For those Formula One fans who committed to watch the deciding grand prix, they were rewarded with a dramatic race that saw Lewis Hamilton go from losing to winning the championship within the space of a few corners on the very last lap. The predictably unpredictable rain of Brazil's Sao Paula circuit started and finished the race and came within seconds of costing McLaren's Hamilton the fifth place he needed to secure the 2008 Drivers' title. As Ferrari's Felipe Massa crossed the line first, Hamilton was only sixth after being overtaken with two laps to go by the sport's other champion-in-the-waiting, Sebastian Vettel. But a slow final lap by Toyota's Timo Glock, struggling on dry tires on a slippery track, allowed Vettel and Hamilton to sail through to take positions four and five respectively. It was a typical see-saw race that just about summed up a season in which both Hamilton and Massa have had more than their fair share of unconvincing moments. Hamilton ran into the back of Fernando Alonso's Renault at the second race in Malaysia, but more embarrassingly crashed out of the Canadian Grand Prix in the pit lane, taking Kimi Raikkonen with him. Massa, though, looked like an amateur at the wet at Silverstone, spinning multiple times before finished dead last, and was comprehensively out driven by Hamilton at the tracks considered to be real driver's circuits: Monaco and Spa. However, the bullet-proof reliability that has helped Ferrari dominate F1 in recent years has also deserted them at times this season, with Massa suffering a couple of engine failures. These were compounded by pitstop errors, famously in Singapore, when Ferrari's auto-release system was engaged prematurely for Massa, costing the Brazilian the race. Hamilton, though, should also have been world champion before this final race. The farcical stewards' decision at the Belgian grand prix that relegated Hamilton from race victor to third, with the officials deciding to penalise the Brit for what to most people seemed a brilliant overtaking move on Raikkonen. Hamilton's performance in 2007 was more impressive overall than this year, but in my opinion the McLaren driver just about deserved to edge the title in 2008 - to become the youngest champion in F1 history. Out of the two drivers, Massa has looked the most consistent driver this season, but Hamilton has looked the better raw racer - with a number of skillful and gutsy overtaking manoeuvres. What did you make of the 2008 Formula One season, and did the right driver win the championship?
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