Another Formula One season has come to an end, and the top two contenders have set for themselves a title shootout at Brazil. The chances of winning, however, are skewed towards Lewis Hamilton, who has a comfortable seven-point lead over challenger Felipe Massa.

All Hamilton has to ensure is a fifth-place finish if Massa goes on to win the championship. And considering all the things he has done this year, it's a small feat to achieve.

But for Massa, it is an uphill task, and not entirely in his hands. He needs to win to maximise his chances and hope for Lewis to commit a blunder, something Lewis hasn't done this season.

What hope does Massa have? If we look back in time, a year earlier, Lewis was under similar predicament. He had a seven-point lead over Kimi Raikkonen when they arrived for the final race in Brazil. But Fernando Alonso was the one challenging him then, and the top two contenders ruined the others' chances, allowing Raikkonen to claim the glory with a margin of just a single point.

Who are Massa's allies? Naturally, teammate Kimi leads the pack. Alonso has vowed to help out Massa in his fight against the McLaren driver, aided by a grudge that has lasted longer than expected. But Mass doesn't have enough friends to fill in the five places between himself and Hamilton. I still maintain the best chance for Massa is to have Raikkonen smash into Hamilton at the start of the race; Raikkonen could argue that he just out-braked himself and couldn't have done anything to avoid the unfortunate disaster. Otherwise, Massa will just have to put in his best efforts and pray to the gods let Lewis's car malfunction.

Who amongst these is the worthy candidate for the No. 1 driver in F1 position? Honestly, none. Both Massa and Lewis had been awarded the best cars present on the grid. They had the best people working along to ensure that they go on and win each race possible, and they had unlimited funds available to sustain the development of the 2008 car. So if these two are at top of the things, then its not only their effort, but the good fortune they have been blessed with of driving for their respective cars.

After all, if you look at drivers just a few places lower into the grid and you'll find two champions in Alonso and Robert Kubica. They are the ones who have driven perfect races and extracted the most out of their cars, race after race. Right from the beginning, Kubica maintained a good chart position, performing consistently in each race. Finally, when he won the Canadian Grand Prix, he was viewed as a serious contender. But due to limited funding, BMW decided not to continue development of the present car and to actually switch to the new car. This was a big blow for Kubica, who had a few words with the team principal. However, it is understood that things settled down, and Kubica continued his good run throughout the season. The BMW was not fast enough to out pace McLaren or Ferrari, yet he always maintained a gap which gave him a shot at the title.