| Race it up 2008 |
Vineet Sharma and Tanvir Khan
The year 2008 saw the Formula One circuit tackle a different kind of a problem…The one that emerged from the financial markets rather than the driver’s cockpit. The global financial crunch took its toll on the fast paced sport and two of its teams, Super Aguri and Honda backed out from the competition. However, it was an year of change in the power structure as far as the drivers were concerned, the rise of Lewis Hamilton after the season began with him in the limelight was worth the wait.
The earning of the F1 title was not a zoom in the park for Hamilton as he was almost beaten for a second year by Ferrari, this time, the sympathies lie with Felipe Massa for not being able to emerge the winner.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo broke the television set when Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line in fifth position to snatch the Formula One title thereby becoming the youngest ever to do so.
"I was shouting: `Do I have it, do I have it?` And then they came on when I was at Turn One and they told me and I was ecstatic. It`s been a dream", said Lewis Hamilton on crossing the Brazilian Grand Prix finish line as F1 world champion.
Season 2007 was not bad either for the Brit. He stood second only to Kimi Raikkonen in his rookie season missing out only by one point. And what an irony in his second season – he won the championship by just one point.
The championship had boiled down to the last race, the last lap and the last corner. What more could one ask for? Nail biting, thrilling, edge-of-the-seat kind of adjectives sound cliché.
Timo Glock was running ahead of Hamilton with dry tyres on in wet conditions. This prompted his slowdown on the last corner and the 23 old made no mistake in overtaking the Toyota driver and snatching the glittering trophy from the grip of Felipe Massa.
"I know how to lose and I know how to win and it is another day of my life from which I am going to learn a lot", Felipe Massa said after he was beaten by Hamilton by 1 point.
The season 2008 had a few changes in it, the major being the removal of traction control. There was a lot of hype and hoopla prior to the season as to whether the Brit would be able to prove that his first season was not just a fluke and he did just that, or even better.
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