Massa Wins Race, Hamilton Wins F1 Championship

It’s been an exciting F1 season right up until the last moment. Lewis Hamilton has been an incredibly strong contender for the Championship title, but during Sunday’s race it truly seemed as if his goal might slip through his fingers yet again.

In the end it was Ferrari driver Felipe Massa who won the race. The F1 race took place in front of his home crowd so you can imagine the cheers as Massa crossed the finish line in first place. Despite great driving and a first-place finish, Massa didn’t win the Formula One Championship and so it was young Hamilton that received all the praise and glory after the race.

In the beginning it didn’t seem as if Hamilton would be able to claim the championship victory. Despite going into the race with a seven point lead, he ended up struggling to place in the top three behind Toyota driver Timo Glock. In fact, he was stuck as far back as sixth place. Glock was driving on dry tires and it seems that that made life really hard for him when the rain hit. Glock commented: “It was just impossible on the last lap. I was fighting as hard as I could but it was so difficult to just keep the car on the track and I lost positions right at the end of the lap.” It was his difficulties which ultimately worked out in Hamilton’s favor. With driving rain making Glock’s race harder and harder, Hamilton was able to make his move and overtake on the final lap to finish fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix. It was all he needed to make sure that the hard-earned points he’d accumulated earlier in the year would help him to win the Formula One Championship Title.

Last year he lost the championship by just one point. This year, he won it by one point. After the race, an ecstatic Hamilton commented: “I am speechless. It’s been a long journey in which I had the support of many people. My team did a fantastic job during the entire year and we sacrificed ourselves a lot. I am happy for having achieved this for all of us.” The victory has made Lewis Hamilton the first British driver to win the championship since Damon Hill in 1996. Hamilton has also set a new record for being the youngest champion, the 23-year old McLaren driver beating Fernando Alonso’s record of 24 years of age with Renault in 2005.