What does Lewis have to do?

Eurosport - Sun, 02 Nov 19:05:00 2008

What does Lewis Hamilton have to do to in Brazil to ensure he becomes Formula One's youngest champion?

2008 Chinese GP McLaren Hamilton - 0

The 23-year-old McLaren driver only has one rival contender for the championship - Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

Hamilton's win in Shanghai saw him extend his points lead to seven, with the Briton on 94 and Massa on 87.

But the title race is far from over, as last year's events show.

WHAT HAPPENED IN 2007?

Hamilton took a seven-point lead over Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen into the final race but ended up losing the title by a single point after he finished seventh and the Finn won the race.

But the Briton also had team-mate and bitter rival Fernando Alonso to contend with. The Spaniard went into the final round on 103 points to Hamilton's 107 and Raikkonen's 100, but fell just short as he finished third.

Raikkonen closed the closest season ever on 110, with Hamilton and Alonso on 109, the Briton taking the scant consolation of second place on countback.

WHAT DOES HAMILTON HAVE TO DO?

Hamilton knows that his destiny is in his hands. He has a seven point lead, and knows that if he finishes fifth or better, he will be champion, having secured enough points to make Massa's result irrelevant.

However, both Ferraris will be using new engines at Interlagos, and Kimi Raikkonen will once again be going all-out to help his team-mate so the Briton's task may not be simple.

If Hamilton finishes sixth or worse, the destiny of the title comes down to Massa.

WHAT DOES MASSA HAVE TO DO?

As he trails by seven points Massa must finish first or second to have any chance at all of winning.

If the Brazilian picks up a maximum 10-point haul, he will put the pressure on Hamilton, who will lose the title if he fails to finish fifth or better.

If Massa finishes second, he still has a chance - but only if Hamilton finishes in eighth or worse.

WHAT ABOUT COUNTBACK?

Countback is the FIA's method for separating drivers or teams who finish level on points.

The regulation states:

"If two or more constructors or drivers finish the season with the same number of points, the higher place in the Championship (in either case) shall be awarded to :

a) the holder of the greatest number of first places,

b) if the number of first places is the same, the holder of the greatest number of second places,

c) if the number of second places is the same, the holder of the greatest number of third places and so on until a winner emerges."

Only two possible scenarios see the drivers finish level on points, and both favour Massa:

If Massa wins and Hamilton is sixth, the drivers would be equal on 97 points. But the title would go to Massa as he would have six wins to Hamilton's five.

If Massa is second and Hamilton is eighth, the drivers would be equal on 96 points. But the title would go to Massa, with three second places to Hamilton's two (both men with five wins).

Alex Chick / Eurosport

Comment 121 - 140 of 200

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  1. 137 Your maths amazes me - how about applying for Carol­ Vordermann's job on Countdown (British TV) they­ need someone with charm and intelligence and a­ brilliant brain.

    From m.e.jenner, on Wed 22 Oct 9:26AM

  2. touronroute.
    Learn to spell before you­ Criticise and then learn constructive criticism.

    From kevinc, on Wed 22 Oct 8:16AM
  3. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    In , the eyes of so many, go and hide with the rest of­ the losers

    From touronroute, on Wed 22 Oct 7:21AM
  4. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    IF , lewis ever one, he still wouldn,t be the champion­ in 98% of formula one fans

    From touronroute, on Wed 22 Oct 7:20AM

  5. To those who say that Lewis has already "won"­ enough point due to FIA interference - though I may­ agree with you that some penalties were suspicious,­ from a purely driving point of you, Massa would have­ won this long ago - remember the engine failures­ (australia and hungary, I think), remember the pitlane­ follies that were in no way his fault in Singapore, and­ prior to that as well? My friends, put your biases­ aside and respect BOTH drivers. They could both have­ easily clinched this already. Different styles, yes -­ both brilliant, I would say so... even though I think­ Filipe is not quite as exciting as Lewis.

    My bias? ­ JV.

    From gillesthibodeau, on Wed 22 Oct 4:44AM

  6. HAMILTON "World Class"

    Massa "2nd­ Class"

    From Ed, on Tue 21 Oct 6:46PM

  7. i really don't understand, why alonso talking like­ kiddy, but honestly whas's kimmi did to massa last­ race are the "shame" and very ungentleman, i­ agree that penalty must be give to kimmi because break­ the mechine urgently....go lewis go!!!!

    From Zahid, on Tue 21 Oct 2:31PM

  8. OLLIEBOYYY - if you hate the sport and the drivers and­ the FIA and everybody soooo much, why not pick one of­ the other 900 channels with pretty pictures &­ sounds on to watch. You are just like those t@ssers­ that write to points-of-view complaining that they­ 'had to sit and watch ... blah, blah, blah.'­ Pick another channel on a sunday afternoon - i think­ there is a knitting channel you could watch.

    From scrappy003, on Tue 21 Oct 2:14PM

  9. sorry about terse comments getting Invalid Comment

    From BigBill, on Tue 21 Oct 1:41PM

  10. ollieboyyy stupid

    From BigBill, on Tue 21 Oct 1:37PM

  11. Mark. Both Kimi and Alonso seem to be retreating from­ their previous comments. I think Kimi's gift is a­ one off unless Massa needs it to definately win the­ WDC. I doubt if Kimi will let him through just to get­ an extra point, or two.I noticed a smile and a genuine­ hand shake from Alonso on Sunday.Is it too much to hope­ for a clean and competitive GP in Brazil ?.Perhaps­ Ferrari will need the help of the FIA again. As we­ know, Lewis has already WON enough points to be WDC.

    From chtech06, on Tue 21 Oct 1:09PM

  12. Mark. Both Kimi and Alonso seem to be retreating from­ their previous comments. I think Kimi's gift is a­ one off unless Massa needs it to definately win the­ WDC. I doubt if Kimi will let him through just to get­ an extra point, or two.I noticed a smile and a genuine­ hand shake from Alonso on Sunday.Is it too much to hope­ for a clean and competitive GP in Brazil ?.Perhaps­ Ferrari will need the help of the FIA again. As we­ know, Lewis has already WON enough points to be WDC.

    From chtech06, on Tue 21 Oct 1:08PM

  13. Question is, will Kimi or Alonso knock Hamilton off the­ track ? Deliberately accidently on purpose ?

    From Phantom, on Tue 21 Oct 12:50PM

  14. rosecottagebedandbreakfast why dont you move to poland­ and become a builder if your embarrassed to be british,­ we dont realy want a @#$% jocky like you here anyway.­ BYE BYE

    From NICK C, on Tue 21 Oct 12:36PM

  15. Will massa get bonus points for turning up or will­ lewis have points removed for being there ummm! both i­ think, anything to help ferrari win

    From NICK C, on Tue 21 Oct 12:30PM

  16. rosecottagebedandbreakfast - stupid!

    From BigBill, on Tue 21 Oct 12:11PM

  17. Is there anywhere on this site that tells users how to­ avoid
    Invalid Comment?

    From BigBill, on Tue 21 Oct 12:08PM

  18. Invalid Comment

    From BigBill, on Tue 21 Oct 12:07PM

  19. It's clear that had Lewis been treated fairly by­ the organisers/stewards, he would already be crowned­ world champion. We have seen him unfairly penalised on­ more than one occasion costing him more than enough­ points to have stopped him from becoming champion­ already. The Bourdais penalty (which assisted Massa)­ was also unfair. And why were Ferrari not penalised for­ the blatant breaking of the rules where Kimi allowed­ Massa to pass him for no other reason than the points.­ Can you believe that McClaren would have got away with­ that? The only way Lewis can win is by repeating what­ he did in China, get out in front and stay there. Even­ then they will try to find some way of stopping him.

    From PJS, on Tue 21 Oct 9:41AM

  20. LH HAS TO TALK AS MUCH AS HE CAN THAT MASSA WOULD BE­ UNDER SO MUCH PRESSURE THAT HE MAY NOT BE IN THE FIRST­ 10.......BECAUSE MASSA IS NOT GOOD WHEN THE HEAT IS ON­ HE ONLY WAITS FOR STOLLEN POINTS

    From clement l, on Tue 21 Oct 9:20AM
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