Prost-like Massa deserved to retire an F1 world champion

At Interlagos the result, as so often - too often - these days, was settled in the opening seconds, when the pole position man got too much wheelspin, and Sebastian Vettel asserted himself into the first turn, going on to a superbly measured victory.

Throughout the afternoon, he was never very far in front of Valtteri Bottas, but so evenly matched were the Ferrari and Mercedes that it would have taken a mistake by Vettel for the order to change.

Had it been Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes on pole, who knows what kind of scrap we might have had, but when the lights went out Hamilton was not so much as on the grid, instead starting from the pitlane, after crashing on his first run in Q1. "It just shows we're all human," he modestly observed, but the goof guaranteed a memorable drive on race day.

New engine, new turbo, no concerns about points - all the ingredients were there for the kind of no-holds- barred afternoon all great drivers savour, and it didn't hurt Hamilton's cause that several cars accounted for themselves in shunts on the opening lap, or - better yet - that the incidents brought out the safety car.

If the race allowed Hamilton a free hand in showcasing his talent and pace, so also it allowed a glimpse of Mercedes performance when the gloves are off. Up the endless climb at the end of the lap, Hamilton wafted by other cars - even some with Mercedes power units - with contemptuous ease, and what was especially impressive was the way he combined blazing speed with care for his (soft) tyres: not until lap 43 did he stop. We expected a mesmeric drive, and we got it.

Sentimentally, though, Interlagos was all about Felipe Massa, bidding farewell to his people, a role for which he was well rehearsed, having already done it in 2016.

On that occasion Massa, swathed in a Brazilian flag, trudged down the pitlane as the rain beat down, having parked his Williams against a guardrail. Emotional as he was, responding to the cheers of the Paulistas, this was not the finale for which he had hoped, but fortunately Nico Rosberg came to the rescue, by retiring immediately after winning the championship.

This obliged Mercedes to sign Bottas as his replacement, and Williams, which had shown Massa the door in order to accommodate Lance Stroll, suddenly realised it would quite like him to stay, after all. Massa, who loves racing as countryman Rubens Barrichello always did, was only too happy to agree.

In '08, particularly, there were days when Massa's driving - smooth, undramatic, flawless - had reminded one of Alain Prost

Twelve months on, though, it really is the end of the line, and at Interlagos everyone hoped that Massa would go out on a high. For one thing, he is that rare Formula 1 driver who doesn't have an enemy in the paddock; for another, memories of him will always be wedded to this fabled autodromo, ramshackle by comparison with most other venues on the world championship trail, but a track marinated, like Monza or Spa or Suzuka, in racing legend.

Massa has always been a team player. Just as he obeyed a coded Ferrari instruction - at a time when team orders, ludicrously, were banned by the FIA - to let team-mate Fernando Alonso through at Hockenheim in 2010, so he had done the same for Kimi Raikkonen at Interlagos three years earlier. In both cases, they were in contention for the championship, and Massa was not.

In 2008, though, he was - emphatically. Indeed, when he won at Interlagos, as he had done two years before, momentarily he believed he was world champion.

As it was, though, 40 seconds later Hamilton passed Timo Glock at the last corner of the last lap, and four points for fifth place - rather than three for sixth - gave Hamilton the title by a point. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, watching at home, smashed his TV set to pieces.

On the podium Massa was rather more controlled, but it would have been a stony heart left unmoved by the conflict in his face, the mix of anguish and pride. He handled this cruellest of scenarios with consummate grace, and I was not alone in believing him the more worthy champion that year, not least because he won more races.

At the time I talked to Jackie Stewart, who was of the same opinion. "Hamilton and Massa both had great races this season, as well as good luck and bad, but overall I think Felipe deserved the championship more, partly because of his drive at Interlagos.

"He went there behind Lewis in the points, so it was a race he absolutely had to win, and his drive in the treacherous conditions was completely masterful - the manner in which he conducted his whole race was perfect.

"Even more than that, though, when he lost the championship at the very end, I thought the behaviour of both himself and his family had a dignity and style beyond anything I've ever seen in motor racing."

Bittersweet as it was, that was Massa's day of days, and the last grand prix he ever won. The following year, in Hungary, he was seriously injured in a freak accident, and we must take his word for it that this in no way affected him for the balance of his career.

In 2008, particularly, there were days when Massa's driving - smooth, undramatic, flawless - had reminded one of Alain Prost, but when he returned to Ferrari after the accident, now partnered by Alonso rather than Raikkonen, he suffered increasingly from a loss of confidence, which took a long time to get over.

On Sunday, perhaps fittingly, Massa had a race-long duel with Alonso, and when he drove into pitlane at the end among those clapping him was Fernando. As Felipe said, "It may have been only seventh place, but it feels like a victory."

They cheered him to the rafters, and quite right, too. A very fine driver, an even better man.