Race – Hamilton crowned World Champion!

Lewis Hamilton was crowned world champion of drivers during the last race of the 2008 Formula 1 season, in Interlagos, Brazil. Massa was momentarily world champion under the checkered flag before Hamilton secured a necessary 5th place for his title just before the finish line! The podium of this extraordinary last Grand Prix thus consisted of Massa, Alonso, and Räikkönen.

On its side, Ferrari with its two drivers on the podium confirms its place as the world constructors’ champion. It’s Scuderia Ferrari’s eighth title in the last 10 seasons.

Since this morning, the weather forecast predicted rain during the race: It finally arrived earlier than expected. Five minutes before the start of the Brazilian GP, torrential rain poured down on the Interlagos circuit. Tropical rains don’t last very long, but in 10 minutes, the track was flooded.

On the starting grid, there’s a frenzy, and all the teams are fitting rain tires. The start is even delayed by ten minutes.

At 3:10 PM, the weather improved, and the track began to dry: the race starts with a lot of water on the track, and Massa makes a perfect start. Trulli also gets off to a good start and maintains his second position after the second corner. Räikkönen is third. Hamilton starts without any problems, unlike his teammate Kovalainen, who gets overtaken by Vettel and Alonso.

Behind, the drivers clash in the Senna S, and Coulthard (Red Bull) is the first to pay the price… The Scottish driver, with 256 Grand Prix races under his belt, bows out in a grim way at the first corner. The special Wings for Life car and the test camera mounted on Coulthard’s helmet were not in the race for long.

Nelson Piquet Jr. (Renault) is the second driver to make a mistake. He seems to have been hit and spins out without his rear wing in turn No. 2. His first home race in F1 ends there, and perhaps his last race with the French team.

After these incidents, and with the track being very wet, the Safety Car makes its entrance. It will remain in play until the 4th lap. At the restart, Massa retains the lead ahead of Trulli and Räikkönen. Hamilton doesn’t take advantage and is caught by Vettel, currently in 5th place. Alonso also doesn’t take the slipstream at the start and battles with Kovalainen (7th). Bourdais follows in eighth place.

Over the next five laps, Räikkönen puts pressure on Trulli for the second position. Meanwhile, the track is drying very quickly with the intense Brazilian heat. On the 8th lap, Rosberg is the first to act as a guinea pig. He comes in and switches to dry tires on his Williams. He is notably followed by Bourdais and Sutil.

By the 11th lap, most of the drivers have switched to dry-track tires. Massa is still leading, with Vettel and Alonso just behind, having managed to overtake Räikkönen and Trulli during the pit stops. The two men are putting pressure on Massa, who is virtually the world champion with Hamilton in 7th place behind Fisichella.

Trulli has issues with his rear train and is making a lot of deviations. He loses 5 positions in two laps. Hamilton then moves up to 6th position, close to the title. On the 18th lap, he easily overtakes Fisichella’s Force India and is then virtually the world champion.

For nearly 50 laps, the positions remain unchanged. Nakajima spins but manages to return to the track just in time and in the right direction. Bourdais attempts an overtake on Fisichella. The Italian does not yield and the Toro Rosso driver loses some grip. He is then caught by Trulli, who overtakes him forcefully, sending him into the grass. Then in 8th place, the Frenchman drops to 13th position… still uncertain about his future in F1.

After the second wave of refueling, on an increasingly dry track, Vettel and Alonso are still behind Massa. Räikkönen is 4th and gaining on the leading drivers. Vettel will stop again on the 51st lap. He’s on a different strategy and then returns to the track behind Hamilton. The two men are 4th and 5th respectively.

At the same moment, the track darkens and rain threatens. Alonso’s engineers tell him that it should rain before the end of the Grand Prix… The positions are stable, but with 7 laps to go, the first drops of water start to fall! Turnaround?

Rosberg is once again the first to enter the pit, switching to rain tires. The rain is intensifying, but remains light. That’s enough to concern all the drivers, who all come in (with few exceptions) to change tires. The final laps are going to be intense…

Massa is still in the lead, ahead of Alonso who just manages to keep his place in front of Räikkönen as he exits the pit. Glock took advantage of not refueling to now occupy 4th position. However, he is on dry tires in the rain… Hamilton exits the pits ahead of Vettel, just as he entered. They are 5th and 6th, but the young German, winner in Italy, will not be satisfied with just three points…

He pushes and puts immense pressure on Hamilton, who makes a mistake. He goes wide on the third-to-last lap and allows Sebastian Vettel to pass. At that moment, Massa is the world champion amid the cheers of the supporters!

Vettel (Toro Rosso) is very good in the rain, Hamilton too. He’s pushing to catch up with the German, but there’s only one lap left. Backmarkers are being overtaken, but Hamilton doesn’t take advantage and can’t catch up with Vettel… At the last corner, things seem to be settled… Massa crosses the line in triumph and as the championship winner. The Ferrari pit explodes with joy, as do the supporters, except that…

Glock, then 4th in the last lap, is still on dry tires. He struggles in the final lap and loses 20 seconds to his rivals… Vettel and Hamilton catch up to him. They even manage to overtake him in the last corner of the final Grand Prix of the 2008 season! Hamilton crosses the finish line in 5th position! He is World Champion!

The Ferrari pit can’t believe it. Neither can the McLaren pit… Glock will finally finish 6th.

Kovalainen was transparent but scored points, as did Trulli, 8th, despite starting from the front row of the grid. Webber is 9th ahead of Heidfeld, who scores no points and loses his 5th place in the championship to Alonso, who finished second with his Renault.

Bourdais finishes 14th, behind Kubica, Rosberg, and Button. Barrichello is 15th. Sutil, Nakajima, and Fisichella share the last positions.

Under the podium, Massa parks his car in tears. Hamilton celebrates his title with his family. On the podium, the elements seem to rage, in contrast to Massa’s supporters, who are very supportive of the Brazilian, with their hands on their hearts.

It’s the first time since 1999 that the two titles, drivers’ and constructors’, do not go to the same team. And just like in 1999, McLaren wins the drivers’ title, and Ferrari the constructors’ title. At that time, it was Hakkinen who came out on top.

See you in March 2009 for the Australian Grand Prix, and the title defense by Lewis Hamilton; the youngest winner of a Formula 1 world championship.

Result of the Brazilian Grand Prix – November 2, 2008