Lewis Hamilton cruelly denied historic F1 title in tense showdown

In one of the most dramatic F1 title showdowns in the sport's history, Lewis Hamilton was cruelly denied a maiden championship in just his rookie season.

On this day 19 years ago, the Brazilian Grand Prix marked the final round of the season.

Hamilton entered the event needing only fifth place to become F1's youngest world champion, only to watch the title slip away in the space of a few chaotic laps at Interlagos.

The McLaren rookie had led the drivers' championship into the finale, but a difficult opening lap set the tone for his afternoon. 

Hamilton locked up behind Fernando Alonso as he tried to avoid contact, running wide and dropping down the order. Worse was to come on lap eight, when his MP4-22 unexpectedly selected neutral and coasted for around 30 to 40 seconds before the gearbox reset itself, dropping him as low as 18th. 

McLaren later insisted the fault stemmed from an internal gearbox default rather than driver error, though the exact cause was never fully resolved.

The team switched Hamilton to an aggressive three-stop strategy in an attempt to salvage the result, but it left him short, with the Briton crossing the line seventh. That was not enough. 

Kimi Raikkonen, who had trailed Hamilton by seven points heading into the race, used an overcut during Ferrari's second round of pit stops to leapfrog teammate Felipe Massa and take victory, snatching the title by a single point.

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What was said?

Hamilton reflected on a brutal finish to his debut season, stating: “It wasn't a great start to the race, I locked up behind Fernando basically to avoid hitting him and went a bit wide. 

“I came back on and was quite relaxed, I knew that I had the pace."

He struck a philosophical tone when assessing the bigger picture.

"For sure we led the World Championship all the way to the last race and we had a tough three weeks, there was nothing we could do. We did the best job we could, the team did a phenomenal job all year.

“The car was great and I honestly still believe that we have the quickest car and I think we've learnt so much from this year, we'll go into next season with our heads high and I know I will do even a better job next year and come back even stronger."

Alonso, who finished third, conceded the title belonged to his rival. "The result today is of course disappointing but we already knew that it would be difficult starting from fourth to win the race and the Championship today.

McLaren subsequently appealed fuel temperature irregularities on the Williams and BMW Sauber cars, a case that could theoretically have handed Hamilton the crown. 

The FIA's International Court of Appeal threw it out weeks later, with Jean Todt declaring that "a final and desperate attempt to change the result obtained on the track was rejected."