Lewis Hamilton from the German. However, on the final lap he and Vettel made up an 18-second gap to overtake Timo Glock, who was struggling on dry tyres, on the last corner to re-take fifth place and deny race-winner Massa the title by one point. This made Hamilton the youngest driver to win the World Drivers' Championship, the first black driver, and the first British driver to win the World Championship since Damon Hill in 1996. Hamilton was verbally heckled and otherwise abused during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya by several Spanish spectators who wore black face paint and black
2009 Italian Grand Prix Briton's "never-give-up attitude, his unquenchable desire to fight until the very last metre of the very last lap." The focus of the F1 paddock after the race, however, was on the looming Crashgate hearing at the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris the following week. This was to determine whether Renault had asked former driver Nelson Piquet, Jr. to crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, to aid teammate Fernando Alonso ultimately win the race. Lewis Hamilton mathematically conceded the defence of his World Championship following the result of this race as only Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Sebastian Vettel