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Formula One 2009 starts this week

The race season may have ended but the Honda Racing F1 Team has some busy weeks ahead as winter testing gets underway. Just two weeks after the thrilling conclusion to the 2008 season at the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Honda Racing F1 Team will kick off its on-track preparations for 2009 with a three-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona this week.

2008 Season Review in Numbers

The 2008 Formula One World Championship season was the most successful in the BMW Sauber F1 Team's history to date. The Munich and Hinwil based squad celebrated its maiden Grand Prix win and confirmed its position as one of the three top teams on the Formula One grid.

Formula one: Ecclestone in firing line over Hamilton row

Formula one boss Bernie Ecclestone has been widely criticised for refusing to acknowledge racism in the sport

Schumacher praises Hamilton feat

Formula One legend Michael Schumacher congratulates new world champion Lewis Hamilton - but warns that Felipe Massa will threaten again.

Formula one: Lewis Hamilton's father reveals hurt at racists

Lewis Hamilton may have been crowned world champion on Sunday but that has not dispelled the bad feeling left from a week that had seen him racially abused on a Spanish website, insulted by two Brazilian comedians and handed a toy black cat - a symbol of bad luck in Brazil - at a sponsor's function.Yesterday his father, Anthony, spoke for the first time about how he had attempted to deflect the worst of the bad feeling away from Lewis and revealed that the extent of ill-will was so bad that his 16-year-old son, Nicholas, who suffers from cerebral palsy, had also been handed a black cat as he entered their hotel. "I thought that was extremely unprofessional," said Hamilton senior. "But do you know what they fail to realise? We've a black cat at home and she has been extremely positive for us. "My family has taken a lot of stick this past week, not just this week, but the past few months," he said. "I did think that maybe this isn't the place for my family because as a parent you make sure you do right for your family and kids."But I never said anything to Lewis. I kept it to myself, even though I was going home thinking, 'I didn't think the world was quite like this'. And then you think 'It's just the way it is', and I'd send Lewis a text saying 'whatever happens, people love you'. The negative people are a small percentage, and even the negative ones have a heart."Anthony Hamilton said he would not let the negativity spoil his enjoyment at his son becoming the youngest world champion at 23. "We came into this to do a decent job and we deserve to be here. If people like us, then great. If [they] don't, then I am sad for them and maybe God will forgive them."But we are decent people and remain decent people. I just don't understand why our message gets missed. But when things go against you, you rise above it and get stronger and stronger. Everything negative thrown at us is just huge positive energy. It's like fuel, the more you give us the more it fuels us, and it's brilliant. You can't run and hide."Hamilton awoke as the new world champion, announced that he felt refreshed and brushed aside the notion that he is interested in matching Michael Schumacher's formula one record of seven drivers' titles. He did, however, admit that he will be aiming for three after the McLaren chairman, Ron Dennis, promised him the gift of a £1.5m McLaren F1LM Supercar should he reach that milestone.Hamilton radiated an almost childlike delight as he relayed details of the deal his employer had offered. "This is the car I have always wanted since I had a car book for Christmas with the photograph of this orange McLaren on the cover about 10 years ago," he said. "When I am at the factory I always stop and open the door of this machine, which I think is the most beautiful car in the world."The champion, who earns an estimated £10m-a-year from McLaren, could easily afford to buy one but he was at pains to insist that money is not his top priority. "I'm comfortable in life," he said, as he addressed the topic of potentially becoming the sport's first billionaire. "It's an amazing feeling to know you have some money considering I never had £100 to go and buy a pair of trainers when I was younger. So to think I can do that now is great, but money doesn't really appeal to me. As a young kid, to be given an opportunity in formula one, I would have done it for free. It just so happens I get paid to do my hobby, everything I love. My reward is winning the world championship. What else do I need?"Lewis HamiltonFormula oneMotor sportRace issuesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Formula one: Doubters wrong to round on Glock for 'gifting' Hamilton the F1 title

Gemma Briggs: Bloggers have questioned Timo Glock's significant loss of pace on the final lap in Brazil. But the conspiracy theories are way off the mark

Chequered flag

Coulthard's farewell to Formula One

Formula one: This is first of many says Lewis Hamilton as he becomes youngest champion

In a setting where his idol Ayrton Senna was once worshipped, Lewis Hamilton yesterday achieved the ambition that has gripped him since he was a six-year-old boy playing with a radio-controlled car. At the end of two years in which he has inspired a rare combination of admiration and resentment, Hamilton brought his two-year grand prix career to the first of what may be many climaxes.There are many ways to win the world championship, and the one selected by Hamilton was certainly among the most dramatic. For much of yesterday's race his McLaren-Mercedes had been sitting comfortably in fifth position behind the Ferrari of his greatest rival, Felipe Massa, another driver, Sebastian Vettel, whose Toro Rosso car had a Ferrari engine, his rival's team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, and Massa's most ardent supporter - Fernando Alonso. But as long as the situation remained unchanged and he kept his hold on the fifth place which would be enough to guarantee him the title, he did not need to mount what would have been a series of risky challenges.It was the insertion of Timo Glock's Toyota into an unexpected fourth place, the German driver benefiting from a decision to stay out on dry tyres while the rest were diving into the pits and changing to wets for the closing laps, which provided Hamilton - suddenly relegated to sixth - with a final challenge. As Glock slid around the rainswept track on increasingly unsuitable rubber, Hamilton found a way past with only a few hundred yards to go."Before it started to rain I was quite comfortable, and I was just concentrating on having a clean race," he said. "Then it started to drizzle and I didn't want to take any risks - but Sebastian got past me and I was told that I had to get back in front of him. I couldn't believe it. Then at the very last corner I managed to get in front of Timo. It was just amazing. I was shouting, 'Do I have it? Do I have it?' on the radio. It was only when I took the chequered flag and got to turn one that the team told me I was world champion."This was the most dramatic race of my whole life. It's pretty much impossible to put into words. It's been such a long journey, but I've always had the support of my family, the team, our partners and the fans. We did a fantastic job throughout the whole year and, with all the sacrifices we made, I'm so thrilled to be able to win this for everyone."It's been a fairytale story. Ron Dennis gave me my opportunity years ago. He had the foresight to bring me in, to groom me to get to this position. I've grabbed it with both hands and I've paid him back in full, so I'm happy with that. I hope this is the first of many, but I don't know if my heart can take that final lap in many more seasons. It is absolutely fantastic, an amazing achievement, but one of the most troubled days. It was such a hard race, but now I'm ecstatic and very emotional."Perhaps there was no greater tribute than the one paid by Alonso, who arrived in the McLaren garage to congratulate the man who had just taken his title as the youngest champion in formula one history. The two have been viewed as bitter enemies since they clashed while both were in the McLaren team last season. "Well done," the holder of the 2005 and 2006 titles said, putting his arm around the shoulders of the newly crowned champion.The vanquished Massa was equally gracious in defeat. "We need to congratulate Lewis," he said after winning the race - his sixth of the season, to Hamilton's five - but missing the title by a single point. "He did a great championship. I know how to win and I know how to lose - it's part of life, part of our experience."Massa described the seconds immediately after he took the chequered flag, when he depended on his race engineer, Rob Smedley, to tell him whether or not he had won the title. "When I crossed the line, Rob was telling me, 'Calm down, calm down, I need to check Hamilton'. Then I was going into turn one and it was taking for ever. It was, 'Wait a second, he's fighting with Glock.' Then I got to turn three and it was 'OK, he's passed Glock'."Dennis, McLaren's chairman, revealed how close the call in the closing stages had been: "We just said to Lewis, 'OK, this is it. Just be careful. You will catch him.' It was heart-stopping stuff."Sir Stirling Moss, the best driver never to win the title, was effusive in his praise. "It was staggering," he said. "I thought the whole race was terrific and Lewis won the world title in a tremendous finish. He's a racer. He gets on with it. He's good in the wet, good in the dry."It's very difficult comparing drivers from my era, when it was really dangerous, to now, so it's not like for like. But if you're talking about a man's ability to control a car, I think he's up there [with the best] now."As he celebrated with his team, Hamilton said: "I'd like to thank McLaren for giving me such a wonderful car and my family for being here to support me. We came, we saw and we did what we had to do."ITV's dramatic last lapJames Allen We're expecting Massa any time now. He comes through to claim his sixth victory of the season. He has done everything he needed to do and we wait now to find out who will be the world champion of 2008. Can Hamilton do anything? Can he run it up the inside of Vettel? Only a few corners to go now and desperation starts to creep into Lewis Hamilton. Martin Brundle Raikkonen's third and ... (shouting) is that Glock, is that Glock? It is! That's Glock!JA Oh my goodness me. Hamilton's back in position again. A hundred thousand local hearts sink in the grandstand. It's handed the place back to Hamilton. He comes through. And you're right, I'm sure, that he's going to claim fifth place which is all he needs to do to become ...MB Yes! JA ... the 2008 formula one world champion. Lewis Hamilton, and you will ... well, the Ferrari boys are celebrating, they think they have won. They're wrong. They absolutely haven't. Hamilton finished fifth. And Lewis, the father realised he celebrated too early, and Nicole Scherzinger, the girlfriend of Lewis Hamilton, hugs Aki Hintsa, his head doctor. You will never see a more dramatic conclusion to any motor race, let alone a grand prix, and the result of it all is that, in the most harum scarum way possible - he doesn't make it easy for himself, does he? - Lewis Hamilton is the world champion.MB Unbelievable.Formula oneLewis HamiltonMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Last-gasp Hamilton takes F1 crown

Lewis Hamilton becomes Formula One's youngest champion after a nail-biting Brazilian Grand Prix.

Formula one: The Loner of the Pack

Given the expectation swirling around today's climax to a long and tense world championship, it is easy to forget that one of the contenders is a 23-year-old coming to the end of his second season in Formula One. More than that, it is the second time Lewis Hamilton has been in this position; an exceptional achievement, even by F1's lofty standards. That Hamilton failed spectacularly and somewhat bizarrely at the final hurdle last year has either notched up the feeling that matters will be put right today as a matter of course, or it has encouraged the belief that the Englishman will choke once more in the heat of a Brazilian afternoon. The former opinion holds sway thanks to impressive performances that have vastly outnumbered the mistakes, but the sense of anticipation overrides the reality of Hamilton's limited experience when continually playing the lead role within such a ruthless business.'I think the world in general forgets that,' Hamilton says. 'Even I forget that I've only been here for two years. It feels like I've been here a lot longer because I've been leading the world championship [for the majority of the past two seasons]. It's crazy. I think people wake up on a Sunday morning and see me as another competitor who they expect to see win. Partly that's because I've given that expectation. And that's how I like it. In every sport and championship, I've worked my arse off to make sure that when I get there, I'm on the money and I have to work from there and move up, rather than start lower and make my way from there.'From the age of eight Hamilton has won championships in every category he has entered. Yet when he arrived in F1 with McLaren-Mercedes last year, even his most ardent supporter did not expect the youngster from Stevenage to finish on the podium in his first nine races (a record) and win four times in the season.Suggestions that Hamilton's achievements had been inevitable thanks to the quality of his car were put into perspective by performances that occasionally humbled Fernando Alonso in the other McLaren. The twice world champion's lasting bitterness has been the visible tip of an undercurrent of dislike for a self-assured rival with a precocious talent. A poll in the Interlagos paddock this morning would probably indicate Felipe Massa as the championship contender the majority of drivers would like to see take the title. The object of their frustration is scarcely surprised.'It's been similar throughout my whole career,' Hamilton says. 'I get to somewhere and I do really well... It's just the way it is. It's like if you're Michael Schumacher and you have a youngster come in and beat you at his first attempt, you're not going be happy. And I'm sure that's how some people picture it. Everyone has their own opinions. I don't socialise with the other drivers. I'm not a member of the GPDA [Grand Prix Drivers' Association]. I don't hang around and play poker, so they don't really know me to comment on me. I don't particularly think they don't like me; it's just that they don't know me well enough.'A card school has become a popular post-practice activity among a select handful of drivers led by Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella. Even if Hamilton wished to play, he would have difficulty finding time in a schedule of media and sponsor commitments, as well as lengthy debriefs with his engineers. The rumbling animosity neither saddens him nor creates unwanted pressure.'I'm not particularly bothered because I've got some really good friends here, and I've got some really good friends in my life,' Hamilton says. 'We're competitors; we're not here to play in the paddock. I don't want to be hated. I like to be with people as much as I can be and I try to build relationships, but we don't have enough time to have too much fun. If I was here to try and make friendships then it would seem tough. But that's not the case. When I approach them [drivers], they shake my hand and they're very polite. The important thing is that I feel there is respect when we're on the circuit.'That respect was diminished in Italy in September, when Hamilton eased the Toyota of Timo Glock on to the grass, a potentially more serious tactic than the heavily publicised first-corner incident in Japan when Hamilton's over-enthusiasm and misjudgment under braking were labelled as excessively aggressive. A few drivers felt it was merely a typical first-lap incident. Either way, it prompted debate about Hamilton's apparent inability to control his rage to win at a time when being close to the championship called for circumspection, a tactic he may require today, given his seven-point advantage.'I do find it hard sometimes,' he says. 'It's easy for me to say, "Right, this race I'm going to take it easy, blah, blah, blah," but it goes against everything in your whole body. You go there to win. But you also have to say, "Right, there's a long race ahead. If I don't get the lead into turn one, I still have 67 laps..." That's what I didn't think in that small period of time in Japan. 'My first thought was to get past [having lost the lead at the start]. That's what my heart told me to do. In that second, I didn't think with my mind as much as I should have. I was angry at the time with the decision I made, but I can't fight what my heart wants because I am a racing driver and sometimes you make mistakes. 'It looked a lot worse than it actually was, because one mistake leads to another mistake - well, not a mistake as such, but another bad situation. It looked like a complete disaster. I only made that one mistake in the race, but it led to other things going wrong.'That is another way of saying Hamilton found himself battling with Massa despite the Ferrari having started five places further back on the grid. When Massa made a mistake and Hamilton took advantage, the Brazilian then engaged in his share of failing to think clearly as he drove into the McLaren, spinning Hamilton to the back of the field. Despite initial reports that he felt his rival's actions had been deliberate, Hamilton harbours no hard feelings.'In the car, you're fierce competitors, for sure,' Hamilton says. 'Felipe is a great guy out of the car. He's always smiling and he's always having fun. His personality is very much that of a family man. He always has his dad around, just like me, so we share a lot in common. He's very competitive and he's very talented and I think this year he's showing even more just how talented he is. For his strengths, I'd say he's really an all-rounder; I wouldn't say he was more strong in qualifying or anything like this or that. He's obviously very strong at being able to put the car at the limit and extract the most out of it.'Hamilton and Massa received identical penalties for their various actions in Japan, although it was a curious decision by the stewards in favour of Massa over another incident later in the race that reopened the debate about officials perhaps not favouring Ferrari but picking on McLaren. Most notable has been the 25-second penalty that robbed Hamilton of the victory in Belgium that would have allowed the McLaren driver to secure the championship two weeks ago in China.'I've not really thought about it, to be honest,' Hamilton says. 'This is in the past. I've had a lot of penalties this year. Did I deserve them? Sometimes you do, sometimes you deserve a slap on the hand and sometimes you don't deserve it. But the stewards make the decisions and you have to deal with it. They're harsh on everyone. It does seem at times, though, that they've been a bit more harsh on us.'Such has been the intensity of the competition that Hamilton and Massa have made their fair share of mistakes in the preceding 17 races. Hamilton is at a loss to explain why this season has been inconsistent when compared with 2007, a year free from incidents such as driving into the back of Alonso in Bahrain, crashing into Kimi Raikkonen in the pit lane in Canada and becoming involved in controversy in France, Belgium and Japan.'I don't know why this is,' Hamilton says. 'I will have to sit down and analyse all those different events. I look back now and I don't live in regret, but I wish those things hadn't happened. But when they do, you become stronger; you get a knock and you bounce back. It would be lovely to go through a season without any problems. Last year, I had nine consecutive races with no problems and it would be fantastic to have that again. But these things happen for a reason and you just have to deal with it.'This year, I think I've done a good job. I set very high goals for myself, so I feel I've made too many mistakes. Some things have forced that and there is nothing I can do about it. I just have to move forward.'I've been leading the world championship and that's no easy thing. But it's no coincidence. I've not had any races given to me; I've worked for every single one of them. So I have to be proud in that sense. Also, I have a team that supports me every step of the way; there's not one guy or girl in my team who's not putting in 100 per cent. They all do a fantastic job. Now it's my turn to do my bit.'Sport interviewsFormula oneLewis Hamiltonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds