Lewis Hamilton’s Dramatic 2008 Title Win Still Haunts Felipe Massa Amid Court Battle
Every era in Formula 1 has its unforgettable moments — and few can rival the heart-stopping climax of the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix. For every famous line like “No, Michael, no!” or “And colossally that’s Mansell!” there’s one that stands above the rest: “Is that Glock? It is, that’s Glock!” Those words, uttered in disbelief by commentator Martin Brundle, immortalized one of the most dramatic title deciders in motorsport history — a moment that made Lewis Hamilton a world champion and left Felipe Massa heartbroken.
Heading into the race at Interlagos, the stage was perfectly set. Hamilton, then racing for McLaren, led the championship standings with 94 points. Ferrari’s hometown hero Felipe Massa trailed close behind with 87. Under the old F1 points system — 10 for a win, 8 for second, 6 for third, and so on down to 1 for eighth — the math was simple: Massa needed to win, and Hamilton had to finish at least fifth to secure his first world title. If Hamilton crossed the line sixth or lower, Massa would be champion by virtue of having more race victories.
For much of the wet and unpredictable afternoon in São Paulo, the race played out steadily. Massa led confidently from pole position, controlling the pace and keeping Ferrari fans dreaming of glory. Hamilton, meanwhile, stayed comfortably in fourth, doing exactly what he needed to do. But as the laps ticked down, a familiar name emerged to complicate matters — a young Sebastian Vettel in the Toro Rosso, showing flashes of the brilliance that would later define his career.
Then came the twist. With only a few laps remaining, light rain began to fall over Interlagos. Both championship contenders were faced with a critical decision. Massa and Hamilton pitted for intermediate tyres, unwilling to risk losing control on slicks. Massa rejoined in the lead ahead of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen, but Hamilton’s situation changed dramatically. The Toyota of Timo Glock, who chose to gamble by staying out on dry tyres, had leapfrogged both Hamilton and Vettel. Suddenly, Hamilton’s cushion was gone — he was now fifth, with Vettel breathing down his neck.
When Robert Kubica unlapped himself and slipped past Hamilton with three laps to go, it forced the McLaren driver slightly off line. That tiny error gave Vettel the opening he needed to overtake. Hamilton now found himself in sixth place — and losing the championship by a single point. Massa crossed the finish line to the roaring approval of the Brazilian crowd, briefly becoming world champion in his own backyard. His family celebrated wildly in the Ferrari garage, tears of joy flowing freely. But that joy would last mere seconds.
As Massa crossed the line, Hamilton was still fighting on the final lap. Ahead of him, Glock was struggling to keep his car on the track, his dry tyres offering no grip in the worsening rain. In one of the most unforgettable moments in sporting history, Hamilton slipped past the Toyota at the penultimate corner, Juncão, reclaiming fifth position just before the finish line. In a single, devastating instant, the title swung back to Hamilton. Massa’s joy turned to disbelief as his world championship dream was shattered in front of his home fans.
Hamilton became the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history at the time, while Massa was left with one of the most heartbreaking near-misses ever seen in the sport. “Is that Glock?” became a line forever associated with that split second of fate — the moment that defined two careers in opposite directions.
But the 2008 season’s drama did not end there. Years later, the controversial “Crashgate” scandal from that same season resurfaced, reigniting Massa’s pain. During the Singapore Grand Prix earlier that year, Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed his Renault under team orders, bringing out a safety car that changed the course of the race. Massa, who had been leading comfortably, pitted during the safety car period but drove off prematurely with the fuel hose still attached, costing him a potential victory. He finished a disastrous 13th, losing critical points that might have made the difference in the title fight.
At the time, no one publicly knew of the deliberate crash. But in 2023, former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone claimed in an interview that both he and then-FIA president Max Mosley were aware of the intentional nature of Piquet’s crash during the 2008 season. They allegedly chose not to act immediately to “avoid a scandal.”
That revelation became the foundation of Massa’s ongoing legal case in the UK. Massa’s legal team argues that Formula 1 and the FIA failed in their duty by not investigating the matter when it happened, thus denying him a fair shot at the world championship. He is seeking £64 million in damages, claiming lost earnings and reputational harm. While Massa has clarified that he is not asking to strip Hamilton of his title, he wants official recognition as the “rightful 2008 champion.”
Mosley, before his passing, maintained that he chose not to pursue the case further at the time due to lack of evidence, as Piquet Jr. was unwilling to make a formal statement. It wasn’t until 2009, after Piquet was dropped by Renault, that the truth came out and the FIA launched a full investigation. The scandal led to heavy sanctions for Renault but offered little comfort to Massa.
Seventeen years later, the wounds of that fateful day in São Paulo remain open. For Hamilton, it was the beginning of an era of dominance. For Massa, it was the day a dream slipped away — not just on the final corner of the final lap, but perhaps, as he believes, through circumstances far beyond his control.
