Ferrari saved Hamilton from madness – Montezemolo
At Interlagos last Sunday, the Italian team's Felipe Massa missed winning the drivers' title by a single point, and for a few corners of the slow-down lap much of the entire racing world thought he actually was champion.
Championship victory for the Brazilian would have been an extraordinary against-the-odds outcome, after Hamilton entered the decisive race with a commanding 7-point victory.
Montezemolo said of Massa's near-feat: "We managed to save Hamilton from being sent to the psychiatric ward."
In New York, he was addressing Ferrari's ranks by phone as Maranello stages its end-of-season party.
At the team's Italian base, boss Stefano Domenicali hailed Ferrari's less prestigious 2008 constructors' championship, and said key reliability failures and mistakes cost Massa the drivers' crown.
He said of Hamilton and McLaren: "They were really strong and earned what they achieved."