Another Historic Race

“My heart was in my mouth. I was almost exploding. I don’t know how I kept my cool. It was the toughest race of my life,” Lewis Hamilton, 23, said, according to the Telegraph. His doubly historic victory – he is Formula One’s first black champion in addition to its youngest – was a last-minute upset that robbed Felipe Massa, his closest competitor, of the dream. Rain late in the Grand Prix bumped Hamilton to sixth, after he stopped to change to dry tires. He needed fifth to win the championship. Massa had come in first, and as his fans began to celebrate premature victory, Timo Glock, the fifth place contender, struggled up the last hill before the finish line, and Hamilton overtook him to win the world championship over Massa by a single point. To his credit, Massa took the loss gracefully. “Hamilton did a great job all year,” he said, “He is a worthy champion.”