Race day arrives in Brazil and Lewis Hamilton is poised to become the first driver to win the world title in his first season
The McLaren driver, who is also in line to be the youngest driver to win the world title, starts from second on the grid
Team-mate Fernando Alonso is chasing a third consecutive title, but the Spaniard is two places further back on the grid
Ferrari's Felipe Massa sits on pole, while team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who can also win the title, is third
Meanwhile, Germany's Ralf Schumacher is given a farewell present from his Toyota team ahead of his final race for them
A dramatic start sees Raikkonen overtake Hamilton going into the first corner, but Massa retains the lead
However, all the action is happening behind where Alonso pressures Hamilton and has the better line for turn three
And the Spaniard goes through, but Hamilton unnecessarily tries to re-take at corner four, runs wide and drops to eighth
On lap three Spyker's Sakon Yamamoto spectacularly wipes out Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella
Hamilton suffers further problems on lap eight when he struggles to find his gears and drops back to 18th place
Massa and Raikkonen go away at the front while Hamilton scythes his way through the field to take 10th on lap 33
But the British driver's day takes another turn for the worse when Raikkonen takes the lead after a pitstop on lap 53
If Raikkonen wins the race, Hamilton must finish at least fifth to stop the Finnish driver from taking his first world title
And the Ferrari driver does take the chequered flag but he faces an anxious wait to find out if he has done enough
Alonso can snatch the title if he finishes second, but the Spaniard comes home over a minute adrift in third
And Hamilton can only finish seventh, meaning Raikkonen wins the title by one point from the British driver
It is a sixth victory of the season for the 28-year-old who wastes no time in starting the celebrations
And it is a fitting climax to a remarkable season as only one point separates Raikkonen, Hamilton and Alonso at the end
|
Bookmark with:
What are these?