World champion for 39 seconds, in front of his family.
At the finish line, Felipe Massa was still world champion. He had just won at Interlagos in front of the Brazilian crowd, and his family was celebrating in the Ferrari garage. But Lewis Hamilton was still out on track. In the final corners, one position stood between two very different outcomes: the title would stay with Massa or change hands.
The numbers before the start
Hamilton arrived at the season’s final race with 94 points. Massa had 87. The gap was seven, and a win was worth ten. To take the championship, though, the Brazilian also needed Hamilton to finish sixth or lower. Fifth place would be enough for the Englishman, even if Massa won at home.
Massa started from pole and held the lead through the first corner. Jarno Trulli, Kimi Räikkönen, Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen followed. Massa stayed in control as the race unfolded. On lap 54, his lead over second-place Fernando Alonso had grown to 9.6 seconds.
Hamilton, meanwhile, had to protect the position that would secure the title. Sebastian Vettel was closing fast. If the German got past, Hamilton would lose fifth place—and, at that moment, Massa would be champion.
Rain changes the picture
On lap 63, light rain returned. Many drivers pitted to change tyres. Hamilton did too. Timo Glock of Toyota stayed out on dry-weather tyres. The call lifted him from seventh to fourth, ahead of Vettel and Hamilton.
Vettel later passed Hamilton. The Englishman dropped to sixth, below the position he needed for the championship. Glock began the final lap in fourth, but the rain was getting heavier and his slick tyres were losing grip. He later said he had asked over the radio for wet-weather tyres. The team replied that the pit lane was blocked and there was no way to come in.
Hamilton was on intermediates, suited to the wet track. Glock was trying to make it to the finish on dry-weather tyres. Inside the Toyota, he kept repeating: “Just one more lap, just one more lap.” Galvão Bueno was calling the finish on Globo. Out front, Massa completed all 71 laps and crossed the line as winner of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
One place, one point
The Ferrari celebration seemed to signal a championship. Massa’s family leapt into each other’s arms in the garage. The Brazilian had taken the chequered flag, but Hamilton still had a chance to change the title outcome. In the final corners, he passed Glock and reclaimed fifth place.
The news reached Massa over the radio when he was already at Turn 3. He had crossed the line still in championship position; then he learned Hamilton had passed Glock. The Englishman won the world title by a single point. Massa won the race but lost the championship in the same instant.
Massa described what he felt as “completely mixed emotions.” He climbed onto the podium as the winner, alongside Alonso in second and Räikkönen in third. The Brazilian crowd celebrated the victory as the title celebrations came apart in the garage. It was Massa’s last of 11 Formula 1 wins: a finish that confirmed his triumph in the race, while the championship slipped away by one place and one point.
