F1 Season has Ended, Winner Decided in the Last Second of the Brazilian Grad Prix

Going into the Brazillian Grand Prix, the final race of the Formula One season, Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) was seven points ahead of the man in second place, Felipe Massa (Ferrari), for the drivers championship.  For Felipe to win the drivers title, he not only had to take 1st, but Hamilton had to place 6th or worse for Massa to close the points gap and take the championship.

Massa was driving hard and held a commanding lead for most of the race, only falling behind during a pit stop.  Hamilton started the race in 4th place, dropped to 7th, but was able to regain some of his lost ground by the last two laps.  It was raining out and the track was pretty wet.  Many drivers went to the pits to change into a set of rain tires, but Toyota’s rookie Timo Glock took the gamble and stayed on dry tires.  That gamble would prove to payoff, but not for Glock.

Entering the last couple of laps in 5th place, Hamilton had to maintain or improve his positioning to win the drivers race.  It was looking good until Sebastian Vettel was able to squeeze by Hamilton, knocking him down to 6th place.  If these positions held, Massa would take the championship.  Felipe crossed the finish line in 1st place and it looked as though the race was over, but then the unimaginable happened.  Glock couldn’t hold his position in 4th place during the last corner and both Vettel and Hamilton over took him. The whole thing happened so fast, even the camera’s missed it.  Massa, his crew and family were rejoicing over his win, only to find out that Hamilton had taken 5th.

It was as close as close can get and was an amazing finale for the season.  Hit the jump to get a list of the final standings for the Grand Prix and the Drivers Title.

Source: AutoBlog

2009 Brazilian Grand Prix

1 Felipe Massa Ferrari
2 Fernando Alonso Renault
3 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
4 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari
5 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
6 Timo Glock Toyota
7 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes
8 Jarno Trulli Toyota
9 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
10 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber
11 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber
12 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota
13 Jenson Button Honda
14 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari
15 Rubens Barrichello Honda

Drivers:
1. Hamilton 98
2. Massa 97
3. Raikkonen 75
4. Kubica 75
5. Alonso 61
6. Heidfeld 60
7. Kovalainen 53
8. Vettel 35
9. Trulli 31
10. Glock 25
11. Webber 21
12. Piquet 19
13. Rosberg 17
14. Barrichello 11
15. Nakajima 9

Constructors:
1. Ferrari 172
2. McLaren-Mercedes 151
3. BMW Sauber 135
4. Renault 80
5. Toyota 56
6. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 39
7. Red Bull-Renault 29
8. Williams-Toyota 26
9. Honda 14