Lewis Hamilton makes history by becoming the youngest Formula One champion, a feat set by former teammate Fernando Alonso in 2005. Like last season the champion was decided at the final grand prix by one point. Hamilton came into Interlagos with a seven point lead over Felipe Massa and would need to finish no lower than fifth to secure the title.

“The most dramatic race of my whole life,” said the 2008 championship winner. “It’s pretty much impossible to put this into words: I’m still speechless. It’s been such a long journey, but I’ve always had the support of my family, the team, our partners and the fans.”

Massa qualified at pole position and took another win at his home grand prix in Brazil. Fernando Alonso climbed from sixth on the grid and finished second. Kimi Raikkonen for the third consecutive race snatched the final podium position. Championship winner Hamilton placed fifth in the order giving him the much needed four points to inch ahead of his only competitor Massa.

Massa’s lead was never threatened throughout the race despite hints of rain showers in separate stages of the 71-lap circuit. Hamilton had perhaps the most dramatic moment in his life with just two laps to go. The Brit, running fourth, ran wide on a corner while Sebastian Vettel seized the opportunity by claiming fourth. Hamilton struggling to get back on pace was fortunate enough to pass Timo Glock’s Toyota who had also gained a position from Hamilton’s mistake.

“Sebastian got past me and I was told that I had to get back in front of him,” explained Hamilton. “I couldn’t believe it. Then at the very last corner I managed to get past Timo – it was just amazing. This was one of the toughest races of my life, if not the toughest. I was shouting, ‘Do I have it? Do I have it?’ on the radio. It was only when I took the checkered flag and got to turn one that the team told me I was world champion. I was ecstatic.”

Former championship winner Fernando Alonso closed a season that was plagued with an underachieving package early on; ultimately placing fifth in the standings edging out BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld. Again a smart strategy had Alonso go early into the pits at lap ten opting for dry tires; soon the rest of the field would follow. This move helped propel Alonso into third and after his second stop he was able to bring home the second position. Renault’s number two driver Nelson Piquet Jr. had an unfortunate crash during the first lap and immediately had to retire. Piquet’s season was dismal to say the least having only scored in five races this season, he was nowhere to be seen near Alonso in the majority of the races.

“I am very happy with this second place. The conditions were difficult but we were able to take advantage of them. We did our maximum, the team made the right decisions at the right times, and I managed to keep Raikkonen behind me until the finish. It’s a fantastic result for the team and a great way to end the season,” said Alonso.

Kimi Raikkonen displayed a solid effort once again after going through a dry spell just two races ago. He obeyed his role as the second driver and maintained a good gap from Massa and Hamilton.

Sebastian Vettel ended his season on a high note by placing fourth, helping Toro Rosso beat its sister team Red Bull Racing. Since the Valencia grand prix Vettel was awarded points in all but one race, including a win at the historic Monza circuit. His teammate Sebastien Bourdais was not so fortunate and finished 14th on a three stop strategy.

“It was hard to know who was a backmarker or not and as it got darker and darker it was even difficult to know who the cars in front of you were. The important thing is that I scored five points. It’s been a fantastic season,” stated Vettel.

Timo Glock made the best of a season that saw his Toyota team beat out by Renault for fourth in the constructor’s title. His two stop strategy was good enough to place him in sixth. Jarno Trulli was able to score the final points paying position at eighth.

“Overall it is good to finish a positive season for us with a double points finish. We are happy with the progress we have made but our ambitions are higher than this and we want to make more progress. Now we can head into the winter with confidence that we can take another step in 2009,” said Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina.

Hamilton’s teammate Heikki Kovalainen finished inside the points as well at seventh. A total of six points by both drivers was not enough the sixteen amassed by Ferrari, giving the Marenello squad the constructor’s championship.

Mark Webber came in at ninth just one spot away from the final points spot. David Coulthard’s last race was not the way he’d imagined to leave the sport. At the second turn on the first lap Coulthard was hit from behind causing him to spin, almost at a successful recovery he was then hit by Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima, forcing the Scot to end his career in a disappointing fashion.

“I’m pretty gutted, it’s not how I wanted to end my career,” said Coulthard. “I can’t complain though, I’ve had a good career, so thank you to everyone who has supported me. Thank you also to the efforts of every member of the Red Bull Racing team for the last four years, which have been a lot of fun, I look forward to continuing to work with them in the future. I’ve been overwhelmed by the level of support I’ve had from the paddock this weekend, it means a great deal to me that so many people have taken the time to say ‘nice career and good luck with the future’. And, in the absence of a World Championship, I think if I can leave with that, then that’s a good ending.”

BMW Sauber was the only team to score points in every grand prix up until this point. Both the drivers were unable to work their magic and finish in a points position. Nick Heidfeld finished 10th after experiencing various reliability issues in his Sauber. Robert Kubica, who finished 11th, was the victim of a poor tire choice and was forced behind backmarker Adrien Sutil of Force India during the initial stages.

“For our team this was an end of season to forget. With Robert we gambled at the start with dry tyres, but the track was too wet. Therefore he pitted immediately for a tyre change, and after this found himself at the end of the field. From here there was nothing he could do. Nick lost position right after the start. Even pitting earlier than others at the end of the race did not change the situation. Nevertheless it was a very successful season for our team, and this race doesn’t change this,” explained technical director Willy Rampf.

Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima ended the completely opposite of how they kick started the season. After Williams was able to put Rosberg in at third and Nakajima at sixth at the first race of the season, the team was never quite able to stay put on their feet. Rosberg ended the race at 12th and Nakajima at 17th.

“Both drivers had decent starts and Nico gained several positions around the outside at Turn 1. Unfortunately, Kazuki was hit from the side and then spun but luckily the damage was not terminal,” said technical director Sam Michael. “Although we have had some strong races this year and a couple of podium finishes, development of the FW30 was not enough to remain competitive. Reliability was again solid, with only one mechanical DNF in 36 starts,” added Michael.

Honda still unable to make any ground from last season ended their season by only scoring a team total of 14 points. Jenson Button in a rare occasion finished ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello at 13th. Barrichello ended his race at 15th. The team must now forget and improve for the upcoming year. “Today we close the book on a difficult season for our team and look forward to concentrating all our efforts on 2009,” said Team Principal Ross Brawn.

Force India’s season was that of all trials and many errors, despite scoring any points this season the team was able to take some solace in shaving off valuable time from their pace. Adrian Sutil completed the race at 16th with teammate Giancarlo Fisichella at 18th. Bringing home both cars across the checkered flag is an achievement the team hopes to gain every race. Through more tests during the off season, the team should be on the score sheet in 2009.

“It would have been a dream result for us to get points in our last race of the year and for some time it looked like that dream would come true. Unfortunately it just did not go our way, but we showed we could make the calls and race competitively. I would like to thank my team, my drivers and all our valued sponsors for sticking with it, not losing faith and pushing right until the very end. We know things can only get better now,” explained an optimistic Vijay Mallya.

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