Former Ferrari engineer shares ‘uncontrollable’ reaction after Felipe Massa lost 2008 title to Lewis Hamilton

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The 2008 title showdown between Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton was one of the most memorable in Formula 1 history.

Lewis Hamilton came into the race with a seven-point lead over Felipe Massa and with a maximum of 10 points on offer, the Ferrari driver could still win the championship if Hamilton finished in sixth or lower.

Massa took a convincing pole but Hamilton was fourth on the grid at the start. Although the McLaren driver was in the top five for most of the race, he dropped out when the team made the gamble to switch to Intermediate tyres on the wet track.

It turned out to be the right one, as Hamilton was considerably quicker than all those who stayed out on dry tyres, including the Toyota of Timo Glock. On the final lap, Hamilton was chasing Sebastian Vettel down for fifth but as they reached the penultimate corner, Glock was slow exiting and enabled Hamilton to overtake.

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The iconic move sealed Hamilton the title and meant race winner Massa, was only the world champion for all of 30 seconds. Recalling the moment on the Pitlane Life Lessons podcast, Massa’s former engineer Rob Smedley revealed what he did in the immediate aftermath of the race.

Rob Smedley cried ‘uncontrollably’ in aftermath of Felipe Massa 2008 title loss

Massa has won the race in front of his home crowd in Brazil and took to the podium with a display of emotion, having lost the title in the final moments of the race.

Smedley was on the pit wall when it all happened and recalled watching the screens as the action unfolded, while the scenes showed the Ferrari mechanics celebrating moments before Hamilton made the last-lap move.

“When Felipe crosses the line I was trying to intently watch. Everyone thinks we’ve won and starts to pull me off the pit wall and I was like ‘Stop! Stop! I’m still working!’ They’re basically dragging me right off the pit wall and I just managed to turn to the side and saw the silver car in front of the white and red car,” said Smedley.

“At that point, you just accept it. But I took myself off and went behind the hospitality buildings and cried for about an hour, uncontrollably. Just on my own, there was nobody else there. For just 30 minutes, then sorted myself out and that was the end of it. I’ve always been a person that never looks back, I was like ‘Right, that’s the end of it. It’s done.’”

Timo Glock explains reaction from journalists after Lewis Hamilton move

Glock was the subject of a lot of controversy at the end of the race, having effectively won Hamilton the title by letting him overtake at the final corner.

His sector times were dropping off on the final lap as the track got wetter, causing him to go slower on the dry tyres and effectively prevent himself from crashing out.

When he pulled up into the pit lane following the race behind Hamilton’s car, Glock recalled having a lot of journalists storm up to him and ask if he had let Hamilton through on purpose.

It was only when his physiotherapist told him the situation that he realised what was going on, having not known who won the title until he entered the pit lane at the end of the race.