Timo Glock told Lewis Hamilton how he had to be taken to the airport protected by police after his inadvertent role in the outcome of the 2008 Formula 1 world championship.
In one of the most dramatic finishes to a season ever, Hamilton snatched the title from Felipe Massa in the final few corners. So late was change in circumstance, the Brazilian had already crossed the finish line and was celebrating his success.
Engineers in the Ferrari garage were also going ballistic – but it would not last. Glock, struggling on worn-out dry tyres, was overtaken by Sebastian Vettel and then Hamilton in the final few corners of the last lap, meaning the Brit scored enough points to take his first F1 crown.
Ahead of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, Sky Sports got Hamilton and Glock together in a room to rewatch that dramatic finale. "This is painful watching this," said the Brit as he was shown footage of himself making a mistake which saw him overtaken by Vettel.
"Reliving the last few laps of that race, I haven't watched this." That left Glock stunned, as he replied: "No way," before Hamilton confirmed that he had never before watched back the final few laps of that race.
It was after the next clip, of Glock being passed by the McLaren of Hamilton and the scenes of the Ferrari garage realising what had happened, that the former Toyota racer revealed the extend of the ire he received for playing his inadvertent part in the title race.
"For me, in that time in 2008, I had a police escort to the airport after the race," he told Hamilton. "You never realise when you're not facing it. And I had never faced this before, and I thought at the time 'how unfair can the world be'."
That revelation prompted Hamilton to apologise for not helping Glock more. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help at the time," said the Brit. "I didn't understand what was going on for you, in your world. I was very young, so I'm sorry I wasn't able to support you in that time. If that was today, I know I could be there and support you."
Glock later revealed that he had avoided Massa for a decade, for fear that the Brazilian had not forgiven him. But then he added: "I was scared to go to him, and funnily enough one year ago he walked past me and he waved to me. And then we had contact and we were talking."
