Relive Lewis’ worst nightmare at Interlagos

Watch as Robert Kubica unlaps himself, then Seb Vettel takes fifth. You can almost sense the panic in Lewis as Vettel threatens to ruin his title chances.

Massa’s won, Massa’s the champion! … Bugger…

In which Felipe Massa’s supporters:

1) Go absolutely crazy because they think their man has been crowned world champion.

2) … Then news reaches them that their man has not been crowned world champion.

Triumph to disaster in 3.4 seconds.

Toyota driver denies foul play on last lap

Some Ferrari fans and conspiracy theorists have accused Timo Glock of slowing down deliberately on the final lap of Sunday’s Brazilian GP, to let Lewis Hamilton overtake him and take the crucial fifth place that he needed to win the title.

Glock replied to the accusation by saying: “Are you taking the Mickey?”

Some Brazilian fans at Interlagos even booed Glock after the race, thinking he had robbed local boy Felipe Massa of the championship. But to blame Glock is ridiculous.

The notion that Glock allowed Lewis to pass him is laughable. Toyota had absolutely nothing to gain by helping Hamilton. Also, the German’s slow final-lap time matched that of team-mate Jarno Trulli, who was also on slicks in treacherous conditions - and Trulli was nowhere near Lewis.

Glock had zero grip on the final lap - it’s that simple. And if Toyota had brought him into the pits to replace the slicks with a couple of laps to go (as McLaren did, quite rightly), he would never have been in front of Hamilton in the first place, and we wouldn’t be having this debate.

Toyota made a wrong call, McLaren didn’t. End of story.

Canada’s Red Bull girl not allowed into Brazil

Red Bull’s paddock girls, or Formula Unas to give them their proper name, show up at every grand prix and do a very good job of making the pit lane a prettier place.

At Brazil, the “winning” Formula Una from each grand prix (translation: the hottest local girl at each race) is invited by Red Bull to attend an end-of-season party. All of the Unas made it to Interlagos… except one.

Montreal’s Formula Una - better known as 19-year-old Katrina Lesko - required a visa to be allowed into Brazil. So Red Bull informed her that she should get her paperwork sorted. She duly obliged.

But when Lesko transferred from Montreal to Washington on Wednesday, and was asked to present her visa for Brazil, the immigration officer refused to let her get on the plane to Sao Paulo. Why? It might have something to do with the fact that Lesko pulled out a brand-new Visa credit card.

She never made it to Brazil. True story.

Even when it rains, it’s always hot in Braaaaazil

More ladeeeez just a click away…

Three cheers for Massa, no love for the Brazilian fans

Felipe Massa showed himself to be a class act at Interlagos this weekend. Not only did he drive brilliantly, his emotional yet gracious reaction to ultimate defeat in the world championship proved that he is a top bloke. He didn’t hesistate to congratulate Lewis Hamilton after the race, when all around him Hamiton’s critics were looking for excuses or claiming that the McLaren driver was “lucky” to snatch fifth place on the last lap.

Massa is a credit to F1 - unlike his compatriots in the stands, many of whom booed at the merest glance on the big screen of Hamilton (and his family), and anything with a McLaren badge on it, throughout the weekend. The boos and whistles rang out loudest as it transpired that Hamilton had done enough to win the championship - from the huge amount of noise coming from the stands, it’s clear that this was not the minority of the crowd.

Anthony Hamilton, interviewed by ITV just after the race, said: “It’s a shame the crowd is doing this, they should be fair sports people.”

He’s right. It was a shame, and just about the only negative to come out of a thrilling weekend of motorsport.

The best pics from Interlagos, for your viewing pleasure

Nicole Scherzinger, Pussycat Doll and girlfriend of Lewis Hamilton, hugs Lewis’s brother, Nick.

More photos below:

Sweet Bernie of Ecclestone, what a race!

First things first: Brazil produced a wonderful, scary, thrilling, unpredictable, dramatic race. If ever it felt like a good time to dust off the old “sport is the real winner” cliche, now is that time. Bernie Ecclestone couldn’t have asked for a better climax to an already memorable season.

Was it the greatest grand prix of all time? Yes, without a doubut, especially given what was at stake. The last few laps, when the rain started to fall again, were some of the most tense minutes in sporting history. For Hamilton fans, never has a scratchy fifth place felt so good. For Massa fans, their man drove the perfect race, but what a hollow win it was.

So, congratulations to Lewis Hamilton, who deserves to be crowned world champion… just. He made mistakes throughout the season (Montreal, Spa, Brazil), but then every driver did - and it’s too easy to forget that this is only his second season in F1. More importantly, he also drove quite brilliantly at times (Monaco, Silverstone and Shanghai), making his peers look mediocre.

Gridcrasher bonus! Watch the nail-biting final lap below (if you dare):