Nail-Biting Finish to Decide a Winner

It was literally down to the wire and the outcome of the year was in doubt until all competitors crossed the finish line but in the end it turned out that Lewis Hamilton had finished high enough in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos to become the world champion for Formula One racing. The margin of his victory? A single point. Yup. One point. Finishing the race overall in fifth place he managed to finish in the driver's standings one point ahead of second place driver Felipe Massa of Ferrari. I can only imagine the heartache that Massa must have felt after his tumultuous year to be that close to celebrating a championship and then hearing that you were defeated by the closest of margins.

With Hamilton's victory however comes the return to championship form that McLaren had been struggling to find since last winning the world championship back in 1999 with Mika Hakkinen. Since that time a veritable littany of drivers came through the paddock area and until Hamilton burst upon the scene last year, there were near misses and total disasters in terms of McLaren's standings with other teams. Last year seemed to be the year for Hamilton where he pushed eventual champion Kimi Raikkonen to the very limit though the margin was a bit wider when all was said and done last year. This year it was literally anyone's championship until almost the very end.

I can honestly say that though I'm a Ferrari fan I was torn last year between pulling for Raikkonen and pulling for Hamilton who as a rookie, would have made double history by being the youngest driver and first rookie (I believe) to win in his first year of driving in Formula One. Although the eventual triumph was delayed by a year, Hamilton still managed to become the youngest champion in history and though I was torn again, I know that the competition this year was fierce and Hamilton proved himself worthy of winning this year. Though I was also rooting for Massa, ill-luck and misfortune at a few races this year sealed his fate rather than giving him the wider gap he needed to win.

I think in a lot of ways this shows that some of the rules and changes that have been implemented in Formula One now make it a bit more exciting to watch as many complained that when Michael Schumacher and Ferrari began their winning ways in the late 90's and early 21st Century that things would go on that way for a long time. I think some of the rules that were implemented at the tail end of Schumacher's career ended up stifling him more than making the field an even playing field but now the fruits of those trial and error rule changes are in evidence. Now more than ever the rule changes have shown that the races are not just between cars but drivers as well and the best drivers do come out ahead.

I'm excited that since Michael Schumacher's last victory we've had at least three differenct champions come out on top at the end of the year and I like the fact that the results aren't known until the last race of the year. Though I used to enjoy watching Schumacher drive like the wind during his races, it was a bit disappointing to watch the final few races knowing that Schumacher already had the championship with about four races still remaining in the season. I'm sure the teams and drivers themselves don't want so close a year, but it makes things all the more exciting for us fans. Congratulations to Britain for a great champion in the form of Lewis Hamilton and here's to hoping for just an exciting a year next year. Only 143 days remaining until the 2009 season kicks off!