The Brazilian GP was almost a microcosm of the championship this year; fate played games, suggesting first one result, then another, with everything being decided at the last corner of the last lap. All good for the show, of course, which merely makes me wonder if Max and Bernie were somewhere behind the scenes, pulling the strings. I cannot escape the fact that, without the dubious penalties handed to Hamilton through the year, everything would have been decided long before the circus came to Interlagos.
Lewis and the Boss
In the end, Lewis emerges as champion so justice is done, I suppose. It would have had a better taste without the interference from officials, however. And I must be grateful that Massa did not sneak the title at the last, with all the sour grapes and bitterness that would have entailed in the Hamilton camp, plus the sickening crowing from the other side. Just as Kimi was the best result for international relations last year, so Lewis is this time around.
Apart from the championship battle, the race was not bad, if a little "settled" in the middle. Sebastian Vettel's pressure on Massa after the first pit stops certainly livened things up, demonstrating how close the cars have been in performance this year. And Fernando Alonso climbing into second spot confirms his growing reputation as the wily old fox of F1. If McLaren miss him for anything, it should surely be this apparent ability to capitalize on events as they happen; their strategy this season has been flawed at times and difficult to explain at others.
Perhaps the same could be said of Toyota, whose remarkable improvement through the year has been accompanied by strategic decisions that too often have disadvantaged their drivers. Interlagos was a perfect example, the team somehow managing to transform Trulli's front row grid spot into an eventual eighth finishing position. The fact that Glock magically became the key to the championship in the last few laps was only the result of a last gasp throw of the dice, a desperate attempt to gain a few places by staying out on dry tires.
My favorites, BMW, managed to be the clowns of the show this time out. After the wild gamble of starting Kubica on dries and thereby necessitating an immediate stop to switch to intermediates, they demoted him to the tail end of the field. From there he managed to be in a position to spoil others' races, most notably Hamilton's with Vettel. And Mr Consistency, Nick Heidfeld, made a poor start, dropping instantly to 12th, and made little progress from that moment.
In fact, this was a bad race for those trying to impress their bosses at the last. Nakajima found himself off the circuit in the aftermath of Coulthard's spin (induced by a knock from Kazuki's team mate) and then showed later in the race that he needed no outside assistance to indulge in such grass-cutting activities. Sebastien Bourdais also managed to put himself in position for Trulli to send him careering on to the green stuff. And the less said about Piquet, the better, I think.
So it was a race full of incident, mainly thanks to the brief rainfall at the beginning and end, and we can be satisfied that the 2008 season went out with such a finale. Next year sees new regulations and new cars, but with the caste pretty much as it has been. The big question will be: can anyone stop Hamilton, now that he has achieved the first of what will probably be many championships?