The 2008 World Championships have both been really close. We’ve seen several drivers leading the individual title race, whilst Ferrari and McLaren have dominated the constructors, with BMW chasing in a distant third. With just two races left in the season, there are only three drivers who can mathematically win the driver’s title.

Hamilton – 84 points

Hamilton has led the championship for the majority of the season, and looks to be in a strong position to take his first WDC title. Recent races appear to have been more about damage limitation than stretching his lead, but there are still two races to go, and he has a good chance of winning them both. His one concern will be no to repeat what happened in 2007. Last year, he looked like the championship would be his at the first time of asking, but the pressure was too much, and Raikkonen was allowed to slip through and steal the title. The Japanese race was a classic example of a mistake due to the pressure of a race, although Massa clearly didn’t help Hamilton’s cause at all. Hamilton is more experienced this year, and there is less pressure from outside to win, but perhaps the pressure comes from himself.

Massa – 79 points

At the beginning of the season, we all thought Raikkonen would be the Ferrari driver to watch. He would be defending his title, and had clearly been the stronger man in 2007. Yet, mistakes and unreliability dogged Raikkonen, and his qualifying performance suffered, allowing Massa to lead the red cars into battle. Massa has a reputation for being wild and reckless out on track, blindingly quick when he puts his mind to it, but inconsistent. We’ve seen some of that this year, but we’ve also seen a more mature driver who knows how to plot a race to his advantage. Just five points behind with twenty up for grabs, it’s entirely possible that he could snatch yet another title from Hamilton’s grasp.

Kubica – 72 points

BMW never really looked like they would be fighting for wins and titles, and even after their Canadian 1-2, things weren’t getting any better. However, the team has one thing going for it and that is consistency. When both Massa and Hamilton lost their heads in Japan, Kubica sailed through and picked up second place. He is 12 points behind Hamilton, which is a big ask of just two races. Most likely he would have to win won, and see the others fail. However, we have seen miracles before, and you can never predict what is going to happen.

I would love to hear your thoughts on our three championship contenders this year. Who are you backing for the title? Who do you think deserves to be a World Champion? Let us know what you think in the forums.