The 2008 Formula 1 title fight between Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton is one of the most iconic and controversial in the sport’s history.
It was Hamilton who came out on top as he won his first world championship by just one point. The season went down to the final race of the season at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where the McLaren driver had a seven-point lead over Massa.
Hamilton started fourth, but struggled to make it through the field. As rain fell in the closing stages, Sebastian Vettel passed the Brit for fifth place, putting Massa in a position to win the title.
POS.DRIVERTEAMPTS.1Felipe MassaFerrari102Fernando AlonsoRenault83Kimi RäikkönenFerrari64Sebastian VettelSTR Ferrari55Lewis HamiltonMcLaren Mercedes46Timo GlockToyota37Heikki KovalainenMcLaren Mercedes28Jarno TrulliToyota12008 Brazilian Grand Prix results
The Ferrari driver crossed the line to win his home race and seemingly the championship. However, Hamilton passed Toyota driver Timo Glock, who had gambled on dry tyres, at the final corner of the last lap to claim the title by just one point, breaking Brazilian fans’ hearts.
Massa’s race engineer Rob Smedley cried uncontrollably after the 2008 Brazilian GP as the Ferrari driver lost his only shot of becoming a world champion. The season has since been shrouded in controversy in the wake of the Crashgate scandal.
Renault’s Nelson Piquet Jr was ordered to deliberately crash at the Singapore Grand Prix, which handed the win to teammate Fernando Alonso. The resulting safety car led to Ferrari making a mistake in the pits as Massa drove off with the fuel hose still attached, ultimately costing him the title.
Photo by Ker Robertson/Getty ImagesFelipe Massa told Timo Glock ‘you did your best’ after losing 2008 title to Lewis Hamilton
Massa has since sued the FIA over the result of the 2008 season, hoping to get the outcome overturned. However, ‘experts’ say Massa is unlikely to be successful.
Losing the title in that fashion, especially when it was out of his control, would have been incredibly hard to take. However, it was arguably even tougher for Glock.
Glock was bombarded by journalists after the Brazilian GP, as many questioned whether he had handed the position to Hamilton on purpose. Speaking with the Brit via Sky Sports back in 2022, he admitted that he was ‘scared’ to speak to Massa and it took him 10 years before he could face him.
The German shared the interaction he had with Massa when they finally met again: “I didn’t talk to him for 10 years about this. Because I was scared to go to him.
“And funnily enough, one year ago, he walks by and he waves to me and I was like: ‘Is he waving to me?’ And then we had first contact and was talking.”
The broadcast then showed the pair embracing as Massa says: “You did your best, it’s also nice to be here and give you a nice hug.”
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Photo by Darren Heath/Getty ImagesLewis Hamilton apologised to Timo Glock for not supporting him after 2008 title decider
At the time, Hamilton became the youngest F1 champion, until Vettel dethroned him by claiming the 2010 title with Red Bull.
The Brit struggled with unreliable machinery at McLaren for the next few years, until he eventually joined Mercedes in 2013. Meanwhile, Glock spent one more year with Toyota until they left the sport at the end of 2009, before joining backmarkers Virgin.
The German had to deal with relentless abuse in the aftermath of the 2008 race at Interlagos. Hamilton apologised to Glock for not being there to support him.
“I didn’t understand what was going on for you and your world, so I’m sorry,” he said. “I was very young, so I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to support you in that time. If that was today, I know that I could be there to support you. Anyways, you’ve dealt with it amazing.”