Despite being the villain in 2008, find out why Lewis Hamilton is so popular in Brazil

Lewis Hamilton is much loved in the country of Brazil and now, even has honorary citizenship. However, things weren't always hunky-dory for the Briton in Brazil in 2008, having narrowly defeated local hero Felipe Massa.

Hamilton held a five-point lead over Massa leading into the final race at Interlagos. The then-McLaren driver needed to finish fifth or higher in Brazil to secure his first title in the sport.

To make matters worse for the Englishman, Massa started the race in pole position and just had to cruise his way to victory. However, rain brought chaos to Interlagos, putting both parties' title hopes in jeopardy.

Hamilton dropped to sixth place due to intermittent conditions that afternoon in Brazil and was unable to pass Vettel, who sat comfortably in fifth place. However, on the final lap of the race, Toyota driver Timo Glock - who was in P4 - made a mistake in the rainy conditions and was easily passed by both Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

Massa, meanwhile, finished the race in P1, resulting in massive celebrations all throughout Brazil and in the Ferrari garage. Soon, it dawned on the nation that Hamilton would be the world champion, having benefitted from Glock's mistake, much to the dismay of the entire nation.

As a result, the driver built a bit of a bad reputation in Brazil, having denied Felipe Massa of his only chance to be crowned F1 world champion.

Things, however, changed in Lewis Hamilton's favor in 2021 when he won the 2021 Sao Paolo GP despite having started in P10. The Mercedes driver waved the flag of Brazil in celebration post-race and won the hearts of everyone in the country.

Further, the seven-time world champion has always looked up to Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna, who remains the Briton's idol to this day. This change in character possibly earned him honorary citizenship in the country and is celebrated by fans around the South American nation.

Neither Lewis Hamilton, nor Max Verstappen to blame for 2022 F1 Brazilian GP incident, claims reporter

Veteran F1 reporter Mark Hughes claims that neither Max Verstappen nor Lewis Hamilton are to blame for their infamous clash at the 2022 Brazilian GP in November. The 2021 title rivals collided in Sao Paulo, going into the Senna Esses.

Verstappen received car damage and a five-second penalty for allegedly being at fault for the collision. Hughes, however, believes neither driver was at fault for the incident, as both drive differently when racing against each other.

Hughes spoke about Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton's rivalry on Motor Sport Magazine's season review podcast, saying:

“Brazil was one of those occasions [with Lewis saying] ‘I know what you’re trying to do and you’re not going to do it’, and Max was saying, ‘I know what you’re going to do and I’m coming through anyway’. They’re both entitled to do that, they’re both racing drivers and I don’t think there’s any blame there."

Hughes noted that the Dutchman leaves a lot more room when battling against Charles Leclerc as compared to Hamilton, perhaps given their previous animosity. The Briton also claims Hamilton is sometimes inconsistent when racing against the two-time world champion, leading to frequent collisions between the two.

However, only time will tell whether the two mammoths of the sport will go wheel-to-wheel consistently in 2023.