Lewis Hamilton shocked us all at the weekend. Most people believed that they were going to be viewing either a ‘red mist’ moment or a boring, comfortable (albeit a lot more relaxing) cashing-in for the driver in Brazil. However, neither of these options occurred.

Ferrari absolutely dominated at Interlagos. Massa and Raikkonen qualified first and third respectively. Trulli qualified second, increasing the tension of the race as a result of rumours about the driver making a deal with Ferrari to help Massa win. In the end, however, he proved to be no real threat. Hamilton qualified in a respectable fourth position on the grid, with his team mate conveniently qualifying in fifth.

At the start of the race it seemed like Hamilton’s sights were set not on the win (he had no realistic chance of touching the Ferraris), but on maintaining fourth place or at the very least securing fifth place. The first challenge came right at the start. Hamilton was surrounded by enemies (Massa, Raikkonen, Trulli, and Alonso) and it looked likely that mischief was about to occur on the track.

However, just moments before the race began, the heavens opened. Heavy rain fell on the track for about ten minutes and this helped to relieve the tension as the drivers were forced to worry about tyres and general wet setup. Hamilton's rivals no longer had the opportunity to think about how to squeeze him off the track.

The Start

The start was delayed and rain was falling heavily from the sky until the last moments before the race began. The start was therefore a cautious one. Grid formation was maintained going into the first corner, with Kovaleinen doing well to support Hamilton. Unfortunately, David Coulthard became a victim of a Williams sandwich on the first corner and this effectively ended his race 71 laps early. Piquet also crashed out on the first lap and the safety car was needed to clear up the wreckage.

The second major challenge, which proved to be important in contributing towards Hamilton’s victory, came in the form of movements from Vettel, who jumped from seventh to fifth, whilst Alonso displaced Kovaleinen.

By the eleventh lap, all the front-runners had pitted in order to change their tyres to suit the dry track. This ended Trulli’s chances of getting on the podium, whilst Alonso managed to move further in front, taking advantage of pitting earlier than his rivals.

The Middle Stint

Hamilton spent the middle part of the race moving between fifth and fourth. He was clearly doing his best to fight off a relentless Vettel in order to defend fourth place but the McLaren seemed to be lacking pace (apparently due to a lack of downforce). If Vettel had taken fourth place, the best Hamilton could have hoped for would be for the final fifteen laps to be free of any major incidents.

However, much to the glee of the Formula One broadcasters, fifteen laps from the end it was announced that more rain was about to fall. With just nine laps to go, the promised rain started to fall from the sky. Another judgement call was therefore needed: pit for wets or stick? Although the rain was not too heavy, the teams were not willing to risk a major downpour on slicks (most drivers, with the obvious exception of Timo Glock, opted for wets).

This was nothing short of a disaster for Hamilton. Glock managed to move into fourth place and Vettel looked ready to pounce to take fifth. Unfortunately, this did occur with just three laps of the race left. Hamilton’s chances of winning the world championship now rested purely on the rain. It needed to become heavier in order to wipe out Timo Glock.

Last Lap Lewis

In all the Grand Prix races I have watched, I have never seen the important battles being decided after the chequered flag has been waved. Interlagos, I assumed, would be no exception, and in those closing moments it looked so unlikely that anything would change.

Massa had already crossed the line. His family could be seen celebrating in the pit and Vettel was running away with Hamilton’s championship. Then, during the last few seconds, Hamilton came across a struggling Glock, who had lost pace coming up the final hill in the increasingly heavy rain.

This was the third to last corner of the race and it was extremely wet but Hamilton had nothing to lose. He overtook Glock without making a fuss and turned a situation where he was about to lose everything into a moment of true triumph. This moment brought him the finest accolade of his career: his first world championship title.

Formula One is known at times for its processional racing style but that was not the case here. Incredibly, it all came down to the last lap. The entire championship was decided on just a few corners.

The whole world watched as the prematurely celebrating Ferrari team was stopped in its tracks as they heard the news that Hamilton had passed Glock in the final stages of the race. The dumbfounded looks on their faces will stay with me forever.

The Final Result

The final point scorers were, in order: Massa, Alonso, Raikonnen, Vettel, Hamilton, Glock, Kovaleinen and Trulli. The championship therefore finished with only a single point deciding the winner. The order is as follows: Hamilton (98pts), Massa (97pts), Raikkonen (75pts), Kubica (75pts), Alonso (61pts).

Kovaleinen wasn’t a strong enough or lucky enough contender to secure the constructor’s title for McLaren, who came second to Ferrari by a margin of 21 points. They were followed by BMW Sauber in third, Renault in fourth, and Toyota in fifth.

Although in many ways it was a cruel end to Massa’s season, when viewed in the light of all the controversies of 2008 (namely the intervention of the stewards' decisions), it seemed only fair that Hamilton took the championship.

He is now the youngest driver ever to win the Formula One world championship and is the first McLaren winner since 1999. He is also the first British title-holder since Damon Hill in 1996.

Well done Lewis! Better luck next time, Filipe.

Now go out and do it again, please.