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Lewis Hamilton became the youngest man to win the Formula One championship after a frantic finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo.

The 23-year-old McLaren driver passed Timo Glock at the final corner of the final lap for fifth place, which gave Hamilton the title by one point over Felipe Massa of Ferrari.

“It’s pretty impossible to put into words,” Hamilton said. “I thought do I have it? Do I have it? And when they told me, I was ecstatic.”

One year ago, Kimi Raikkonen, of Ferrari, beat out Hamilton for the championship by a single point in Brazil. And for a moment on Sunday, it looked like another Ferrari driver would do the same.

And Massa did all he could. Racing in front of his home crowd, the young Brazilian claimed pole position on Saturday, then drove a perfect race on Sunday. He stayed in front — even after an early safety car period — and stayed in control with a series of fastest laps.

Hamilton was also racing comfortably in fourth. And it looked like he would simply cruise to the championship. But then with seven laps to go, rain started to fall.

Cars dove to the pits for wet-weather tires.

With a massive lead, Massa was able to change tires and stay out in front. But Hamilton lost a place and was suddenly fifth.

With just over two laps to go, Sebastien Vettel, of Scuderia Toro Rosso, made a daring move to pass Hamilton, who fell to sixth. With the championship on the line, Hamilton tried desperately to regain the position but was unable to find his way around — the championship was slipping away.

Hamilton was losing ground to Vettel, as Massa crossed the checkered flag. And it looked like Hamilton’s season was lost, until the last corner of the race (and the season).

In a wash of white spray, Vettel led Hamilton around Glock’s Toyota, which was on dry tires and losing grip at the final uphill corner. Moments later, Hamilton was celebrating his first championship. In the end it wasn’t a move by McLaren or Ferrari that decided Hamilton’s fate on Sunday; it was a tire decision by Toyota.

Fernando Alonso finished second for Renault. Raikkonen was third to help Ferrari win the constructors’ title over McLaren.

No one in the McLaren garage seemed too bothered.

“We’re really pleased for the team and delighted for Lewis,” Ron Dennis, McLaren’s team boss, told ITV Sport’s Steve Rider. “He’s very special — he’s not just won a world championship, he’s the youngest ever world champion.”

Hamilton is also the first black Formula One champion.

“It’s been such a long journey — all the sacrifices we’ve made, I’m so thrilled to do this for everyone,” said Hamilton. “It was one of the toughest races of my life.”

The finish was so close that for a few moments, the Ferrari garage thought Massa had won the championship. But then reality set in. Massa could be seen wiping tears from his eyes as he rounded the track on his cool-down lap.

Afterward, Massa looked solemn but did not sound like a defeated man.

“That’s one more day of my life, and I learned a lot,” he told reporters, adding, “We had some ups and downs and we paid for it. But racing is like that.”