Formula One fans are set for another thrilling finale to the 2008 racing season when the F1 'circus' heads to the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos, Brazil for what promises to be an epic battle for the right to be crowned as the newest F1 world champion.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton goes into the race in two weeks' time with a seven-point lead over Ferrari rival and hometown hero Felipe Massa, needing only to finish in the top five (regardless of a Massa win) to secure a historic maiden F1 title. That's the official equation anyway.

Of course, Hamilton is in a similiar situation to the 2007 season, when he went into the final grand prix four points ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso and seven points ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen — when he also needed to finish in the top five to secure the title in what was his rookie year.

But Hamilton's fairytale season turned into a nightmare when he lost six positions on the first lap after starting from second place. His race got worse, however, when he suffered gearbox problems two laps later and lost 10 more positions before he managed to reset his car's computer and got going again.

The damage, though, had been done and despite a valiant attempt to haul himself back into title contention, Hamilton finished in seventh place, picking up just two points. His title rivals both ended up on the podium, with the 'Flying Finn' Raikkonen taking the race honours, while Alonso came in third. The result saw Raikkonen edge out Hamilton by a single point to be crowned world champion in 2007.

This time round, the title fight is a two-way fight between McLaren's Hamilton and Raikkonen's Ferrari team-mate Massa. The Brazilian though should be considered as the favourite to take race-day honours, having finished second in 2007 and winning the race in 2006. Massa, too, has the added advantage of home support counting in his favour.

In recent times, Ferrari have also enjoyed a fair bit of success at Interlagos with the last two race victories going to the Fiorano-based team. McLaren's last win in Brazil came in 2005, with Juan-Pablo Montoya picking up the victory — his second successive Brazil GP win, the previous win having come for BMW.

But make no mistake, Hamilton will be under enourmous pressure to wrap up the title and erase the horror memories of last season.

This time all the attention will be focused firmly on Hamilton. There won't be a Rugby World Cup Final to ease the pressure on his shoulders. To win the F1 title he will need to rein in his aggressive driving style a bit and not take unneccessary risks — something which is virtually unnatural to him.

Can he win the 2008 driver's title? Of that I have no doubt. Can he overcome the mounting pressure to win his first championship title? I believe he will.

But in order to achieve this, the young Briton will need to keep a cooler head than he has shown thus far this season. If not, he might just be ruing yet another near miss in the season's final race...

  • Is Zunaid on the right track here? Is Hamilton set for the F1 title after last season's heartbreak? Pick your championship winner!




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