He thus offered James Hunt, the only remaining contender, the opportunity to bridge the three-point gap. The Briton was on his way to getting the job done, but after the rain stopped and the runway dried quickly, problems with the wet weather tires loomed. Five laps before the end, an error has already occurred on the left front.
The stopping point that became necessary brought Hunt back from second to fifth, which wasn’t enough to raise the flag. A literal catch-up ensued and after taking out Alan Jones and Clay Rigazzoni, Hunt crossed the line in third, overtaking Lauda and signaling a second place in the final standings.
2007: Hamilton’s refinement
Lewis Hamilton also has extensive experience dealing with sensational controversies. He failed to finish the championship in China in 2007, but nevertheless made it to Brazil with four points ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso and seven points over Kimi Raikkonen.
The general classification leader had gearbox problems early in the race at Interlagos and was unable to play any meaningful role. It took only seventh place. Alonso may have kept his McLaren-Mercedes furniture, but the Spaniard was stuck in third place.
