Lewis Hamilton and the F1 world title win that will arguably never be topped

Lewis Hamilton winning world championships in Formula 1 has become a commonplace occurence since 2014. The start of the turbo-hybrid engine era coincided with the beginning of Mercedes dominance; as such, the team have won all seven world championships since, with Hamilton winning six of them.

However, it is hard to argue against the fact that till now, Hamilton’s most memorable title win came in 2008. Only in his second year in the sport, Hamilton came agonisingly close to becoming the first rookie to win the title in 2007.

He very nearly lost it in the final race of the 2008 season too. But a dramatic race in Brazil saw him pip hometown hero Felipe Massa to the title by one point.

There was a hint of irony here too; Hamilton and McLaren lost the 2007 title by one point to Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen. This time around, the shoe was on the other foot for the Scuderia.

Amazingly, it has been 13 years since the race took place that changed everything for Lewis Hamilton. Let us revisit a race that, as far as drama goes, will be hard to top.

The background

Coming into the Brazilian GP in 2008, Hamilton had a seven-point lead over Massa. This meant that he needed a fifth-place finish – which guaranteed four points – to secure the title.

And if the two finished level on points, Massa would win the title on countback having won more races in the season. Like in 2007, the title was Hamilton’s to lose.

However, Hamilton was stung by last season’s slip-up and determined not to throw away his advantage again. Massa, for his part, knew he could bank on a strong home support and a car that could challenge for the win.

To the surprise of no one, Massa took pole on Saturday’s qualifying session. He would start the race ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Renault and teammate Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton, on a different fuel strategy, was fourth.

Nevertheless, he was in a good position to claim the required finish. “Tomorrow, I will be focusing on my own race; it will be a tough afternoon but I’m comfortable with the fuel strategy we chose.

The guys in front are probably on a different strategy. But 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.”

Rain plays spoilsport late in the race

Before the race could begin, however, there was rain that left the track slightly wet. Almost all drivers took the chance to change from dry to intermediate tyres.

However, the start was chaotic. The front of the field remained untouched, but David Coulthard – in his final ever F1 race – was hit by both Williams drivers Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima. He was forced to retire on what was his swansong from the sport. Nelson Piquet Jr. also spun and crashed out.

This brought out the safety car, but the track had begun to dry out. By the time the safety car entered the pits, most other drivers followed suit and changed to dry tyres.

Crucially for Hamilton, however, the front positions remained largely unaffected. Even after the first round of pit stops, the order remained unchanged; Hamilton remained in fourth and in position to claim the title.

However, everything changed when light rain began to fall in the latter stages of the race. Nick Heidfeld was the first driver to pit and change back to intermediates, with others eventually following suit.

Crucially, the only driver in the points who did not pit was Toyota’s Timo Glock. Keep this part in mind; it is very important later on.

Hamilton pitted and emerged fifth thanks to Glock gaining positions as he stayed out. However, to make things worse, the Brit was now being pressured by the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Vettel.

On Lap 69, which was two laps until the end, Hamilton ran wide and Vettel took the place. Suddenly, the title was slipping away from Hamilton yet again.

Lewis Hamilton leaves it late – but is world champion at last

With two laps remaining, Hamilton jockeyed for position with Vettel but was unsuccessful. On the final lap, Massa crossed the finish line and won the race – and, at that point, the championship.

Alonso and Raikkonen crossed the line in second and third, but the rest of the points contenders were more than a few seconds behind. In the Ferrari pit area, celebrations had already begun – both among Massa’s family and the pit crew.

At the McLaren pit wall, the dejection was obvious. Once again the team had taken the title to the final race – and once again they had lost. Or so it seemed.

Glock, who as we noted was still on dry tyres but in fourth place, was struggling for grip and lost a lot of time on the final lap. This allowed both Vettel and Hamilton to pass him, meaning Vettel was fourth and Hamilton was fifth.

The moment was so dramatic that even F1 commentators James Allen and Martin Brundle lost their collective minds on air. Brundle screamed, “Is that Glock? Is that Glock going slowly? It is! That’s Glock!”

Allen would sum it up right after, unable to contain his own excitement. “Oh my goodness me, Hamilton’s back in position again! A hundred thousand local hearts sink in the grandstand.

“It’s handed the place back to Hamilton. He comes through, and if I’m absolutely right, I’m sure, he’s going to claim fifth place, which is all he needs to do to become the 2008 Formula One World Champion.”

The celebrations in Ferrari’s pit wall stopped, and the McLaren team’s pit wall could scarcely believe their luck. Lewis Hamilton was a world champion – and it was fitting payback for last year.

The aftermath

Massa, to his credit, was extremely gracious in defeat. The image of him still in tears while on the podium, soaking in the adulation of fans while thumping the Ferrari logo on his chest, was iconic in its own way.

Sadly for him, it was his last-ever race win. And he never came close to winning a world title ever again in his remaining years in the sport.

For Lewis Hamilton, it was just reward for the heartbreak of 2007. However, he would have to wait another 6 years before he added to his list of world championships. And that too with a different team.

Till date, this remains the last world title McLaren have won in the sport. But what a title win it was.