Formula 1 - Brazil GP 2008 - Hamilton wins the World Championship at the last corner

Felipe Massa won the Brazilian Grand Prix today and was virtual Formula 1 World Champion as he crossed the flag as Hamilton was in 6th place having been overtaken by Sebastian Vettel on the last lap (after both had changed tyres at the pits when rain started again a few laps from the end of the race). But Timo Glock, who had not changed his for rain tyres, slipped back and was easily overtaken by Vettel and then Hamilton at the last corner ruining Massa's chance to claim the championship as Hamilton only needed to be 5th to be the champion, which he did and is now the 2008 F1 World Champion. Just a few minutes before the start a poring rain obliged FIA officials to postpone it for 10 minutes. All teams changed tyres very quickly and the race started under wet conditions though it was not raining at that moment. Massa started well in front and did not lose the lead during the whole race. The battle was then for the second, third and fourth places, with Raikkonen, Alonso, Vettel, Trulli, Kovalainen and Hamilton trying to succeed. In the end Trulli who was second could not stand the pace and almost lost his car at a corner but managed to save it, though was left far behind. After a few laps all cars entered the pits to change their rubber shoes again as the circuit was now almost dry.

Massa kept well ahead. Hamilton did his job right, never risking his car alternating positions to finally arrive 5th. Vettel did an outstanding job fighting with both McLaren's and Toyota's. His Toro Rosso Ferrari was in great shape. Alonso too was outstanding, chasing Raikkonen who he passed after changing tyres at the pits. He never gave up and slowly progressed his way up from fourth place. Of course we must admit that Lewis Hamilton never challenged anyone, even at the starting grid as he had to do a very careful job to arrive in good shape and at least 5th.

Race results

2008 Final Standings

Massa bags Brazilian pole, next stop world title?

Racing series	F1
Date	2008-11-01

By J.K. Thompson - Motorsport.com

Life might not stay that way in the next 24 hours, but for now Felipe Massa is home and dry after pocketing pole position for Sunday's Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix.

Pole winner Felipe Massa celebrates. Photo by xpb.cc.

The Sao Paolo native, buoyed -- almost literally -- by the cheers of his countrymen, followed through on a psych maneuver on chief driving title rival Lewis Hamilton of McLaren Mercedes by sticking his Ferrari atop time sheets from the first of qualifying three sessions with a stunning time. Ultimately, Hamilton could only crowd to within a half-second.

Sunday's race will decide the 2008 FIA World Drivers' Championship at the 2.7-mile Interlagos course outside Sao Paolo between the two. Hamilton leads Massa by seven points. The Englishman can win the title by finishing fifth or better if Massa wins; Hamilton needs at least seventh if Massa is second; Massa loses altogether if he places third or lower. In the same situation here a year ago, seven-point leader Hamilton lost the title to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Massa dropped lap times to under 1 minute, 12 seconds in the first qualifying session with a 1:11.858. Despite McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen topping second qualifying with a 1:11.742, when Massa said he made a slight mistake, the mental work was done in favor of the Brazilian, who is at home, surrounded by friends, family and compatriots, at the site of the start of his racing career, the Interlagos go-kart track.

Massa claimed his third successive pole for this race, with a time of 1:12.368, and would be vying for a third successive victory but for his moving aside last year for Raikkonen, whose victory gave the Finn the 2007 driving title ahead of Hamilton and then McLaren-teammate Fernando Alonso, who shared runner-up status.

"It's so nice to be here and making a third pole position in a row in Brazil in front of these fantastic people, (who) are 100 percent emotion(al) about motor racing," Massa said. "It's great for us to come here and see so many people (who) love what we're doing. It's difficult to describe with a single word."

Massa opted for fantastic as a start to his description before turning to less-emotional aspects of qualifying.

"Friday and this morning we show that our car is very competitive around here," he said. "I will try to do my best tomorrow to win the race, and that's the most important thing."

	Jarno Trulli, Toyota F1 Team. Photo by xpb.cc.

Epic effort of qualifying went to Toyota's Jarno Trulli, who pulled himself out of a sickbed to participate. The Italian put a Toyota on the front row of a grid for the first time since Japan 2005. Trulli, whose teammate Timo Glock joined him in the top 10, threw down a 1:12.737.

"I think for the first time I was not going to make it for Friday because Thursday I was feeling really bad," said a pale, drawn and haggard-looking Trulli. "But in this case, after this result, I really have to thank the whole team for the job from the mechanics and the engineers up to the doctor because they really did manage to get me everything I needed to be quick. Even before coming here in Brazil I knew that this was one of those tracks -- technical, difficult -- where I could have been very strong, and my carcould have been very competitive. So I've been preparing for this grand prix I've been waiting for and now here I am. I really played my cards during the qualifying, saving tires and getting ready for the Q3 and in the end put in a pretty good lap.

"I'm really, really happy."

Raikkonen followed in 1:12.825 ahead of Hamilton with 1:12.830.

"I think I did more or less what I'm supposed to do," Raikkonen said. "I'm in a good starting place. I actually prefer to be in third than second. It's been here a pretty good place to start. Hopefully, we'll get a good start and I think we have the car to pull away like we did last year and that would be perfect for the team and that's what we're aiming for."

Leading McLaren by 11 points, Ferrari can lock up the World Constructors' Championship by finishing ahead of the silver cars.

"Congratulations to Felipe for achieving pole position in front of his home crowd," Hamilton said. "He did a great job today. But tomorrow, I will be focusing on my own race. It will be a tough afternoon but I'm comfortable with the fuel strategy we chose. The guys in front are probably on a different strategy. But we're in good position to finish in the same place as we are today, and that's got to be our aim. We don't need to do anything spectacular."

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mercedes, MP4-23.Photo by xpb.cc.

Hamilton's intimation that he is heavily fueled and content to run a long stint from the off is strategy that might bag a driving title but possibly not a team gong.

Kovalainen (1:12.917) shares the third row with Renault's Alonso (1:12.967). Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel (1:13.082) and Nick Heidfeld of BMW Sauber (1:13.297) share the fourth row. Toro Rosso's other half, Sebastien Bourdais (1:14.105), takes the fifth row with Glock (1:14.230).

Spaniard Alonso topped practice time sheets Friday afternoon and again Saturday morning by pulling himself from well down the list to the top in the final moment. He had no such magic for qualifying and starts behind Hamilton, next to Kovalainen.

"We thought it would be close and competitive this afternoon, and we were not mistaken," Alonso said. "We knew that it would be difficult to try and catch the Ferraris and the McLarens, and so I think we have done our maximum this afternoon by qualifying in sixth place."

Form holds that Ferraris and McLarens would qualify in the top 10, and Toyota putting both cars there mark sustained improvement for the factory team. But Scuderia Toro Rosso can celebrate outright at placing both STR3s among the big boys. The German Vettel has carried the team past sister outfit Red Bull Racing this season and qualifying confirms the contribution of his teammate Bourdais.

"Naturally, you want to end the season on a high note and this result is super, to be in Q3 again, for the sixth time," said a Bourdais angling for a decision from team boss Gerhard Berger about the Frenchman's race seat. "Things have been getting better over the past few races, and this performance today confirms that. My lap was probably the best Q3 lap I've done this year, so I'm very happy."

The second half of the field puts Renault's Nelsinho Piquet next to Red Bull'sMark Webber on the sixth row, BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica next to Red Bull's David Coulthard on the seventh, Honda's Rubens Barrichello, F1's most experienced driver, next to Williams rookie Kazuki Nakajima on the eighth, Honda's Jenson Button next to Williams's Nico Rosberg on the ninth, and Giancarlo Fisichella out qualifying his Force India teammate Adrian Sutil on the 10th.

Piquet has stepped up in form in the final third of the season and with solid improvements to the R28 had reasonable expectation of reaching the third qualifying session.

"The car was working well, I was comfortable, and I pushed hard, but that wasn't enough," Piquet said.

Red Bull positioning disappointed Webber but salvaged a moral victory for Coulthard, who squeaked through to second qualifying in the final minutes for the last race of his F1 career.

"This was a disappointing day for us," Webber said. "I did the best I could, but it's simple: If you're not fast enough, you don't go through."

Said Coulthard, "I'm not really happy with that as my last F1 qualifying session. We went reasonably well here last year and got into the top 10, so we came here thinking that might be possible again. But in the end we didn't manage to find enough grip in the middle sector."

Struggle for grip kept Kubica from final qualifying for a second successive race. Both BMW Saubers were late to appear in the sessions but Heidfeld sorted his F1.08 more easily than his teammate.

"Starting from so far behind will make the race difficult for me," Kubica said.

Also possibly starting his final Brazilian Grand Prix, Paulista Barrichello, whose future with Honda remains uncertain, out qualified his English teammate yet again.

"I'm pleased that we were able to make it into the second qualifying session here in Interlagos today," Barrichello said. "We had a perfect lap on my second run in Q1 with the option tires working really well. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the same grip level in Q2 and were really struggling with understeer."

Williams had a dismal qualifying that emphasized a streaky season for the English privateer using Toyota engines. Nakajima cited varying track temperatures for undermining his effort. Rosberg could not get to grips with the softer, option tire compounds.

Fisichella said he struggled through Turns 8 and 10, where he might have found two-tenths but only one place. "We'll look to the strategy to improve tomorrow and try to be flexible to be ready for whatever comes."

What's expected to come is rain, which could scramble everything. Trulli said his Toyota needs a dry surface and warmer temperatures. Massa, whose best results have been gained from pole, needs a fast getaway, a team that will perform his pit stops smoothly, and a crowd to carry him home. Hamilton, of course, needs better luck than last year's.

F1 - Massa - Hamilton Showdown & Qualifying in Brazil GP 2008

Qualifying Results

Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix - 2008-09-28

Formula 1 - Singapore - Alonso's surprise win

Opportunistic Alonso wins the night in Singapore
Racing series F1
Date 2008-09-28
By J.K. Thompson - Motorsport.com

What a difference a night makes. Fernando Alonso's anguished, fuel-starved end to qualifying 23 hours before was wiped from memory Sunday night in East Asia when the two-time world champion cruised to improbable victory in the inaugural FIA Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore. Nico Rosberg was second in a Williams ahead of Lewis Hamilton for McLaren Mercedes.


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Race winner Fernando Alonso celebrates. Photo by xpb.cc.

With Formula One enjoying the Las Vegas Effect -- shiny and bright at night -- the other factor, problematic logistics of a street race, went overlooked. But the show was all Renault. An emphatic crash by Alonso teammate Nelsinho Piquet on Lap 15 -- he said the car was "heavy" -- brought out a safety car and unleashed a pit panic that put Alonso, who had rabbited from his 15th starting spot to 11th, in position to win. That he took the opportunity and triumphed is why the 27-year-old remains the only double world champion active in F1 and -- with the exception of perhaps one team -- the most coveted driver in the paddock.

"First podium of the season and first victory as well, I'm extremely happy," Alonso said. "I cannot believe it right now. I think I need a couple of days to realize. But we won a race this year. It seems impossible."

Alonso, who became the youngest world driving champion twice with Renault, was on target to continue winning championships with McLaren until conflict with rookie teammate Hamilton last year chased the Spaniard out of a three-year deal and back to the French team.

Behind the podium placers came Timo Glock for Toyota, Sebastian Vettel for Toro Rosso, Nick Heidfeld for BMW Sauber, David Coulthard for Red Bull, and Kazuki Nakajima for Williams in the points. Running thereafter were Jenson Button for Honda, Heikki Kovalainen for McLaren, Robert Kubica for BMW Sauber, Sebastien Bourdais for Toro Rosso, Felipe Massa for Ferrari and Giancarlo Fisichella for Force India. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), Adrian Sutil (Force India), and Piquet (Renault), crashed out; Jarno Trulli (Toyota), Mark Webber (Red Bull), and Rubens Barrichello (Honda), suffered mechanical failures.

Piquet's accident determined the race. Immediately affected was Rosberg in the lead Williams, who was heading for refueling when the safety car came out, putting the German afoul of closed pits. Rosberg, assessed a 10-second stop-go penalty, appeared to have lost the hard work of getting around heavily fuelled, one-stop strategist Trulli, accomplished with full brake lockup on Lap 7. Right behind him, fourth-starting Kubica, earned the same penalty. Such is the nature of racing that eighth-starting Rosberg, who managed to lead and pull out a 20-second gap before serving the penalty, had the horses and course placing to come up trumps while Kubica wound up pointless in 11th. The result was Rosberg's best in nearly three full seasons in F1.

"I got a bit of a difficult start, on the dirty side, and dropped behind Jarno," Rosberg said. "He was pretty slow. I suppose he was heavy on fuel. So I absolutely had to get by him. The problem was that my only chance was Turn 1, where I wasn't ever quite close enough, and Turn 7, where on the inside it's so bumpy that it's simply impossible to outbrake someone. I mean it's very, very difficult. So it took some time till I was literally alongside and I could brake on the inside. And even then it was quite a hairy moment because I locked up everything. But I came through. Then I was doing one qualifying lap after another because I knew it was my only chance to break clear of that group, and it worked out well."

Rosberg said he thought it was all over after he was told to pit only to have the safety car come on track. "I was really annoyed," he said. "I thought that was it, that was the end of it." Instead, he pushed open a gap and drove to his best F1 result through it.

Fate similarly tapped Hamilton, front-row starter whose second place fell to pit stops and left him fighting from eighth to third, spending quite a few laps in fourth place behind Red Bull's David Coulthard as the confusion that followed the Lap 15 incident mingled with team strategies to allow all sorts of drivers to cycle through the top positions. A second safety car with 10 of 61 laps left closed all gaps and left Hamilton to choose racing Rosberg or taking points. The Englishman padded his driving championship points lead, extending his lead over Massa from one to seven points, 84-77.

"My pit stop went really well," Hamilton said of the first or safety car round of stops. "To be honest, I had to wait a little bit because there was a few cars coming past, including Felipe and perhaps Nico or something, coming to his stop, so I lost a little bit of time there but it didn't cause me any troubles. We had great pace. Just, unfortunately, I got stuck behind DC. He was a good second slower than me but also a good second slower than anyone else in front of us and it was so difficult to get close to him to overtake, but he drove a fantastic race."

And what of Ferrari? They made the race exciting for all the wrong reasons. What looked like triumph -- and the drivers' title chase lead -- ended in tears when pole sitter Massa, who rocketed off the start and built a five-second lead over Hamilton, pitted in the first safety car frenzy, Lap 17, his third-starting teammate Raikkonen pulling in behind him. In milliseconds that followed, Ferrari did their best to dash the season.

The team's electronic minder system showed green for Massa to go before the fuel rig hose was off the car, and Massa reacted instantly, tearing away the hose, spilling a mechanic, and driving off down pit lane trailing the fuel hose. The Brazilian stopped at the end of the lane -- watching Hamilton's refuelled McLaren pull past, probably wanting to puke -- and waited as mechanics sprinted to him and struggled to remove the now-damaged hose, the engine whining all the while. Massa earned a drive-through penalty for early pit release and spent the rest of the race with backmarkers out of the points, the apparently bulletproof Ferrari engine pulling him to the finish line. The mechanic was stretchered off to the track medical center, found to have no broken bones, then he was taken to a local hospital for further checks.

Through all this, Raikkonen's F2008 was serviced and released without problem. Raikkonen waged a valiant effort until with three laps to go, the Finn bounced over the high curbs on Turn 10 then bounced straight into a wall to take him out of a points position. With bright sides slim pickin's, Raikkonen did set fast lap of the race, his 10th this season.

Alonso said his strategy for starting from the back half of the grid was to gain as many spots on the first lap as possible then count on opportunism because the R28 had pace.

"We thought about a one-stop strategy but we had some concerns with the brakes," he said. "We said one stop is not possible, so we try something very different. We try to make as many places places as possible then try from there. The pace was there."

So was tire strategy. Alonso used the prime or soft Bridgestone tire compound to have the better-wearing tire for the balance of the race. Rosberg and Hamilton were disadvantaged on the soft-soft compound. Alonso said he was able to back off engine revs to finish the race once he had the lead, which he took over from pitting one-stopper Trulli on Lap 34. The Spaniard then took off like un gato escaldo and was never headed, not even when a second safety car bunched things up with 10 laps left when Massa spun at Turn 17 and caught out a surprised Adrian Sutil, who promptly smacked the wall.

"This victory, I think, is well-deserved," Alonso said. "The guys worked extremely hard all through the season. We start far behind, maybe one second behind BMW and now we are the same pace as them or even better and this is thanks to the great job. So we'll keep pushing."

Renault team boss Flavio Briatore called the race "fantastic" but wouldn't be drawn on whether victory might keep his No. 1 driver, who has been linked to BMW Sauber and to Ferrari, despite the scuderia's drivers being signed through 2010. "It's not a victory that changes a situation," the Italian said.

Glock said fourth place let him reach a personal goal of 20 points this season. Vettel called the race one of the toughest of the season because of the city-state's heat and humdity, and the bumpy track surface that required total concentration. Heidfeld called the F1.08 good, but he was unable to show its pace for being stuck in traffic. Coulthard said he was happy to finish in the points even if the conditions were "hot as hell". Nakajima, who made his own scintillatng pass on Trulli, proclaimed the day a great one for the Williams team.

In a singularly ungreat day for Ferrari, the Italian team lost what had been a five-point constructors' title points lead to McLaren, who now lead, 135-134.

A Toyota protest that Toro Rosso released Vettel from his pit box early was disallowed.

Race results

Standings after Singapore GP