"Proud" Dennis hails Hamilton title win
Monday, 03 Nov 2008 11:33
Lewis Hamilton celebrates with his father Anthony
McLaren boss Ron Dennis has spoken of his pride in young protégé Lewis Hamilton after the 23-year-old won the formula one world title in Brazil.
In what Dennis called "one of the most thrilling finishes in sporting history", Hamilton passed Toyota's Timo Glock on the final corner to secure the fifth place he needed to win the drivers' crown, just seconds after rival Felipe Massa won the race.
The dramatic scenes even saw Ferrari mechanics and Massa's close friends and family celebrating the win - thinking the world title was theirs - with the Briton sitting sixth after being passed by Sebastian Vettel on the penultimate lap.
But a breathless finale left everyone stunned at Interlagos - including Dennis, who has nurtured Hamilton from a young age.
"That was a really tough race," he said afterwards.
"We never pushed hard, we never did anything silly, but of course the late rain made things extraordinarily tense.
"Even so, even when Sebastian got past Lewis, we never gave up, and Lewis never gave up, because we knew that Timo was on dry tyres.
"Lewis took his chance brilliantly, and the result was one of the most thrilling finishes in sporting history."
An emotional Dennis also paid tribute to the McLaren team, who celebrated in fine style despite losing out on the constructors' title to Ferrari.
"I'm so proud of Lewis; I'm so proud of the team; everyone - every single one of them - did an absolutely fantastic job," he added.