Rob Smedley shares his radio message to Felipe Massa after losing the 2008 title to Lewis Hamilton

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Former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley has shared what he said to Felipe Massa after his heartbreaking defeat to Lewis Hamilton in the 2008 drivers’ championship.

Lewis Hamilton has been involved in some of the most nail-biting title fights in Formula 1 history, and in 2008, his nemesis was Ferrari star Felipe Massa.

The British driver missed out on winning the championship in his maiden season by a single point to Kimi Raikkonen, but the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix saw him finally go one better, with Massa the unfortunate driver who missed out.

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Hamilton overtook Timo Glock on the last lap, cutting short celebrations in the Ferrari garage.

Massa achieved an astonishing victory, and for a few moments, it looked like he had done enough to overturn Hamilton’s advantage and become the first Brazilian since Ayrton Senna to become world champion.

Unfortunately, heartbreak followed, and Rob Smedley has shared details on the conversation he had with Massa over the team radio on his way back to the pit lane.

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Rob Smedley told Felipe Massa he was ‘extremely proud’ after 2008 Lewis Hamilton title heartbreak

Smedley was a guest on the High Performance Podcast and spoke about the final lap at Interlagos that briefly led to euphoria in the Ferrari garage.

When Massa crossed the line, he had done everything he needed to be champion, and Smedley recounted being dragged off the pit wall by celebrating Ferrari mechanics, before spotting Hamilton come past the end of the pit lane before Glock, confirming his title win.

Reflecting on that cooldown lap, Smedley said: “I just said to him, the synopsis of the message was, paraphrasing the message was, ‘Look, we couldn’t have done any more right in this event.

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“‘We’ve done everything we possibly can. You should be extremely proud of yourself. We are extremely proud of you.’

“‘It wasn’t that one race and whether or not you’ve got another world championship trophy or your first world championship trophy, in his case, I guess in the annals of time it becomes a bit meaningless.

“It was the journey for me, and I talk about this a lot now, even to the guys that I work with now, like enjoy the journey, right?

“You’ve got to enjoy the journey. If it’s all about the destination, you’ll be miserable. Actually enjoying the journey usually gets you to the destination.”

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What Felipe Massa has privately said about losing the 2008 F1 championship to Lewis Hamilton

Massa suffered an awful accident the following season after being hit by a spring that came off Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn car, and while he returned to Formula 1 the following year, he never won another race.

After having to emerge from Michael Schumacher’s shadow, Massa found himself up against Fernando Alonso when Kimi Raikkonen moved on, and it was clear that the Spaniard was Ferrari’s priority.

Massa has since reflected on losing the title to Hamilton, and was widely applauded for his response to coming so close to winning the championship before ultimately missing out that day.

The Brazilian driver has since taken legal action over the 2008 title due to the events that unfolded at the Singapore Grand Prix, where Nelson Piquet Jr allegedly crashed deliberately to help Alonso win the race.