Timo Glock has denied long-standing claims that he let Lewis Hamilton overtake him on the final lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2008, allowing the Briton to win his first Formula 1 title.
Hamilton passed Glock during the final few corners of the last race of the season to finish fifth at Interlagos, denying race-winner and home driver Felipe Massa the title by a single point.
“There are still people out there that think I did it on purpose,” Glock told Sky Sports at this season’s Brazilian GP last weekend, per Planet F1.
“I was reading comments [where] people say: ‘Ah, it’s really interesting to see how you explain to Felipe that you left the door open like this and you didn’t fight against Lewis.’
“I got to the airport when I left Brazil, I had a police escort to the airport. I got even letters sent to my family back home, to my parents, which were really [over] the limit.”
German Glock said his gamble not to stop for intermediate tyres did not pay off, particularly as there was no chance to pit later to rectify the mistake – because the pit lane was full of people celebrating while thinking Massa had secured the title for Ferrari in his home country.
“At some point I said [via the team radio]: ‘Guys, I don’t think we will survive these last two laps.’
“Anyway, there was no chance to come in anymore, because there was already the whole preparation going on for the podium ceremony; everyone freaked out because he [Massa] in that moment actually was world champion.
“They said: ‘You cannot come in, the pit lane is blocked, you need to stay out.’
“It feels for me still hard to see that, knowing I was in that position to decide the championship, to see how much emotions went down the road.”
Massa would never win another F1 race, while Hamilton – a McLaren driver at the time – would have to wait six more years for his second title.
The 2014 title marked the first of the six the Briton has won with Mercedes.
