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To put it in simple words, Lewis Hamilton had to only finish fifth in the final Grand Prix of the year to become the youngest Formula One champion and Felipe Massa not only win the race but also pray that the Briton did not finish fifth or higher.
The script also looked quite simple before the race with all the permutations and combinations worked out after complex calculations. And for most part of the Brazilian Grand Prix, the protagonists played out their roles with precision.
It was all coming to such a predictable and perfect ending that it almost seemed prosaic. There was an air of inevitability, even a feeling of futility and an unmistakable sense of dŽjˆ vu with the last few laps to go. But what ensued has to be narrated backwards to recapture the real excitement of the historic moment.
Having rejoined the race in sixth position after a change of tyres following late showers, Hamilton almost bid goodbye to a bit of history. Massa at the other end of the circuit was cruising into history of his own.
Massa, in fact, took the chequered flag while Hamilton was still in sixth spot and was effectively the Formula One champion. That is till the Briton in a last gasp effort could overtake Toyota's Timo Glock, who was still on dry tyres, at the final turn.
It all happened in a matter of micro seconds. Joy and despair, heaven and hell and victory and defeat changed places seamlessly and history was made, unmade and finally made in front of our own eyes.
Hamilton's victory is not only about talent but also tenacity, patience, perseverance and self-belief. As for Massa, it was a case of coming in the way of destiny. That's the best I can describe his fate. Here is a man who drove almost a perfect race under severe pressure yet was a champion only for a few seconds.
There are very few sporting triumphs of this nature. Many 'mother of all victories' will fade in comparison, 'father of all shocks' pale into obscurity and if there are any 'uncle', 'aunt', 'grandmother' or grandfather' sporting feats, they are best left alone.
This is THE ULTIMATE, the pinnacle of sporting achievement. What could have easily been the biggest meltdown was turned into a sporting miracle.
It's indeed difficult to draw a parallel to Hamilton's feat. Perhaps, Boris Becker or Tiger Woods may come closest in comparison. They were 17 and 21 respectively when they stormed into history books _- the German becoming the youngest Wimbledon champion and the golfer the youngest major winner.
But Hamilton, I presume, has gone a step forward. The 23-year-old has entered untested territory by the sheer manner of his achievement. It opens the gates for infinite possibilities.
To begin with, Michael Schumacher's records come under threat - the same records which were considered immune to human imagination till recently. With Hamilton having at least a decade of driving ahead of him, every record of Schumacher - world titles, race victories, pole positions, fastest laps, etc, look imminently breakable.
At the other end, Hamilton is well on his way to becoming a billionaire in sports. According to Forbes, Woods is on target to reach the $1-billion mark by 2010. Hamilton may take a bit longer to reach that mark, but the possibilities of him overtaking the golfer are great given the bigger market for Formula One.
But all that seems so irrelevant right now. Because it's high time to hail a new hero and welcome a new era, not only in Formula One but also in sports as a whole. Well done Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton.
