An Epic Finale

I didn't sleep much last night for watching the Brazilian Grand Prix, the last race of this Formula One season. And I didn't regret it a bit, 'cos it was truly one heck of a race.

In a race affected by showers early and late in the race, Lewis Hamilton emerged as the World Champion by sneaking into the vital fifth place at the very last corner of the final lap, when it looked as though local hero Felipe Massa, who had won the race, had done enough to be crowned champion of the world.

I simply had no idea where to start.

With a seven-point lead, all Hamilton needed was a fifth-place finish. As for Massa, he had to win the race and hoped that someone somehow would get into Hamilton's way.

With less than ten laps to go, Massa was leading the race and Hamilton was running a comfortable fourth. But when the shower returned, most cars decided to duck into the pits to change into intermediate tyres, but not for the Toyota duo of Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli.

When Hamilton emerged from the pits with just a handful of laps to go, he was in fifth place having been demoted by Glock and was now hotly pursued by Sebastian Vettel. And when Robert Kubica decided to unlap himself amidst the chaos, Vettel seized the moment and snatched fifth-place. Moments later, as Vettel gradually pulling away from Hamilton, Massa crossed the line for his sixth win of the season.

While Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen finished second and third, all eyes were on Hamilton as he simply could not match Vettel's pace. And when Vettel crossed the line before Hamilton, the local fans erupted in a thunderous roar as they believed that Massa had pulled the unthinkable.

The joy didn't last long though.

A quick glance at the finishing order showed that Vettel was fourth and Hamilton fifth, which meant that Hamilton, not Massa, is the World Champion.

What exactly had happened?

TV replay showed that Glock, while nursing his dry weather tyres in deteriorating conditions, was overtaken by both Vettel and Hamilton just before the final corner of the last lap. No one noticed it because we all thought that the only way for Hamilton to win the title was to catch and overtake Vettel. In fact, Glock lost some 20 seconds on his last lap and had become a sitting duck, as he came home virtually limping in sixth just over six seconds behind Hamilton.

In a matter of 30 seconds, both drivers had the roller-coaster of their lives. Massa thought that he had won it, but was cruelly denied when the dust eventually settled. As for Hamilton, just when we thought that he had blown it for the second year in a row, he had pulled a Houdini of equally miraculous and stunning proportion.

It has been a fantastic season, with the title decided at the last possible moment. Seven drivers from five teams have won this season which has been one of the best in recent years. With the possible introduction of customer cars next season, let's hope that it is going to be a great as this season.