2008 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2008 ) [ 3 ] was a Formula One motor race held on 2 November 2008 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace , Interlagos , in São Paulo , Brazil . It was the eighteenth and final race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship . Ferrari driver Felipe Massa won the 71-lap race from pole position ; this was the last of Massa's 11 Grand Prix wins. Fernando Alonso finished second in a Renault , and Massa's teammate Kimi Räikkönen ...

Hamilton received praise from many in the Formula One community, including former champions Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher . The McLaren driver also received official congratulations from Queen Elizabeth II and British prime minister Gordon Brown . Massa's win and Räikkönen's third place helped Ferrari win the Constructors' Championship . The Grand Prix was 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard 's final race; the Scot retired after 246 race starts.

The 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix was the 18th and final round of the 2008 Formula One World Championship and was held on 2 November 2008, at the 4.309 km (2.677 mi) Autódromo José Carlos Pace , [ 2 ] [ 4 ] in São Paulo , Brazil. [ 5 ] 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 with 87 points, seven points behind Hamilton. A maximum of ten points were available for the final ra...

In the Constructors' Championship , Ferrari were leading with 156 points and McLaren– Mercedes were second with 145 points, 11 points behind, with a maximum of 18 points available. If the two Ferrari drivers finished in the top six, the team would secure the Constructors' Championship, even if the McLaren drivers were to finish as the top two. [ 6 ] [ 8 ] Prior to this race, Hamilton was criticised by many pundits for not maintaining his composure at the Japanese Grand Prix . [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ]...

Alternatively Hamilton may suffer another one of his rushes of blood to the head and do something utterly unnecessary at Interlagos, just as he did in Japan eight days ago and in Brazil last year , and throw it all away ... Suddenly defending even a seven-point lead sounds a tall order. [ 12 ]

Former Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan created controversy when he said that "if Massa tries to take him out as he did in Japan in order to steal the title then Lewis has to be ready for it", [ 9 ] adding: "If he tries that on then Lewis has to turn his wheel into Massa to ensure he does not finish the race either – he has to take his wheel off." [ 9 ] Both Hamilton and Massa rejected the comments, with Massa saying: "Playing dirty has never been part of my game. I don't want anything to do ...

Massa clinched his sixth pole position for the season, and his third consecutive pole at Interlagos, with a time of 1:12.368. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Trulli, in his best qualifying performance of the season. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] Räikkönen qualified third, though he was happy with beginning the race on the racing line behind his teammate. [ 21 ] Hamilton qualified fourth, half a second behind Massa, having battled both Ferrari drivers for time during the first two qualifying sessio...

Massa retained his pole position lead into the first corner, followed by Trulli, Räikkönen, Hamilton and Kovalainen. Coulthard was hit from behind by Nico Rosberg into turn two, spinning him around. The Red Bull car then collided with Rosberg's Williams teammate Kazuki Nakajima . This damaged the suspension and forced Coulthard to retire in his final race. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] Piquet spun off at the next corner, his car hitting the barriers. Kovalainen was passed by Alonso and Vettel mid-lap, dr...

Nakajima spun on lap 13, losing five seconds on the lap. [ 26 ] On lap 15, Massa set a new fastest lap of 1:16.888, and extended his lead over Vettel. [ 26 ] Hamilton remained behind Fisichella, and though his McLaren car appeared quicker, he was unable to pass the Force India driver until lap 18. [ 26 ] Glock passed Fisichella two laps later. Trulli and Bourdais collided on lap 20 into turn one, sending the Toro Rosso driver across the grass. Bourdais lost six places and rejoined in 13th place....

ALLEN: [Massa] has done everything he needed to do and we wait now to find out who will be the World Champion of 2008. Can Hamilton do anything? Can he run it up the inside of Vettel? Only a few corners to go now, and desperation starts to creep into Lewis Hamilton. BRUNDLE: Räikkönen's third and... is that Glock? Is that Glock going slowly? ALLEN: It is!

BRUNDLE: That's Glock! ALLEN: 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.

Light rain began to fall on lap 63. [ 29 ] Heidfeld made a pit stop and his BMW pit crew changed his tyres to intermediates, echoing their strategy at the Belgian Grand Prix which had granted the German a podium position. Kovalainen made a pit stop on lap 65; Alonso and Räikkönen made a pit stop a lap later. Hamilton and Vettel halted their battle for fourth position when they came into the pit lane to change onto intermediate tyres on lap 66. [ 26 ] [ 35 ] Glock chose to remain on his dry-weath...

The rain began to fall heavily on lap 69 and Hamilton ran wide, which allowed Vettel to take fifth position. As Massa crossed the finish line to win the race, Hamilton battled Vettel for the crucial point needed to win the championship. [ 26 ] [ 40 ] Hamilton did not know of his position upon beginning the final lap and was told over the radio to overtake Glock during the fifth-place battle. [ 41 ] Vettel and Hamilton passed Glock in the final corners, the Toyota driver struggling for grip as hi...

The top three finishers appeared on the podium and in the subsequent press conference . [ 7 ] Massa said that he had "almost done everything perfectly", and expressed his disappointment that despite winning the race he had not won the championship. [ 44 ] He gave his congratulations to Hamilton for his title win, commenting:

We need to congratulate Lewis because he did a great championship and he scored more points than us, so he deserves to be champion. I know how to lose and I know how to win and as I said before it is another day of my life from which I am going to learn a lot. [ 44 ]

Massa's Ferrari teammate Kimi Räikkönen expressed disappointment in the outcome of the Drivers' Championship, but acknowledged the support of his team, saying "we won at least the team championship". [ 44 ] Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo was reportedly so angry with the result, however, that he destroyed the television he was viewing the race on. [ 45 ] McLaren boss Ron Dennis praised Hamilton, saying: "He just keeps delivering and, at the end of the day, he's just two years into his care...

Hamilton received official congratulations from Queen Elizabeth II , following similar plaudits from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown and the Leader of the Opposition David Cameron . [ 47 ] Former Formula One champions also congratulated Hamilton. 1996 champion Damon Hill called the McLaren driver "one of the greatest drivers we have had in this country", [ 48 ] and multiple champion Michael Schumacher praised both Hamilton and Massa, saying the Ferrari driver's performance ...

Eddie Jordan said that Hamilton "didn't really give himself the best chance of winning the championship – and was very lucky". [ 53 ] The former team boss called McLaren's strategy "a disaster". [ 53 ] GrandPrix.com expressed disbelief in the outcome: "It was a showdown so improbable that even Hollywood would not have made a film of it. The scriptwriters would have been laughed out of the studios." [ 54 ] Autosport magazine writer Adam Cooper called the race "epic". [ 55 ] After considering othe...

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