This time, Hamilton does what is needed

This time he succeeded: Lewis Hamilton became the youngest world champion in the 58-year history of Formula One after finishing fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix, the final race of the Formula One season.
Last year Hamilton squandered a seven-point series lead in the last race and lost the title by a single point to Kimi Raikkonen.
On Sunday, Hamilton started from fourth on the grid while his closest rival in the championship, Felipe Massa, started from pole position. But again Hamilton led by only seven points and had to finish fifth or higher. Massa had to finish first or second and hope that Hamilton was no better than sixth.
It was a nail-biting trial from the beginning, with a deluge three minutes before the start causing changes of position and team strategies. But Hamilton proved that he could hold it all together and finish exactly where he needed to.
In a wild last lap in the rain, Hamilton dropped out of fifth. As Massa crossed the finish line, his team at first told him he had won the title. But then Hamilton passed Timo Glock on the final stretch and a Ferrari engineer told Massa he had not won the title.
"The most dramatic race of my whole life," Hamilton said. "It's pretty much impossible to put into words.
"It's been a long journey, but I've always had the support of my family, the team, our partners and the fans."
For Massa it was a bittersweet result, as he, too, did all that he could to win the title. Starting from pole position, the Brazilian controlled the race from the start to take his 11th career victory, his second in Brazil.
"The race was just perfect, we did everything fantastically," Massa said. "It's a really emotional day for me.
"You come here and do everything perfect with the championship, but the race finishes with the checkered flag and unfortunately we missed one point - but that's racing."
It was only Hamilton's second season in the sport, and his 35th race. He has nine victories and has finished on the podium 22 times. Hamilton ended the season with 98 points, to 97 for Massa.
The previous youngest world champion was Fernando Alonso, who won the title at age 24 in 2005. Hamilton is 23.
The constructors' title went to Ferrari, which finished with 172 points, to 151 for McLaren.
After his failure to win last year, Hamilton was criticized for cracking under pressure, and his ability to win the title was put under question.
The race on Sunday buried any such doubts.
Just before the race started, with the cars sitting on the grid, the skies opened in a torrential shower that inundated the track. The start was delayed for 10 minutes to give the teams time to put rain tires on the cars.
Although both Massa and Hamilton made good starts and held position, a couple of accidents farther down the pack brought out the safety car to neutralize the race while the debris was cleaned up. The race restarted after Lap 4.
After eight laps many of the cars began to enter the pit lane to change their tires from the rain tires to dry-weather tires.
This shook up the order. But through it all, both Massa and Hamilton drove exemplary races, doing all they had to hold the necessary positions.
Not even the two pit stops would loosen their hold on just the position they needed to win the title.
Then, with five laps left, the rain began to fall again and the leaders all stopped to put on rain tires again.
Massa held on for one lap and stopped with four laps left. He returned to the track still in the lead with Hamilton in fifth.
Sebastian Vettel, in a Toro Rosso, passed Hamilton, pushing him down to sixth. The British driver was on his last lap and the title was slipping away again. He reacted. In the final meters, he passed Glock, finished fifth and took the title by that single point that he needed.
"Before it started to rain I was quite comfortable, and I was just focused on having a clean race," said Hamilton. "Then it started to drizzle and I didn't want to take any risks, but Sebastian got past me and I was told that I had to get back in front of him. I couldn't believe it. Then at the very last corner I managed to get past Timo. It was just amazing.
"I was shouting, 'Did I win? Did I win?' Then they told me when I was on the corner and I was ecstatic. It's a dream."
Throughout the weekend, Hamilton had been under pressure not only in his performance on the track but also outside of his car. As the first black driver in the sport, he had been subject to racist comments on a Web site of fans of Alonso, who had been Hamilton's teammate at McLaren last year.
At the Interlagos circuit outside São Paulo, he and his father were booed by the local fans on just about every appearance in the McLaren garage or on the giant television screens encircling the track.
Local television presenters had played practical jokes on him like throwing an effigy of a black cat at him. But Hamilton kept his head in all conditions, saying of the cat, "I took it is a good luck, because I think in the U.K. black cats are quite lucky."
Few drivers divide opinion as much as Hamilton. Although he is considered by people close to him to be quiet and polite, many fans accuse him of arrogance and dangerous driving. He has occasionally been criticized by his fellow drivers, but some people say this is envy.
"It goes with the territory," said Ron Dennis, the McLaren Mercedes team director. "You are successful and young; you're going to get criticized. Especially as an athlete."
Last year Hamilton became the most successful rookie in the 58-year history of Formula One as he scored 12 podium finishes and four victories. But he lost the title after squandering a 17-point lead in the last two races.
Yet Hamilton was the best-trained driver ever to enter Formula One. He had been a protégé of the team since he was 13 years old, benefiting from financial assistance as he rose up the racing series hierarchy, winning every championship along the way.
On Saturday, when asked if his second season was more difficult than the first, Hamilton said: "I think this year maybe I've made more mistakes, but I've arrived at the last race of the season with the same amount of points as I did last year - so I guess that really answers the question."
He may have made more mistakes, but not when it counted most.