Monday, 03 November 2008 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Sport

Lewis Hamilton last night became F1's youngest ever champion in a breath-taking end to the F1 season. The 23 year old clinched the title on the second-to-last corner of the final lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo.

Hamilton had been forced to change to wet-weather tires by a rain shower on lap 67 of 71 and this gave Sebastian Vettel the opportunity to overtake him a few laps later on lap 70. Hamilton then entered the last lap of the race in sixth place with his championship hopes seemingly lost. Then on the second to last corner of the race Hamilton powered past Timo Glock who had remained out on dry weather tyres and was unable to hold on to his fifth place.

"Amazing, I can't even get my breath back," said the astonished Hamilton. Asked what his feelings were on crossing the line, Hamilton replied: "I thought ‘do I have it?'. They [the McLaren team] told me I did and I was ecstatic. I must thank God."

Going into the final race of the F1 season Hamilton had a seven point lead over Brazilian Felipe Massa and only needed a fifth-place finish to win the championship, while Massa needed a first or second-placed finish. This mirrored the situation 12 months ago when Hamilton lost a seven point lead and the championship to Kimi Raikkonen, also in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Massa was celebrating his championship victory as he crossed the line in first place only then to be told that Hamilton had snatched it from him.

 

The final standings:

Drivers

1. Lewis Hamilton - 98 (Gbr) McLaren
2. Felipe Massa - 97 (Bra) Ferrari
3. Kimi Raikkonen - 75 (Fin) Ferrari
4. Robert Kubica - 75 (Pol) BMW Sauber
5. Fernando Alonso - 61 (Spa) Renault
6. Nick Heidfeld - 60 (Ger) BMW Sauber
7. Heikki Kovalainen - 53 (Fin) McLaren
8. Sebastian Vettel - 35 (Ger) Scuderia Toro Rosso
9. Jarno Trulli - 31 (Ita) Toyota
10. Timo Glock - 25 (Ger) Toyota

Constructors

1. Ferrari - 172
2. McLaren - 151
3. BMW Sauber - 135
4. Renault - 80
5. Toyota - 56
6. Scuderia Toro Rosso - 39
7. Red Bull - 29
8. Williams - 26
9. Honda - 14