Track Plans

Interlagos 2008

The 2008 Formula One Drivers' Championship didn't just come down to the last race, it was decided on the penultimate corner of the very last lap of the season at the Brazilian Grand Prix. After more than 3,000 miles of racing, the chamionship was finally decided in it's last kilometre.

One team were already prematurely celebrating as a change in positions further down the field brought them crashing down to earth, and one of the nicest men in Formula 1 had the bitterest of pills to swallow.

If the story of the 2008 season was a film, or a book, we'd all be saying that the ending was unrealistic. This was one of those times when truth was stranger than fiction.

Controversy

The 2008 season was one of many contrasts.

It was the year of the global financial crash, yet the world's most extravagently expensive sport carried on its world tour.

It was a year when Lewis Hamilton inexplicably crashed into the back of Räikkönen's parked Ferrari when he completely missed the pit lane red light, yet two races later put on a driving masterclass in the rain at Silverstone.

Similarly, Felipe Massa span no fewer than five times at the British GP and finished last, two laps adrift of Hamilton, whilst he was leading the World Championship, having already won three Grands Prix.

It was also a year of controversy. The Max Mosley sex scandal and alleged nazi role playing occupied pole position in the national press, and provided an unwelcome reminder of both his father, and his political leanings.

The rascist abuse aimed at Hamilton in pre-season testing at Barcelona cast a shadow over the start of the season, and this was compounded later by Bernie Ecclestone's dismissive attitude, which Hamilton and many others found unacceptable.

And though we didn't know at the time, there was also sporting controversy as Nelson Piquet Jr. was told to deliberately crash his car, to help his team mate Fernando Alonso. Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds were forced to resign from the Renault team, and the FIA banned Briatore indefinitely. The ban however was overturned in a French court who criticised Mosley, who they said "was well known to be in conflict with Briatore". The FIA were set to appeal, but an out of court settlement was reached.

The Season

Lewis Hamilton started the season in fine form taking pole position and a reasonably comfortable win at the first race, leading all but five laps of the Ausralian Grand Prix.

However, world champion Kimi Räikkönen and fellow Ferrari driver Felipe Massa fought back to take victory in the next four races, two apiece, to put Räikkönen seven points clear of Hamilton and Massa.

Another win for Massa, and Hamilton's superlative victory at the British GP meant all three of the main contenders reached the half way point of the season level on 48 points with Robert Kubica just a couple of points adrift.

A second successive victory for Hamilton, and then two wins in a row for Massa saw the two drivers establish a cushion over their rivals in the championship.

Hamilton's penalty in Spa, which handed Massa the win was controversial, with the 25 second penalty being applied some two hours after Hamilton had received the victor's trophy. But patchy results from both drivers over the next three races meant that neither established a convincing advantage over the other.

At the Singapore GP Nelson Piquet had his controversial crash to help Alonso win, and Felipe Massa dove away with the fuel hose still attached thanks to gremlins in the system at Ferrari.

Normal service was resumed in China with Lewis winning. But with Massa finishing second, Hamilton took just a slender seven point lead into the final race at Interlagos, Brazil.

Interlagos

Heading into the final race of the season, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton was leading the Drivers' Championship with 94 points, Ferrari driver Felipe Massa was second, seven points behind. Massa could still win the title if he won the race and Hamilton finished lower than fifth. In the event of a points tie, Massa would win the championship on a countback, having more wins.

Massa stormed to pole position in front of his home crowd. Hamilton qualified fourth, and it seemed a conservative approach was the McLaren strategy.

After qualifying Hamilton said. "We're in a good position to finish in the same place as we are today – and that's got to be our aim. We don't need to do anything spectacular."

On the day of the race conditions were damp, and rain, or possibly even thunderstorms were forecast. The rain duly arrived just before the start, and the race was delayed by ten minutes. At the start Massa maintained first place into turn one, and Hamilton held onto his fourth place grid slot.

As the track began to dry, the drivers filed into the pits to change tyres. A poor McLaren pit stop dropped Hamilton to seventh, but their was still a long way to go. Over the next seven laps Hamilton would pass Trulli and Fisichella to put him in that all important fifth position he needed to secure the championship.

After a second round of pit stops Massa extended his already comfortable lead over Alonso to nearly ten seconds. Vettel was closing in quickly on Hamilton for fourth place. Light rain began to fall on lap 63, and the drivers headed to the pits for intermediate tyres. All except Timo Glock that is, who gambled on managing his dry weather tyres.

Massa was still clear in the lead, Glock had moved up to fourth, and Hamilton was fifth and would win the title if he stayed there. But Vettel was barely half a second behind the Briton and nibbling at his heels.

On lap 69, just two laps before the finish, the rain began to fall more heavily. Hamilton ran wide on the last lap. Vettel pounced. Hamilton's title aspirations looked to be in tatters as he lost fifth place, and the points he needed.

Massa took the chequered flag in first place. The Ferrari garage celebrated, Felipe's father celebrated, and of course the home crowd celebrated. Massa had won the world championship. Or had he?

The End

Timo Glock in fourth place, was of course the only leading driver to stick with dry weather tyres as the late downpour begun. But as the rain came down, he was tiptoeing around the track.

Less than a kilometre from the finish Vettel and Hamilton swept past Glock. This put Vettel into fourth, and gave Hamilton the all important fifth place that would seal the championship for him.

As Ferrari watched on in disbelief, dismay and despair, it was Lewis Hamilton, and McLaren that celebrated winning the championship.

Felipe Massa won much praise for his sportsmanship and generosity in congratulating Hamilton, but one can only imagine what must have going through his mind. Joe Saward of GrandPrix.com said "He took defeat with a grace and a style that one rarely sees in modern sport."

Unfortunately for Felipe, the victory was his last for Ferrari, and his last in Formula One.