Somebody will be crowned 2008 drivers' champion in Brazil on Sunday, and the permutations are so complicated that if you can't get your head around it, you are forgiven. Hamilton's seven point lead essentially means that if he finishes fifth or higher then he will be champion, but Massa will take the crown if the two finish level on points (which will happen if Massa wins and Hamilton finishes sixth, or if Massa finishes second with Hamilton eighth) by virtue of his having more victories than Hamilton over the season, or in the latter case more second places.
In fact it is somewhat unfortunate that Hamilton is highly likely to win the championship despite the fact that he has not won as many races as the Brazilian. Massa's capitulation during the British Grand Prix has come back to haunt him and Hamilton's fan's will point to the fact that his accumulation of points over the season is proof of his more consistent driving over the course of the year. Indeed the young Brit has only finished out of the points on four occasions to Massa's five, but in all truth either would be a worthy champion.
I fully expect that Hamilton will be crowned champion; realistically all he needs to do is to drive sensibly and in a car as fast as his he need not do much more than go through the motions. The only worry would be that he will try to clinch the championship in style by winning in Brazil, and if he needs to take a risk in order to do that then he could make a mistake given the pressure he will be under. On home turf Massa will be determined to give it everything, and even if Hamilton does take the ultimate prize, the Ferrari driver will want to go out with a bang.
One comfort for Massa in his quest for victory is his superb record in this race, he won it in 2006 and indeed would have made it back to back wins last year were in not for his having to give way to Kimi Raikkonen and concede first place, the Finn still being in the championship race at the time. He was on pole position in both the 2006 and 2007 races and even in the early part of his career when driving for Sauber he finished in the top half in his two attempts in a slow car. At 13/8 with Betfred he looks a cracking bet to take pole position for the third time in a row, whilst Skybet's 5/1 about a pole, win, and fastest lap hat-trick also looks attractive.
