag in fifth position, less than a second behind Hamilton while Glock dropped five seconds to Hamilton from the final turn to the start finish straight. Heikki Kovalainen was never a factor in the race and could not be really with Hamilton so focused on fifth position. The Finn finished seventh in the second McLaren Mercedes.
Jarno Trulli started on the front row of the grid, but a half spin in the wet conditions dropped the Italian veteran down the order. The Toyota driver finished in eighth position but with Vettel fourth, drops one position in the championship standings.
Mark Webber finished his season with a ninth position but there was heartbreak for team-mate David Coulthard. Starting his final race, Nico Rosberg tipped the Scot into a spin and he then made contact with Kazuki Nakajima and was out of his final race within seconds of the start.
It was a poor race for BMW Sauber with Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica finishing 11th and 12th ahead of Jenson Button in the leading Honda. Sebastien Bourdais ran well early on but was forced off track by Trulli and dropped down to 14th position. The Frenchman would never recover further positions but finished ahead of Rubens Barrichello, Adrian Sutil, Kazuki Nakajima and Giancarlo Fisichella.
There can be many ‘what ifs’ up and down the pitlane as there were costly mistakes from teams and drivers alike over the 18 race schedule. Some say one driver deserves the title more than another but as out-going champion Kimi Raikkonen pointed out ahead of the race weekend; the most deserving champion is the one with the most points.
The season may now be over, but Formula One does not stop and the test teams will be in action later this month. For Hamilton, testing in readiness for the 2009 season is probably the last thing on his mind as he celebrates a well deserved championship success. Another season is over and congratulations to Lewis Hamilton who at the age of 23 years, nine months and 26 days becomes the youngest ever Formula One World Champion. Commiserations go to Massa who will be back stronger than ever next March in Melbourne...