2008 Brazilian Grand Prix began from third next to McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton. Rain fell minutes before the race, delaying the start, and as the track dried Massa established a lead of several seconds. More rain late in the race made the last few laps treacherous for the drivers, but could not prevent Massa from winning the Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel of Toro Rosso finished in fourth place behind Alonso and Räikkönen. Hamilton passed Toyota's Timo Glock in the final corners of the race to finish fifth, securing him the points needed to take the Drivers' Championship. Hamilton received praise from many in the
Brazilian Grand Prix led the race from start to finish to get the second victory of his career and to be greeted by celebrations from his Brazilian supporters. In March 2008, the mayor of São Paulo announced that he had signed a new deal with Bernie Ecclestone to continue the holding of the Brazilian Grand Prix. This deal allowed the Brazilian race to be on the calendar until 2015. With this, Interlagos was set for major improvements in its pit and paddock facilities. In the final race of the 2008 season in Brazil, Lewis Hamilton became the youngest Formula One World Champion up