Despite the double points saga and the bad financial state of F1 at the moment, nothing beats the Formula 1 World Championship Drivers’ Title going down to the final race of the season. With the nerves of the fans of the drivers involved, it’s such a horrible feeling because there’s so much riding on one single race where anything can happen, than the excitement of a great battle from the neutral’s perspective.
In terms of taking the title to the wire there are three recent deciders which really stick out. The first one is the decider between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa in 2008. In the damp conditions in Brazil their beloved was up against Lewis Hamilton and starting on pole Massa had given himself the best chance and it came down to the last lap of the race. The Ferrari crew were getting ready to celebrate and the second Massa crossed the line it was all smiles, crying and excitement. However, they weren’t watching further down the field. On the last lap of the race, Timo Glock had an issue which made this slowdown and gave Hamilton the perfect opportunity to overtake him and become the world champion. As the McLaren garage burst into celebration, the Ferrari garage was polar opposite as they found out their driver would not be world champion. Hamilton has the experience of being in a title battle going down to the last race, which should really help him this weekend. I think he will clinch his second title on Sunday without too much trouble, but in F1 you always have to be prepared for anything.
2010 was a unique season for so many reasons, one of them being that coming into the last race in Abu Dhabi, there were four drivers who were mathematically in with a chance of winning their title; for two of them it would be their first title, for one his third and the other his second. All eyes were on Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso, the top two in the championship, but they weren’t in the best qualifying position, starting outside the top two. Mark Webber’s tyres soon started to wear out and he felt he had to pit; Alonso, thinking this was where his main challenge came from, covered the stop and also pitted. The twist in the tail was that due to an early safety car, Nico Rosberg, Vitaly Petrov and Robert Kubica all stopped early to put on the hard tyre and it wasn’t going to be easy to pass them. Up the front of the field a fantastic lap from Sebastian Vettel meant he had the race lead and if things stayed how they were, his first F1 title. The Renault of Petrov was a good car around the Yas Marina circuit and Alonso had no luck getting past him. The race finished with Vettel winning the race and his first title, the chilled young driver, who claimed he wasn’t even thinking about the title on the grid, had won his first title. Red Bull Racing celebrated in fine style, once everyone had crossed the line of course, as they didn’t want a repeat of 2008. One of the lasting memories from that race was Alonso pulling up to Petrov on the track. ‘Look at this, this is Alonso blaming Petrov for losing the title, get real son’ – Martin Brundle.
If 2012 the title came down to two drivers once again; two of the best of this generation. Alonso vs Vettel, the prancing horse against the red bull. Back at the Brazil circuit and the rain was coming down and Vettel got himself to an accident on turn four of lap one which put his title challenge at risk and made Alonso’s seem very realistic. Alonso drove a typical race for him; good start and he held a podium positon. No one would expect anything less of him; he’d done everything possible for him to win the title. One thing he didn’t count on was how hard Vettel was going to work to get himself back up to 6th and into a championship-winning position. After numerous pit stops, radio problems and damage that could have ended his race at any time he came home to finish in sixth and take his third title.
Whenever a title comes down to the final race, the tension and excitement is fantastic for everyone involved and whether you support Rosberg or Hamilton, the battle on Sunday going to be fascinating for sure.
‘And we look down now to the man who’s once, twice and three times a world champion, its trebles all round for Red Bull’ – David Croft.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @Lily_Fenton. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our Formula 1 writing team. Visit our “Write for Us” page for very easy details in how you can get started today!
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at sports injury alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Main image:
