Yesterday in Sao Paolo Lewis Hamilton took the Championship that seemed to be his destiny ever since his first days as a McLaren protege. It was a race as thrilling as any I have ever seen, with a finale so unbelievable I had to second guess myself this morning when I thought about what happened. Hamilton, on Massa's home turf, grabbed the biggest prize in motorsport on his second try, and by the skin of his teeth.
If anything his season this year was less impressive from a driving standpoint than last, but nevertheless Lewis remains a deserving champion. If Hamilton is anything like Fernando Alonso, this championship early in his career will only make him stronger, which is terrible news for the opposition. McLaren will no doubt make good use of the momentum they've generated and should have a strong 2009 with the number 1 on their golden boy's nosecone.
Felipe Massa, meanwhile, seems to be the antithesis of Hamilton. While Hamilton's budding career has been guided along the fast road to success, Massa's has been all about proving the skeptics wrong. They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and Felipe has been battling this ever since his wild first year with Sauber. This year, Massa finally showed the world how good he is. There were tough spots along the road, but his sheer determination and forward thinking attitude brought him a World Championship for 30 seconds yesterday, until Timo Glock succumbed to wet roads in the final 300 meters of track and shifted a point back to Lewis Hamilton.
It was heart wrenching stuff. TV cameras showed the Ferrari and Massa family celebrating like mad when it seemed they'd actually done the unthinkable and stolen another Championship from McLaren at season's end. It was the storybook ending for the crowd hero, but it wasn't to be. Massa's father looked crushed as Glock slid wide in the final turn of the final race and you can only imagine how Massa must have felt. He had done everything he possibly could this season, won the most races, come back from the face of overwhelming doubt and skepticism, and overcome a World Champion teammate in the same car. When Felipe climbed from his Ferrari, winner of the battle but not the war, we saw the courage of a lion. It was some of the most emotional stuff I've ever seen in sport. On the podium and in the press conference Massa was gracious in defeat just as he is in victory.
The history books will show Lewis Hamilton as this year's World Champion, but for those of us watching this incredible season finale from Brazil, it was clear that the local boy had stolen our hearts.
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