Nov.3 (GMM) “I’m just wondering how much money Timo had on Lewis to be world champion,” an online reader of the International Herald Tribune newspaper wryly commented after the decisive Brazilian grand prix
Had Toyota’s Timo Glock not posted a laptime 20 seconds slower than his previous tour of the Interlagos circuit and ceded a place to the Briton, Lewis Hamilton would not have clinched the world championship
“I am not sure if Glock was trying to do Hamilton a favour or not,” said commentator and 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg
The ‘favour’ theory is unlikely, given the fact that Hamilton and Glock, following a run-in or two this season, are hardly the best of friends
“I definitely did not give the place to him (deliberately),” Glock told reporters
Precisely why Glock had not changed to wet tyres in the late rain shower was not explained, but the German apparently revealed after the race that he had made the request to his pitwall
“Who would have thought that Glock would have stayed out on dry tyres? It’s all a bit technical, but there doesn’t seem like anything dodgy or untoward,” said McLaren boss Ron Dennis
Team chief executive Martin Whitmarsh insisted the team was confident Glock would be overhauled on the decisive lap, but Mercedes’ Norbert Haug admits his heart sank when Sebastian Vettel stole the necessary fifth place from Hamilton
Asked what had gone through his head, the German answered: “A (German swear) word that begins with S-C-H and ends with E!”nnGlock said he felt bad for Felipe Massa, whose crew in the Ferrari garage celebrated the title for a few seconds before it became clear that the Toyota had dropped behind Hamilton
In an interview with ITV, Hamilton laughed when he was asked what he will say to Glock when he sees him next
“Well, I don’t think I … he did a great job. Thank god he didn’t get in my way or we didn’t collide. So a big thank you to him for staying out of the way,” the McLaren driver said
