Teams say F1 should keep Interlagos

Outgoing world champion Jenson Button escaped an attempted carjacking on the way back to his hotel on Saturday evening, while in a separate incident, members of the Sauber team were reported to have been held at gunpoint while their belongings were stolen.

Both cases inevitably put the spotlight on a problem that F1 has faced before in the impoverished area around the Interlagos venue.

But Button's McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said it would be unfair to punish the circuit organisers for incidents that happened outside of their control within the city.

"In fairness to the organisers I don't think they can be responsible for what goes on outside here, there is a limit to what the organisers can do," he said. "I think we have heard about it over the years, but it has clearly escalated, I am told there were five incidents [this year] - and when they start carrying machine guns then it starts taking on slightly bigger levels. So that is worrying."

"But Brazil has a soccer World Cup and an Olympic Games coming, so it is something that they are going to have to work quite hard on in this country, so I am sure they will.

"I think this country is on an economic bubble at the moment so it would be nice to see the country develop as I am sure it will do in the coming years."

Ferrari's team chief Stefano Domenicali added that the positive atmosphere that the Brazilian round added to the world championship that should be harnessed and protected in years to come.

"To be honest, I don't want to say that we are here and it is a dangerous situation," he said. "We know that anywhere in the world something bad can happen.

"I think that we need to thank all the organisers here that are trying to do the maximum they can and I would like to stress this positive point, because also this week I know people had some problems.

"We didn't do any extra precautions, we will try to normal stuff but once again I would like to stress the fact that here in Brazil the atmosphere is really great, and one thing I would like to say, there were a lot of people saying that I will come here in Brazil and you will see how everyone will be against Ferrari and I was trembling - joking! - and it was not true.

"All the fans here were cheering Ferrari and this is one thing that you do not have to forget, the passion for F1, also for Brazilian drivers and our brand. This is something we have to bring home and also to the benefit of the ones who are trying to put the extra pressure on us."