Felipe Massa of Brazil was World Champion for 30 seconds in the 2008 F1 season but his chances were dealt a cruel blow on the final corner by Lewis Hamilton.
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Imagine you are a world champion when you cross the finish line. The celebrations are about to reach a crescendo. Years and years of trying at the highest level of Formula One are about to be realized. The icing on the cake – It would be in front of delirious home fans. But, then, what if all this is a nightmare? Suddenly, things change behind you. Your nearest rival has overtaken someone in the last corner and he is suddenly crowned world champion. The dream is shattered in the most heart-breaking circumstances.
One might say that this is the perfect script for a Hollywood movie. An action-packed film punctuated with twists and turns at every interval. However, this was a real-life incident. It was the final race of the season in Interlagos, Brazil between Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton. Massa was one of the competent and experienced drivers in the F1 circuit. Hamilton was one of the rookies who was making a big splash. It all culminated in one epic encounter and one epic heartbreak for Massa in front of his fans
The 2008 F1 season was action-packed in many ways. The drivers were competent and every race had incidents. Lewis Hamilton was already a shining star. Kimi Raikkonen had won the 2007 F1 Championship while Fernando Alonso was aiming for a third title. Felipe Massa was putting in steady performances.
? CHEQUERED FLAG ?
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 2, 2018
Felipe Massa takes a phenomenal second home victory…
But it's just not quite enough to take the title
A huge round of applause for the worthy vice-champion of 2008 ?#Brazil08Flashback ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/OxtPgm5Zm7
The first five races were shared between Raikkonen, Massa and Hamilton. The British driver won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Raikkonen won in Malaysia and Spain while Massa registered victories in Bahrain and Turkey. Hamilton finally found his mojo by winning in Britain and Germany. Massa’s win in France was upstaged by Hamilton winning in Monaco. When Robert Kubica won in Canada, the Championship was heading towards a close finish.
At the halfway stage, Massa pulled things back with victories in the European Grand Prix and Belgium Grand Prix. The Singapore Grand Prix saw a massive controversy and couple of incidents. Massa was plagued with a fuel-rig issue and he ended up last. However, the race would be remembered for the ‘Crashgate Scandal’. In this, Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed to allow Fernando Alonso the win. When Hamilton won in China, the gap between him and Massa heading into the final race in Brazil was seven points.
The equation was simple for Massa. He had to win and ensure Hamilton finished below fifth. At that time, a win garnered 10 points while a fifth place finish would give a driver four points. At that time, the classification of drivers who would get a point was till eighth.
Massa secured a pole position in Interlagos for the third time. Hamilton qualified in fourth. The race was delayed by heavy rain and when it resumed, it was under damp conditions. Massa registered fastest laps while Hamilton stuck behind Giancarlo Fisichella. The pit-stops and the changing conditions saw drivers pit.
Most of the front-runners were on intermediates while Timo Glock, driving the Toyota was on dry weather tyres. Hamilton and Vettel halted their battle for fourth position when they came into the pit lane to change onto intermediate tyres on lap 66. Glock chose to remain on his dry-weather tyres and rose from seventh to fourth place as those ahead of him made pit stops. Massa made a pit stop on lap 67, meaning that all of the frontrunners, with the exception of Glock, were now on intermediate tyres. The rain began to fall heavily on lap 69.
There was a massive moment when Hamilton ran wide and he went to sixth position. Sebastian Vettel took fifth position and it seemed Hamilton would be denied. Massa crossed the finish line and he began to dream of a maiden championship win. Hamilton was still struggling to pass Vettel and Glock.
However, when the final straight path approached, Glock ran wide. Vettel and Hamilton passed Glock. Vettel finished in fourth while Hamilton ended in fifth. Both Ferrari and Mercedes camps celebrated.
The news came out later. Massa was denied the chance to win a championship by one point. Hamilton became Formula One’s youngest championship winner until Vettel in 2010. He also became the first black driver to win the Formula One world championship.
The disappointment was palpable for Massa. In the post-race, he said that ‘he had done almost everything perfectly’. Massa said that Hamilton needed to be congratulated.
In the following years, Massa struggled to replicate the feats and he had a poor time with Williams. When he retired, it was a very emotional moment in the history of F1. Perhaps, Massa’s life can be judged by what he said in the aftermath of losing the F1 title. “I know how to lose and I know how to win. I said before it is another day of my life from which I am going to learn a lot.” Felipe Massa was a true legend in F1. It is a shame he never won any championship titles.
