Winning the Formula 1 championship calls for celebrations each time, let alone winning it for the first time. And it seems Lewis Hamilton let go of himself after the 2008 championship win, as he missed out on an enticing offer from his then-girlfriend, Nicole Scherzinger. As things got public, he endured a lot of mockery.

Winning the 2008 drivers’ championship was no mean feat. Lewis Hamilton had just come out of his rookie season, losing out on the title by just one point. Even the championship battle in 2008 went right down to the wire. As championship contender Felipe Massa was leading the final race, Hamilton only needed to finish in the top 5. It was only the final lap when he got to it and won the title in a thrilling fashion.

How Lewis Hamilton missed out on Nicole Scherzinger’s offer?

Lewis Hamilton’s then-girlfriend, Nicole Scherzinger, a member of the American girl group Pussycat Dolls, was a regular in the paddocks. Even during the 2008 Brazilian GP, she was present in the garage, cheering for Hamilton. As he won the championship, she went ecstatic and made him an offer.

Looking back at the incident and a few newspaper clippings, Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson said, “If you’re watching Lewis, we saw in the paper here that his girlfriend said, and she’s the one from Pussycat Dolls, ‘you’re going to get it tonight’.”

“That’s what she said after the race. We then saw in another paper that he’d actually done this: ‘stayed up till 9 AM’.”

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“If you’ve got a Pussycat Doll Lewis, saying ‘you’re going to get it tonight’, here’s an idea: go to bed and have it.”

Richard Hammond, who was also present on the show, joked, “Maybe he didn’t realize what she meant.”

Mocking Hamilton, he added, “‘I’ve already won it’.”

“No! not that! How can you get it so wrong?”

Read More: Racing Numbers of the 2023 Grid Backed by the Drivers’ Emotional Story Behind Them

While the season finished on a high for Lewis, it did not for Felipe Massa. As he lost the championship in the final stages, he was left heartbroken.

Lewis reveals the respect he holds for Felipe Massa

Massa took to the podium with tears in his eyes. However, he did not lose pride as he acknowledged his home crowd’s cheers, thumping his chest. Lewis recently sat down for an interview with Timo Glock, the driver he overtook during the last turn of the GP to take P5 in the race.

Talking about Massa, Hamilton said, “That was such an amazing year for Felipe. For me the most impressive part of the whole year was the end. How he stood on the podium with pride and dignity. He’s a champion in my eyes.”

Watch This Story: Inside Lewis Hamilton & Nicole Scherzinger’s Romantic Relationship

The 2008 Brazilian GP remains one of the most thrilling races in F1’s history. If you haven’t watched it already, we highly recommend it.