Hamilton Wins 2008 Championship on Final Lap

Lewis Hamilton benefitted from some good fortune to become the youngest ever Formula One World Champion after running an uncharacteristically conservative Brazilian Grand Prix. With Felipe Massa already over the line in first place and sitting at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, Hamilton scraped past Timo Glock – who was slowing due to difficult wet weather conditions – on the penultimate bend to retake fifth position at Interlagos and first place for the season. The last British Champion Damon Hill, commentating on the BBC, described the race as “the most exciting Formula One race I have ever seen”.

Much of the drama was prompted by difficult weather conditions. When drops of rain began to fall ten laps from the race’s conclusion, the pits saw a flurry of action as Kimi Raikkonen, Hamilton and Massa all changed to intermediate tyres. On Lap 69, just two from the end, Sebastian Vettel – punching above his car’s weight in the rain once again – took his Toro Rosso past Hamilton into fifth place, meaning that the Briton would have lost out on the Championship in Brazil for the second time in two seasons. However, Glock’s slower pace allowed Vettel and Hamilton to gain one more place each before the finish line, concluding the season dramatically, and leaving Massa to spray his winner’s champagne with less vigour than he might have expected moments earlier.

The BBC – which will take the reins of Britain’s live coverage from ITV next season – left it to Hamilton’s girlfriend and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger to sum up the emotional rollercoaster of the final minutes: “it was so tough late on. I almost did collapse in the garage. I couldn’t calm down, nor could Nicholas [Hamilton’s brother]. We just both kept screaming at each other.” Scherzinger attributed Hamilton’s victory to a source of power higher than even the weather: “I can only thank God for that moment when Lewis crossed the line as champion.” Hamilton’s father Anthony experienced similar emotions: “I believed in God. I believed that right would come through – now, where’s Timo? I want to give him a kiss.” It was unknown, however, what Massa had done to upset the Big Man, with championship victory mere seconds from his grasp.